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Young Folks Treasury, Volume 2 (of 12) by Various

V >> Various >> Young Folks Treasury, Volume 2 (of 12)




But before they had gone very far a terrible storm came on. It
thundered and lightened and rained and blew with such fury that it
seemed as if the whole heavens' and earth were at war. "Oh dear! oh
dear!" cried the Deaf Man, "how dreadful this lightning is! Let us
make haste and get to some place of shelter." "I don't see that it's
dreadful at all," answered the blind Man; "but the thunder is very
terrible; we had better certainly seek some place of shelter."

Now, not far off was a lofty building, which looked exactly like a
fine temple. The Deaf Man saw it, and he and the Blind Man resolved to
spend the night there; and having reached the place, they went in and
shut the door, taking the Donkey and the great big kettle with them.
But this building, which they mistook for a temple was in truth no
temple at all, but the house of a very powerful Rakshas or ogre; and
hardly had the Blind Man, the Deaf Man, and the Donkey got inside and
fastened the door, than the Rakshas, who had been out, returned home.
To his surprise, he found the door fastened and heard people moving
about inside his house. "Ho! ho!" cried he to himself, "some men have
got in here, have they? I'll soon make mince-meat of them." So he
began to roar in a voice louder than the thunder, and to cry: "Let me
into my house this minute, you wretches; let me in, let me in, I say,"
and to kick the door and batter it with his great fists. But though
his voice was very powerful, his appearance was still more alarming,
insomuch that the Deaf Man, who was peeping at him through a chink in
the wall, felt so frightened that he did not know what to do. But the
Blind Man was very brave (because he couldn't see), and went up to
the door and called out: "Who are you, and what do you mean by coming
battering at the door in this way at this time of night?"

"I'm a Rakshas," answered the Rakshas angrily, "and this is my house.
Let me in this instant or I'll kill you." All this time the Deaf Man,
who was watching the Rakshas, was shivering and shaking in a terrible
fright, but the Blind Man was very brave (because he couldn't see),
and he called out again: "Oh, you're a Rakshas, are you? Well, if
you're Rakshas, I'm Bakshas; and Bakshas is as good as Rakshas."

"Bakshas!" roared the Rakshas. "Bakshas! Bakshas! What nonsense is
this? There is no such creature as a Bakshas!" "Go away," replied the
Blind Man, "and don't dare to make any further disturbance, lest I
punish you with a vengeance; for know that I'm Bakshas, and Bakshas
is Rakshas's father." "My father?" answered the Rakshas. "Heavens and
earth! Bakshas, and my father! I never heard such an extraordinary
thing in my life. You my father; and in there! I never knew my father
was called Bakshas!"

"Yes," replied the Blind Man; "go away instantly, I command you, for
I am your father Bakshas." "Very well," answered the Rakshas (for he
began to get puzzled and frightened); "but if you are my father, let
me first see your face." (For he thought: "Perhaps they are deceiving
me.") The Blind Man and the Deaf Man didn't know what to do; but at
last they opened the door a very tiny chink and poked the Donkey's
nose out. When the Rakshas saw it he thought to himself: "Bless me,
what a terribly ugly face my father Bakshas has!" He then called out:
"O father Bakshas, you have a very big, fierce face; but people have
sometimes very big heads and very little bodies. Pray let me see your
body as well as head before I go away." Then the Blind Man and the
Deaf Man rolled the washerman's great big kettle with a thundering
noise past the chink in the door, and the Rakshas, who was watching
attentively, was very much surprised when he saw this great black
thing rolling along the floor, and he thought: "In truth, my father
Bakshas has a very big body as well as a big head. He's big enough to
eat me up altogether. I'd better go away." But still he could not help
being a little doubtful, so he cried: "O Bakshas, father Bakshas! you
have indeed got a very big head and a very big body; but do, before
I go away, let me hear you scream," for all Rakshas scream fearfully.
Then the cunning Deaf Man (who was getting less frightened) pulled the
silver snuff-box out of his pocket, and took the black ants out of it,
and put one black ant in the Donkey's right ear, and another black ant
in the Donkey's left ear, and another and another. The ants pinched
the poor Donkey's ears dreadfully, and the Donkey was so hurt and
frightened he began to bellow as loud as he could: "Eh augh! eh augh!
eh augh! augh! augh!" and at this terrible noise the Rakshas fled away
in a great fright, saying: "Enough, enough, father Bakshas! the sound
of your voice would make the most refractory obedient." And no sooner
had he gone than the Deaf Man took the ants out of the Donkey's ears,
and he and the Blind Man spent the rest of the night in peace and
comfort.

Next morning the Deaf Man woke the Blind Man early, saying: "Awake,
brother, awake: here we are indeed in luck! The whole floor is covered
with heaps of gold and silver and precious stones." And so it was, for
the Rakshas owned a vast amount of treasure, and the whole house was
full of it. "That is a good thing," said the Blind Man. "Show me where
it is and I will help you to collect it." So they collected as much
treasure as possible and made four great bundles of it. The Blind Man
took one great bundle, the Deaf Man took another, and, putting the
other two great bundles on the Donkey, they started off to return
home. But the Rakshas, whom they had frightened away the night before,
had not gone very far off, and was waiting to see what his father
Bakshas might look like by daylight. He saw the door of his house open
and watched attentively, when out walked--only a Blind Man, a Deaf
Man, and a Donkey, who were all three laden with large bundles of
his treasure. The Blind Man carried one bundle, the Deaf Man carried
another bundle, and two bundles were on the Donkey.

The Rakshas was extremely angry, and immediately called six of his
friends to help him kill the Blind Man, the Deaf Man, and the Donkey,
and recover the treasure.

The Deaf Man saw them coming (seven great Rakshas, with hair a yard
long and tusks like an elephant's), and was dreadfully frightened;
but the Blind Man was very brave (because he couldn't see), and said:
"Brother, why do you lag behind in that way?" "Oh!" answered the Deaf
Man, "there are seven great Rakshas with tusks like an elephant's
coming to kill us! What can we do?" "Let us hide the treasure in the
bushes," said the Blind Man; "and do you lead me to a tree; then I
will climb up first, and you shall climb up afterward, and so we shall
be out of their way." The Deaf Man thought this good advice; so he
pushed the Donkey and the bundles of treasure into the bushes, and led
the Blind Man to a high soparee-tree that grew close by; but he was a
very cunning man, this Deaf Man, and instead of letting the Blind Man
climb up first and following him, he got up first and let the Blind
Man clamber after, so that he was farther out of harm's way than his
friend.

When the Rakshas arrived at the place and saw them both perched out of
reach in the soparee-tree, he said to his friends: "Let us get on each
other's shoulders; we shall then be high enough to pull them down." So
one Rakshas stooped down, and the second got on his shoulders, and
the third on his, and the fourth on his, and the fifth on his, and the
sixth on his; and the seventh and the last Rakshas (who had invited
all the others) was just climbing up when the Deaf Man (who was
looking over the Blind Man's shoulder) got so frightened that in his
alarm he caught hold of his friend's arm, crying: "They're coming,
they're coming!" The Blind Man was not in a very secure position, and
was sitting at his ease, not knowing how close the Rakshas were. The
consequence was, that when the Deaf Man gave him this unexpected push,
he lost his balance and tumbled down on to the neck of the seventh
Rakshas, who was just then climbing up. The Blind Man had no idea
where he was, but thought he had got on to the branch of some other
tree; and, stretching out his hand for something to catch hold of,
caught hold of the Rakshas's two great ears, and pinched them very
hard in his surprise and fright. The Rakshas couldn't think what it
was that had come tumbling down upon him; and the weight of the Blind
Man upsetting his balance, down he also fell to the ground, knocking
down in their turn the sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second, and first
Rakshas, who all rolled one over another, and lay in a confused heap
at the foot of the tree together.

Meanwhile the Blind Man called out to his friend: "Where am I? What
has happened? Where am I? Where am I?" The Deaf Man (who was safe up
in the tree) answered: "Well done, brother! never fear! never fear!
You're all right, only hold on tight. I'm coming down to help you."
But he had not the least intention of leaving his place of safety.
However, he continued to call out: "Never mind, brother; hold on as
tight as you can. I'm coming, I'm coming," and the more he called out,
the harder the Blind Man pinched the Rakshas's ears, which he mistook
for some kind of palm branches.

The six other Rakshas, who had succeeded, after a good deal of
kicking, in extricating themselves from their unpleasant position,
thought they had had quite enough of helping their friend, and ran
away as fast as they could; and the seventh, thinking from their going
that the danger must be greater than he imagined, and being, moreover,
very much afraid of the mysterious creature that sat on his shoulders,
put his hands to the back of his ears and pushed off the Blind Man,
and then, (without staying to see who or what he was) followed his six
companions as fast as he could.

As soon as all the Rakshas were out of sight, the Deaf Man came down
from the tree, and, picking up the Blind Man, embraced him, saying:
"I could not have done better myself. You have frightened away all our
enemies, but you see I came to help you as fast as possible." He then
dragged the Donkey and the bundles of treasure out of the bushes, gave
the Blind Man one bundle to carry, took the second himself, and put
the remaining two on the Donkey, as before. This done, the whole party
set off to return home. But when they had got nearly out of the jungle
the Deaf Man said to the Blind Man: "We are now close to the village;
but if we take all this treasure home with us, we shall run great risk
of being robbed. I think our best plan would be to divide it equally;
then you can take care of your half and I will take care of mine, and
each one can hide his share here in the jungle, or wherever pleases
him best." "Very well," said the Blind Man; "do you divide what we
have in the bundles into two equal portions, keeping one half yourself
and giving me the other." The cunning Deaf Man, however, had no
intention of giving up half of the treasure to the Blind Man; so he
first took his own bundle of treasure and hid it in the bushes,
and then he took the two bundles off the Donkey and hid them in the
bushes; and he took a good deal of treasure out of the Blind Man's
bundle, which he also hid. Then, taking the small quantity that
remained, he divided it into two equal portions, and placing half
before the Blind Man and half in front of himself, said: "There,
brother, is your share to do what you please with." The Blind Man put
out his hand, but when he felt what a very little heap of treasure
it was, he got very angry, and cried: "This is not fair--you are
deceiving me; you have kept almost all the treasure for yourself and
only given me a very little." "Oh, oh! how can you think so?" answered
the Deaf Man; "but if you will not believe me, feel for yourself. See,
my heap of treasure is no larger than yours."

The Blind Man put out his hands again to feel how much his friend
had kept; but in front of the Deaf Man lay only a very small heap, no
larger than what he had himself received. At this he got very cross,
and said: "Come, come, this won't do. You think you can cheat me in
this way because I am blind; but I'm not so stupid as all that, I
carried a great bundle of treasure, you carried a great bundle of
treasure, and there were two great bundles on the Donkey. Do you mean
to pretend that all that made no more treasure than these two little
heaps! No, indeed; I know better than that." "Stuff and nonsense!"
answered the Deaf Man. "Stuff or no stuff," continued the other, "you
are trying to take me in, and I won't be taken in by you." "No, I'm
not," said the Deaf Man. "Yes, you are," said the Blind Man; and so
they went on bickering, scolding, growling, contradicting, until the
Blind Man got so enraged that he gave the Deaf Man a tremendous box on
the ear. The blow was so violent that it made the Deaf Man hear! The
Deaf Man, very angry, gave his neighbor in return so hard a blow in
the face that it opened the Blind Man's eyes!

So the Deaf Man could hear as well as see, and the Blind Man could see
as well as hear! This astonished them both so much that they became
good friends at once. The Deaf Man confessed to have hidden the bulk
of the treasure, which he thereupon dragged forth from its place of
concealment, and having divided it equally, they went home and enjoyed
themselves.




HARISARMAN


There was in a certain village, a certain Brahman named Harisarman.
He was poor and foolish and unhappy for want of employment, and he had
very many children. He wandered about begging with his family, and
at last he reached a certain city, and entered the service of a
rich householder called Sthuladatta. His sons became keepers of
Sthuladatta's cows and other property, and his wife a servant to
him, and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of an
attendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage of
the daughter of Sthuladatta, largely attended by many friends of the
bridegroom and merry-makers. Harisarman hoped that he would be able to
fill himself up to the throat with oil and flesh and other dainties,
and get the same for his family, in the house of his patron. While he
was anxiously expecting to be fed, no one thought of him.

Then he was distressed at getting nothing to eat, and he said to his
wife at night: "It is owing to my poverty and stupidity that I am
treated with such disrespect here; so I will pretend by means of an
artifice to possess a knowledge of magic, so that I may become
an object of respect to this Sthuladatta; so, when you get an
opportunity, tell him that I possess magical knowledge." He said this
to her, and after turning the matter over in his mind, while people
were asleep he took away from the house of Sthuladatta a horse on
which his master's son-in-law rode. He placed it in concealment at
some distance, and in the morning the friends of the bridegroom could
not find the horse, though they searched in every direction. Then,
while Sthuladatta was distressed at the evil omen, and searching for
the thieves who had carried off the horse, the wife of Harisarman came
and said to him: "My husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology and
magical sciences; he can get the horse back for you--why do you not
ask him?" When Sthuladatta heard that, he called Harisarman, who said,
"Yesterday I was forgotten, but to-day, now the horse is stolen, I
am called to mind;" and Sthuladatta then propitiated the Brahman with
these words: "I forgot you, forgive me," and asked him to tell him
who had taken away their horse. Then Harisarman drew all kinds of
pretended diagrams, and said: "The horse has been placed by thieves
on the boundary line south from this place. It is concealed there, and
before it is carried off to a distance, as it will be at close of
day, go quickly and bring it." When they heard that, many men ran and
brought the horse quickly, praising the discernment of Harisarman.
Then Harisarman was honored by all men as a sage, and dwelt there in
happiness, honored by Sthuladatta.

Now, as days went on, much treasure, both of gold and jewels, had been
stolen by a thief from the palace of the King. As the thief was
not known, the King quickly summoned Harisarman on account of his
reputation for knowledge of magic. And he, when summoned, tried to
gain time, and said: "I will tell you to-morrow," and then he was
placed in a chamber by the King and carefully guarded. And he was sad
because he had pretended to have knowledge. Now, in that palace there
was a maid named Jihva (which means Tongue), who, with the assistance
of her brother, had stolen that treasure from the interior of the
palace. She, being alarmed at Harisarman's knowledge, went at night
and applied her ear to the door of that chamber in order to find out
what he was about. And Harisarman, who was alone inside, was at that
very moment blaming his own tongue, that had made a vain assumption
of knowledge. He said: "Oh, tongue, what is this that you have done
through your greediness? Wicked one, you will soon receive punishment
in full." When Jihva heard this, she thought, in her terror, that she
had been discovered by this wise man, and she managed to get in where
he was, and, falling at his feet, she said to the supposed wizard:
"Brahman, here I am, that Jihva whom you have discovered to be the
thief of the treasure, and after I took it I buried it in the earth in
a garden behind the palace, under a pomegranate tree. So spare me, and
receive the small quantity of gold which is in my possession."

When Harisarman heard that, he said to her proudly: "Depart, I
know all this; I know the past, present, and future, but I will not
denounce you, a miserable creature that has implored my protection.
But whatever gold is in your possession you must give back to me."
When he said this to the maid, she consented, and departed quickly.
But Harisarman reflected in his astonishment: "Fate brings about, as
if in sport, things impossible; for, when calamity was so near, who
would have thought chance would have brought us success? While I was
blaming my jihva, the thief Jihva suddenly flung herself at my feet.
Secret crimes manifest themselves by means of fear." Thus thinking, he
passed the night happily in the chamber. And in the morning he brought
the King, by some skilful parade of pretended knowledge, into the
garden and led him up to the treasure, which was buried under the
pomegranate tree, and said the thief had escaped with a part of it.
Then the King was pleased, and gave him the revenue of many villages.

But the minister, named Devajnanin, whispered in the King's ear: "How
can a man possess such knowledge unattainable by men without having
studied the books of magic? You may be certain that this is a specimen
of the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by having a secret
intelligence with thieves. It will be much better to test him by
some new artifice." Then the King of his own accord brought a covered
pitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to Harisarman:
"Brahman, if you can guess what there is in this pitcher, I will do
you great honor to-day." When the Brahman Harisarman heard that, he
thought that his last hour had come, and he called to mind the pet
name of "Froggie," which his father had given him in his childhood in
sport; and, impelled by luck, he called to himself by his pet name,
lamenting his hard fate, and suddenly called out: "This is a fine
pitcher for you, Froggie; it will soon become the swift destroyer of
your helpless self." The people there, when they heard him say that,
raised a shout of applause, because his speech chimed in so well with
the object presented to him, and murmured: "Ah! a great sage; he knows
even about the frog!" Then the King, thinking that this was all due to
knowledge of divination, was highly delighted, and gave Harisarman the
revenue of more villages, with gold, an umbrella, and state carriages
of all kinds. So Harisarman prospered in the world.




WHY THE FISH LAUGHED


As a certain fisherwoman passed by a palace crying her fish, the Queen
appeared at one of the windows and beckoned her to come near and
show what she had. At that moment a very big fish jumped about in the
bottom of the basket.

"Is it a he or a she?" inquired the Queen. "I wish to purchase a
she-fish."

On hearing this the fish laughed aloud.

"It's a he," replied the fisherwoman, and proceeded on her rounds.

The Queen returned to her room in a great rage; and on coming to see
her in the evening, the King noticed that something had disturbed her.

"Are you indisposed?" he said.

"No; but I am very much annoyed at the strange behavior of a fish. A
woman brought me one to-day, and on my inquiring whether it was a male
or female, the fish laughed most rudely."

"A fish laugh! Impossible! You must be dreaming."

"I am not a fool. I speak of what I have seen with my own eyes and
have heard with my own ears."

"Passing strange! Be it so. I will inquire concerning it."

On the morrow the King repeated to his vizier what his wife had
told him, and bade him investigate the matter, and be ready with a
satisfactory answer within six months, on pain of death. The vizier
promised to do his best, though he felt almost certain of failure. For
five months he labored indefatigably to find a reason for the laughter
of the fish. He sought everywhere and from every one. The wise and
learned, and they who were skilled in magic and in all manner of
trickery, were consulted. Nobody, however, could explain the matter;
and so he returned broken-hearted to his house, and began to arrange
his affairs in prospect of certain death, for he had had sufficient
experience of the King to know that his Majesty would not go back from
his threat. Among other things, he advised his son to travel for a
time, until the King's anger should have somewhat cooled.

The young fellow, who was both clever and handsome, started off
whithersoever fate might lead him. He had been gone some days, when
he fell in with an old farmer, who also was on a journey to a certain
village. Finding the old man very pleasant, he asked him if he might
accompany him, professing to be on a visit to the same place. The old
farmer agreed, and they walked along together. The day was hot, and
the way was long and weary.

"Don't you think it would be pleasanter if you and I sometimes gave
each other a lift?" said the youth.

"What a fool the man is!" thought the old farmer.

Presently they passed through a field of corn ready for the sickle,
and looking like a sea of gold as it waved to and fro in the breeze.

"Is this eaten or not?" said the young man.

Not understanding his meaning, the old man replied, "I don't know."

After a little while the two travelers arrived at a big village, where
the young man gave his companion a clasp-knife, and said, "Take this,
friend, and get two horses with it; but mind and bring it back, for it
is very precious."

The old man, looking half amused and half angry, pushed back the
knife, muttering something to the effect that his friend was either a
fool himself, or else trying to play the fool with him. The young man
pretended not to notice his reply, and remained almost silent till
they reached the city, a short distance outside which was the old
farmer's house. They walked about the bazaar and went to the mosque,
but nobody saluted them or invited them to come in and rest.

"What a large cemetery!" exclaimed the young man.

"What does the man mean," thought the old farmer, "calling this
largely populated city a cemetery?"

On leaving the city their way led through a graveyard where a few
people were praying beside a tomb and distributing _chapatis_ and
_kulchas_ to passers-by, in the name of their beloved dead. They
beckoned to the two travelers and gave them as much as they would.

"What a splendid city this is!" said the young man.

"Now, the man must surely be demented!" thought the old farmer. "I
wonder what he will do next? He will be calling the land water, and
the water land; and be speaking of light where there is darkness,
and of darkness when it is light." However, he kept his thoughts to
himself.

Presently they had to wade through a stream that ran along the edge
of the cemetery. The water was rather deep, so the old farmer took
off his shoes and pajamas and crossed over; but the young man waded
through it with his shoes and pajamas on.

"Well! I never did see such a perfect fool, both in word and in deed,"
said the old man to himself.

However, he liked the fellow; and thinking that he would amuse his
wife and daughter, he invited him to come and stay at his house as
long as he had occasion to remain in the village.

"Thank you very much," the young man replied; "but let me first
inquire, if you please, whether the beam of your house is strong."

The old farmer left him in despair, and entered his house laughing.

"There is a man in yonder field," he said, after returning their
greetings. "He has come the greater part of the way with me, and I
wanted him to put up here as long as he had to stay in this village.
But the fellow is such a fool that I cannot make anything out of him.
He wants to know if the beam of this house is all right. The man must
be mad!" and saying this, he burst into a fit of laughter.

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