A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z

Tales Of The Punjab

F >> Flora Annie Steel >> Tales Of The Punjab




'What is the matter, my beauty?' he asked tenderly. 'Of course you
are a fairy, and have fallen in love with me, but there is nothing to
sigh at in that, surely?'

'Ah--ah--ah!' said the barber's wife, with another sigh, 'I believe
you're fickle! Men with long-pointed noses always are!'

But the robber captain swore he was the most constant of men; yet
still the fairy sighed and sighed, until he almost wished his nose had
been shortened too.

'You are telling stories, I am sure!' said the pre* tended fairy.
'Just let me touch your tongue with the tip of mine, and then I shall
be able to taste if there are fibs about!'

So the robber captain put out his tongue, and, snip!--the barber's
wife bit the tip off clean!

What with the fright and the pain, he tumbled off the branch, and fell
bump on the ground, where he sat with his legs very wide apart,
looking as if he had come from the skies.

'What is the matter?' cried his comrades, awakened by the noise of his
fall.

'_Bul-ul-a-bul-ul-ul!_' answered he, pointing up into the tree;
for of course he could not speak plainly without the tip of his
tongue.

'What--is--the--matter?' they bawled in his ear, as if that would do
any good.

'_Bul-ul-a-bul-ul-ul!_' said he, still pointing upwards.

'The man is bewitched!' cried one; 'there must be a ghost in the
tree!'

Just then the barber's wife began flapping her veil and howling;
whereupon, without waiting to look, the thieves in a terrible fright
set off at a run, dragging their leader with them; and the barber's
wife, coming down from the tree, put her bed on her head, and walked
quietly home.

After this, the thieves came to the conclusion that it was no use
trying to gain their point by force, so they went to law to claim
their share. But the barber's wife pleaded her own cause so well,
bringing out the nose and tongue tips as witnesses, that the King made
the barber his Wazîr, saying, 'He will never do a foolish thing as
long as his wife is alive!'




THE JACKAL AND THE CROCODILE


Once upon a time, Mr. Jackal was trotting along gaily, when he caught
sight of a wild plum-tree laden with fruit on the other side of a
broad deep stream. He could not get across anyhow, so he just sat
down on the bank, and looked at the ripe luscious fruit until his
mouth watered with desire.

Now it so happened that, just then, Miss Crocodile came floating down
stream with her nose in the air. 'Good morning, my dear!' said Mr.
Jackal politely; 'how beautiful you look to-day, and how charmingly
you swim! Now, if I could only swim too, what a fine feast of plums
we two friends might have over there together!' And Mr. Jackal laid
his paw on his heart, and sighed.

Now Miss Crocodile had a very inflammable heart, and when Mr. Jackal
looked at her so admiringly, and spoke so sentimentally, she simpered
and blushed, saying, 'Oh! Mr. Jackal! how can you talk so? I could
never dream of going out to dinner with you, unless--unless---'

'Unless what?' asked the Jackal persuasively.

'Unless we were going to be married!' simpered
Miss Crocodile.

'And why shouldn't we be married, my charmer?' returned the Jackal
eagerly. 'I would go and fetch the barber to begin the betrothals at
once, but I am so faint with hunger just at present that I should
never reach the village. Now, if the most adorable of her sex would
only take pity on her slave, and carry me over the stream, I might
refresh myself with those plums, and so gain strength to accomplish
the ardent desire of my heart!'

Here the Jackal sighed so piteously, and cast such sheep's-eyes at
Miss Crocodile, that she was unable to withstand him. So she carried
him across to the plum-tree, and then sat on the water's edge to think
over her wedding dress, while Mr. Jackal feasted on the plums, and
enjoyed himself.

'Now for the barber, my beauty!' cried the gay Jackal, when he had
eaten as much as he could. Then the blushing Miss Crocodile carried
him back again, and bade him be quick about his business, like a dear
good creature, for really she felt so flustered at the very idea that
she didn't know what mightn't happen.

'Now, don't distress yourself, my dear!' quoth the deceitful Mr.
Jackal, springing to the bank, 'because it's not impossible that I may
not find the barber, and then, you know, you may have to wait some
time, a considerable time in fact, before I return. So don't injure
your health for my sake, if you please.'

With that he blew her a kiss, and trotted away with his tail up.

Of course he never came back, though trusting Miss Crocodile waited
patiently for him; at last she understood what a gay deceitful fellow
he was, and determined to have her revenge on him one way or another.

So she hid herself in the water, under the roots of a tree, close to a
ford where Mr. Jackal always came to drink. By and by, sure enough,
he came lilting along in a self-satisfied way, and went right into the
water for a good long draught. Whereupon Miss Crocodile seized him by
the right leg, and held on. He guessed at once what had happened, and
called out, 'Oh! my heart's adored! I'm drowning! I'm drowning! If
you love me, leave hold of that old root and get a good grip of my
leg--it is just next door!'

Hearing this, Miss Crocodile thought she must have made a mistake,
and, letting go the Jackal's leg in a hurry, seized an old root close
by, and held on. Whereupon Mr. Jackal jumped nimbly to shore, and ran
off with his tail up, calling out, 'Have a little patience, my
beauty! The barber will come some day!'

But this time Miss Crocodile knew better than to wait, and being now
dreadfully angry, she crawled away to the Jackal's hole, and slipping
inside, lay quiet.

By and by Mr. Jackal came lilting along with his tail up.

'Ho! ho! That is your game, is it?' said he to himself, when he saw
the trail of the crocodile in the sandy soil. So he stood outside,
and said aloud, 'Bless my stars! what has happened? I don't half like
to go in, for whenever I come home my wife always calls out,

'"Oh, dearest hubby hub!
What have you brought for grub
To me and the darling cub?"

and to-day she doesn't say anything!'

Hearing this, Miss Crocodile sang out from inside,

'Oh, dearest hubby hub!
What have you brought for grub
To me and the darling cub?'

The Jackal winked a very big wink, and stealing in softly, stood at
the doorway. Meanwhile Miss Crocodile, hearing him coming, held her
breath, and lay, shamming dead, like a big log.

'Bless my stars!' cried Mr. Jackal, taking out his
pocket-handkerchief, 'how very very sad! Here's poor Miss Crocodile
stone dead, and all for love of me! Dear! dear! Yet it is very odd,
and I don't think she can be quite dead, you know--for dead folks
always wag their tails!'

On this, Miss Crocodile began to wag her tail very gently, and Mr.
Jackal ran off, roaring with laughter, and saying, 'Oho!--oho! so dead
folk always wag their tails!'




HOW RAJA RASÂLU WAS BORN


Once there lived a great Raja, whose name was Sâlbâhan, and he had two
Queens. Now the elder, by name Queen Achhrâ, had a fair young son
called Prince Pûran; but the younger, by name Lonâ, though she wept
and prayed at many a shrine, had never a child to gladden her eyes.
So, being a bad, deceitful woman, envy and rage took possession of her
heart, and she so poisoned Raja Sâlbâhan's mind against his son, young
Pûran, that just as the Prince was growing to manhood, his father
became madly jealous of him, and in a fit of anger ordered his hands
and feet to be cut off. Not content even with this cruelty, Raja
Sâlbâhan had the poor young man thrown into a deep well.
Nevertheless, Pûran did not die, as no doubt the enraged father hoped
and expected; for God preserved the innocent Prince, so that he lived
on, miraculously, at the bottom of the well, until, years after, the
great and holy Guru Goraknâth came to the place, and finding Prince
Pûran still alive, not only released him from his dreadful prison,
but, by the power of magic, restored his hands and feet. Then Pûran,
in gratitude for this great boon, became a _faqîr_, and placing
the sacred earrings in his ears, followed Goraknâth as a disciple, and
was called Pûran Bhagat.

But as time went by, his heart yearned to see his mother's face, so
Guru Goraknâth gave him leave to visit his native town, and Pûran
Bhagat journeyed thither and took up his abode in a large walled
garden, where he had often played as a child. And, lo! he found it
neglected and barren, so that his heart became sad when he saw the
broken watercourses and the withered trees. Then he sprinkled the dry
ground with water from his drinking vessel, and prayed that all might
become green again. And, lo! even as he prayed, the trees shot forth
leaves, the grass grew, the flowers bloomed, and all was as it had
once been.

The news of this marvellous thing spread fast through the city, and
all the world went out to see the holy man who had performed the
wonder. Even the Raja Sâlbâhan and his two Queens heard of it in the
palace, and they too went to the garden to see it with their own
eyes. But Pûran Bhagat's mother, Queen Achhrâ, had wept so long for
her darling, that the tears had blinded her eyes, and so she went, not
to see, but to ask the wonder-working _faqîr_ to restore her
sight. Therefore, little knowing from whom she asked the boon, she
fell on the ground before Pûran Bhagat, begging him to cure her; and,
lo! almost before she asked, it was done, and she saw plainly.

Then deceitful Queen Lonâ, who all these years had been longing vainly
for a son, when she saw what mighty power the unknown _faqîr_
possessed, fell on the ground also, and begged for an heir to gladden
the heart of Raja Sâlbâhan.

Then Pûran Bhagat spoke, and his voice was stern,--'Raja Sâlbâhan
already has a son. Where is he? What have you done with him? Speak
truth, Queen Lonâ, if you would find favour with God!'

Then the woman's great longing for a son conquered her pride, and
though her husband stood by, she humbled herself before the
_faqîr_ and told the truth,--how she had deceived the father and
destroyed the son.

Then Pûran Bhagat rose to his feet, stretched out his hands towards
her, and a smile was on his face, as he said softly, 'Even so, Queen
Lonâ! even so! And behold! _I_ am Prince Pûran, whom you
destroyed and God delivered! I have a message for you. Your fault is
forgiven, but not forgotten; you shall indeed bear a son, who shall be
brave and good, yet will he cause you to weep tears as bitter as those
my mother wept for me. So! take this grain of rice; eat it, and you
shall bear a son that will be no son to you, for even as I was reft
from my mother's eyes, so will he be reft from yours. Go in peace;
your fault is forgiven, but not forgotten!'

Queen Lonâ returned to the palace, and when the time for the birth of
the promised son drew nigh, she inquired of three Jôgis who came
begging to her gate, what the child's fate would be, and the youngest
of them answered and said, 'O Queen, the child will be a boy, and he
will live to be a great man. But for twelve years you must not look
upon his face, for if either you or his father see it before the
twelve years are past, you will surely die! This is what you must
do,--as soon as the child is born you must send him away to a cellar
underneath the ground, and never let him see the light of day for
twelve years. After they are over, he may come forth, bathe in the
river, put on new clothes, and visit you. His name shall be Raja
Rasâlu, and he shall be known far and wide.'

So, when a fair young Prince was in due time born into the world, his
parents hid him away in an underground palace, with nurses, and
servants, and everything else a King's son might desire. And with him
they sent a young colt, born the same day, and a sword, a spear, and a
shield, against the day when Raja Rasâlu should go forth into the
world.

So there the child lived, playing with his colt, and talking to his
parrot, while the nurses taught him all things needful for a King's
son to know.




HOW RAJA RASÂLU WENT OUT INTO THE WORLD


Young Rasâlu lived on, far from the light of day, for eleven long
years, growing tall and strong, yet contented to remain playing with
his colt and talking to his parrot; but when the twelfth year began,
the lad's heart leapt up with desire for change, and he loved to
listen to the sounds of life which came to him in his palace-prison
from the outside world.

'I must go and see where the voices come from!' he said; and when his
nurses told him he must not go for one year more, he only laughed
aloud, saying, 'Nay! I stay no longer here for any man!'

Then he saddled his horse Bhaunr Irâqi, put on his shining armour, and
rode forth into the world; but--mindful of what his nurses had often
told him--when he came to the river, he dismounted, and going into
the water, washed himself and his clothes.

Then, clean of raiment, fair of face, and brave of heart, he rode on
his way until he reached his father's city. There he sat down to rest
a while by a well, where the women were drawing water in earthen
pitchers. Now, as they passed him, their full pitchers poised upon
their heads, the gay young Prince flung stones at the earthen vessels,
and broke them all. Then the women, drenched with water, went weeping
and wailing to the palace, complaining to the King that a mighty young
Prince in shining armour, with a parrot on his wrist and a gallant
steed beside him, sat by the well, and broke their pitchers.

Now, as soon as Raja Sâlbâhan heard this, he guessed at once that it
was Prince Rasâlu come forth before the time, and, mindful of the
Jôgis' words that he would die if he looked on his son's face before
twelve years were past, he did not dare to send his guards to seize
the offender and bring him to be judged. So he bade the women be
comforted, and for the future take pitchers of iron and brass, and
gave new ones from his treasury to those who did not possess any of
their own.

But when Prince Rasâlu saw the women returning to the well with
pitchers of iron and brass, he laughed to himself, and drew his mighty
bow till the sharp-pointed arrows pierced the metal vessels as though
they had been clay.

Yet still the King did not send for him, and so he mounted his steed
and set off in the pride of his youth and strength to the palace. He
strode into the audience hall, where his father sat trembling, and
saluted him with all reverence; but Raja Sâlbâhan, in fear of his
life, turned his back hastily and said never a word in reply.

Then Prince Rasâlu called scornfully to him across the hall--

'I came to greet thee, King, and not to harm thee!
What have I done that thou shouldst turn away?
Sceptre and empire have no power to charm me--
I go to seek a worthier prize than they!'

Then he strode out of the hall, full of bitterness and anger; but, as
he passed under the palace windows, he heard his mother weeping, and
the sound softened his heart, so that his wrath died down, and a great
loneliness fell upon him, because he was spurned by both father and
mother. So he cried sorrowfully--

'O heart crown'd with grief, hast thou naught
But tears for thy son?
Art mother of mine? Give one thought
To my life just begun!'

And Queen Lonâ answered through her tears--

'Yea! mother am I, though I weep,
So hold this word sure,--
Go, reign king of all men, but keep
Thy heart good and pure!'

So Raja Rasâlu was comforted, and began to make ready for fortune. He
took with him his horse Bhaunr Irâqi, and his parrot, both of whom had
lived with him since he was born; and besides these tried and trusted
friends he had two others--a carpenter lad, and a goldsmith lad, who
were determined to follow the Prince till death.

So they made a goodly company, and Queen Lona, when she saw them
going, watched them from her window till she saw nothing but a cloud
of dust on the horizon; then she bowed her head on her hands and wept,
saying--

'O son who ne'er gladdened mine eyes,
Let the cloud of thy going arise,
Dim the sunlight and darken the day;
For the mother whose son is away
Is as dust!'




HOW RAJA RASÂLU'S FRIENDS FORSOOK HIM


Now, on the first day, Raja Rasâlu journeyed far, until he came to a
lonely forest, where he halted for the night. And seeing it was a
desolate place, and the night dark, he determined to set a watch. So
he divided the time into three watches, and the carpenter took the
first, the goldsmith the second, and Raja Rasâlu the third.

Then the goldsmith lad spread a couch of clean grass for his master,
and fearing lest the Prince's heart should sink at the change from his
former luxurious life, he said these words of encouragement--

'Cradled till now on softest down,
Grass is thy couch to-night;
Yet grieve not thou if Fortune frown--
Brave hearts heed not her slight!'

Now, when Raja Rasâlu and the goldsmith's son slept, a snake came out
of a thicket hard by, and crept towards the sleepers.

'Who are you?' quoth the carpenter lad, 'and why do you come hither?'

'I have destroyed all things within twelve miles!' returned the
serpent. 'Who are _you_ that have dared to come hither?

Then the snake attacked the carpenter, and they fought until the snake
was killed, when the carpenter hid the dead body under his shield, and
said nothing of the adventure to his comrades, lest he should alarm
them, for, like the goldsmith, he thought the Prince might be
discouraged.

Now, when it came to Raja Rasâlu's turn to keep watch, a dreadful
unspeakable horror came out of the thicket. Nevertheless, Rasâlu went
up to it boldly, and cried aloud, 'Who are you? and what brings you
here?'

Then the awful unspeakable horror replied, 'I have killed everything
for thrice twelve miles around! Who are _you_ that dare come
hither?'

Whereupon Rasâlu drew his mighty bow, and pierced the horror with an
arrow, so that it fled into a cave, whither the Prince followed it.
And they fought long and fiercely, till at last the horror died, and
Rasâlu returned to watch in peace.

Now, when morning broke, Raja Rasâlu called his sleeping servants, and
the carpenter showed with pride the body of the serpent he had killed.

'Tis but a small snake!' quoth the Raja. 'Come and see what I killed
in the cave!'

And, behold! when the goldsmith lad and the carpenter lad saw the
awful, dreadful, unspeakable horror Raja Rasâlu had slain, they were
exceedingly afraid, and falling on their knees, begged to be allowed
to return to the city, saying, 'O mighty Rasâlu, you are a Raja and a
hero! You can fight such horrors; we are but ordinary folk, and if we
follow you we shall surely be killed. Such things are nought to you,
but they are death to us. Let us go!'

Then Rasâlu looked at them sorrowfully, and bade them do as they
wished, saying--

'Aloes linger long before they flower:
Gracious rain too soon is overpast:
Youth and strength are with us but an hour:
All glad life must end in death at last!

But king reigns king without consent of courtier;
Rulers may rule, though none heed their command.
Heaven-crown'd heads stoop not, but rise the haughtier,
Alone and houseless in a stranger's land!'

So his friends forsook him, and Rasâlu journeyed on alone.





HOW RAJA RASÂLU KILLED THE GIANTS


[Illustration: Old woman making unleavened bread]

Now, after a time, Raja Rasâlu arrived at Nila city, and as he entered
the town he saw an old woman making unleavened bread, and as she made
it she sometimes wept, and sometimes laughed; so Rasâlu asked her why
she wept and laughed, but she answered sadly, as she kneaded her
cakes, 'Why do you ask? What will you gain by it?'

'Nay, mother!' replied Rasâlu, 'if you tell me the truth, one of us
must benefit by it.'

And when the old woman looked in Rasâlu's face she saw that it was
kind, so she opened her heart to him, saying, with tears, 'O stranger,
I had seven fair sons, and now I have but one left, for six of them
have been killed by a dreadful giant who comes every day to this city
to receive tribute from us,--every day a fair young man, a buffalo,
and a basket of cakes! Six of my sons have gone, and now to-day it
has once more fallen to my lot to provide the tribute; and my boy, my
darling, my youngest, must meet the fate of his brothers. Therefore I
weep!'

Then Rasâlu was moved to pity, and said--

'Fond, foolish mother! cease these tears--
Keep thou thy son. I fear nor death nor life,
Seeking my fortune everywhere in strife.
My head for his I give!--so calm your fears.'

Still the old woman shook her head doubtfully, saying, 'Fair words,
fair words! but who will really risk his life for another?'

Then Rasâlu smiled at her, and dismounting from his gallant steed,
Bhaunr Irâqi, he sat down carelessly to rest, as if indeed he were a
son of the house, and said, 'Fear not, mother! I give you my word of
honour that I will risk my life to save your son.'

Just then the high officials of the city, whose duty it was to claim
the giant's tribute, appeared in sight, and the old woman fell
a-weeping once more, saying--

'O Prince, with the gallant gray steed and the
turban bound high
O'er thy fair bearded face; keep thy word, my
oppressor draws nigh!'

Then Raja Rasâlu rose in his shining armour, and haughtily bade the
guards stand aside.

'Fair words!' replied the chief officer; 'but if this woman does not
send the tribute at once, the giants will come and disturb the whole
city. Her son must go!'

'I go in his stead!' quoth Rasâlu more haughtily still. 'Stand back,
and let me pass!'

Then, despite their denials, he mounted his horse, and taking the
basket of cakes and the buffalo, he set off to find the giant, bidding
the buffalo show him the shortest road.

Now, as he came near the giants' house, he met one of them carrying a
huge skinful of water. No sooner did the water-carrier giant see Raja
Rasâlu riding along on his horse Bhaunr Irâqi and leading the buffalo,
than he said to himself, 'Oho! we have a horse extra to-day! I think
I will eat it myself, before my brothers see it!'

Then he reached out his hand, but Rasâlu drew his sharp sword and
smote the giant's hand off at a blow, so that he fled from him in
great fear.

Now, as he fled, he met his sister the giantess, who called out to
him, 'Brother, whither away so fast?'

And the giant answered in haste, 'Raja Rasâlu has come at last, and
see!--he has cut off my hand with one blow of his sword!'

Then the giantess, overcome with fear, fled with her brother, and as
they fled they called aloud--

'Fly! brethren, fly!
Take the path that is nearest;
The fire burns high
That will scorch up our dearest!

Life's joys we have seen:
East and west we must wander!
What has been, has been;
Quick! some remedy ponder.'

Then all the giants turned and fled to their astrologer brother, and
bade him look in his books to see if Raja Rasâlu were really born into
the world. And when they heard that he was, they prepared to fly east
and west; but even as they turned, Raja Rasâlu rode up on Bhaunr
Irâqi, and challenged them to fight, saying, 'Come forth, for I am
Rasâlu, son of Raja Sâlbâhan, and born enemy of the giants!'

Then one of the giants tried to brazen it out, saying, 'I have eaten
many Rasâlus like you! When the real man comes, his horse's
heel-ropes will bind us and his sword cut us up of their own accord!'

Then Raja Rasâlu loosed his heel-ropes, and dropped his sword upon the
ground, and, lo! the heel-ropes bound the giants, and the sword cut
them in pieces.

Still, seven giants who were left tried to brazen it out, saying,
'Aha! We have eaten many Rasâlus like you! When the real man comes,
his arrow will pierce seven girdles placed one behind the other.'

So they took seven iron girdles for baking bread, and placed them one
behind the other, as a shield, and behind them stood the seven giants,
who were own brothers, and, lo! when Raja Rasâlu twanged his mighty
bow, the arrow pierced through the seven girdles, and spitted the
seven giants in a row!

But the giantess, their sister, escaped, and fled to a cave in the
Gandgari mountains. Then Raja Rasâlu had a statue made in his
likeness, and clad it in shining armour, with sword and spear and
shield. And he placed it as a sentinel at the entrance of the cave,
so that the giantess dared not come forth, but starved to death
inside.

So this is how he killed the giants.




HOW RAJA RASÂLU BECAME A JÔGI


Then, after a time, Rasâlu went to Hodinagari. And when he reached
the house of the beautiful far-famed Queen Sundrân, he saw an old Jôgi
sitting at the gate, by the side of his sacred fire.

'Wherefore do you sit there, father?' asked Raja Rasâlu.

'My son,' returned the Jôgi, 'for two-and-twenty years have I waited
thus to see the beautiful Sundrân, yet have I never seen her!'

Copyright (c) 2007. famouswriterz.com. All rights reserved.