“ The Turtle is always represented as a very clever animal, not only because of the ease with which he can protect himself by withdrawing his head and legs inside the shell—of which Mr. A. Clark, formerly of the Forest Department of Ceylon, and I once had an amusing illustration at a pool in the Kanakarayan-āṛu, when his bull-terrier made frantic attempts to kill one, like the Jackal—but possibly also because, as I was told of another amphibious animal in West Africa, “he lives both in the water and on the land, therefore he knows the things of both the land and the water.” ”

“ There are few fairer spots on the earth than some of the village tanks when they are nearly full of water. Here we may sit in the cool shelter of an umbrageous tree, and contemplate nature in its most idyllic aspect. ”

“ We now perceive on the low side of the tank a stretch of fields, a couple of hundred yards, a quarter of a mile, or half a mile long, or even more, in which the clear uniform light green sheet of the paddy or growing rice affords a pleasant relief after the uninteresting chēna jungle. A long group of feathery-fronded Coconut trees near the tank, fringing the far side of the field, indicates that we are close to a Kandian village. The thatched grey roofs of some of the houses are soon distinguishable below the palms, nearly concealed among the plantain trees and other bushes growing about them. ”

“ On our return to the shed we see that our host’s wife has cooked his evening meal of boiled rice and vegetable curry, with a bit of sun-dried fish as a flavouring, these last being often made burning hot with red chillies. She serves it in the raised veranda to him and a relative who has come from a distant village, after giving them water for rinsing out their mouths. Both sit or “squat” on their heels, and convey the food to their mouths with their right hands, out of the shallow, rather wide basins that act as plates. ”

“ For a long distance we journey under an exhausting, pitiless, brazen sun, which during all the middle part of the day the traveller feels but never sees—never directing his gaze towards its blinding glare. The heat is reflected from the unsheltered path. Shut out from the cooling breath of the wind, we have on each side only closely interlaced jungle, a tangled growth, consisting chiefly of leafy thorns and creepers from ten to fifteen feet high, interspersed at varying intervals with a few large trees. ”

“ As soon as the heavier rains had softened the hard soil of the rice field, baked, where not sandy, by the tropical sun until it became like stone, the work of ploughing and preparing the land for the paddy crop was one that permitted little or no intermission. Every morning the men carried their little ploughs on their shoulders, and yoking a couple of buffaloes to each of them, spent many hours in guiding the blunt plough backwards and forwards through the soil, overgrown since the last crop by a covering of grass. ”

“ On our way we pass by single houses or groups of two or three, built in the midst of each little paddock, fifty or one hundred feet wide or more, often with a very slight fence around it, of the scattered area under the coconut palms which forms the gardens of the Kandian village. Decently clad men and women come out of their mud-walled and often whitewashed dwellings to stare at the strangers, as well as children of all sizes, in varying stages of scanty clothing, from a short piece of white calico which reaches from the waist to the ankles, down to its vanishing point. ”

“ The Vaeddā said, “Sit down, O Bird.”
“What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Vaeddā, shoot (with bow and arrow) the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said. ”

“ Afterwards the Hare returned, and saying, “Friend, there is not a leaf without a point. I have walked and walked through the whole of this jungle in search of one,” gave into the paws of the Jackal two leaves with the ends bitten off. Then, without getting up, the Jackal said, “Andō! Friend, what is the use of a leaf without a point now? The rice people, the coconut people, the bill-hook and betel-cutter people, the pots people having eaten the rice, and beaten me also, rolled me over on this ash-heap. There will still be a little burnt rice in the bottom of the cooking pot. ”

“ Without such necessary precautions no village cultivator would be astonished at the subsequent failure or unproductiveness of the crops, either through excess or deficiency of the rainfall, or damage caused by wild animals, or, in the case of the rice, by an excessive irruption of “flies” or bugs, which suck out the milky juices of the immature grains. The surprise would be felt, not at the failure of the crops under such unfavourable conditions, but at the survival of any crop worth reaping. ”

“ The Heṭṭiyā taking them and placing them in a house in the middle of seven houses, went to sleep.
Afterwards, the Prince having been asleep, arose while it was still night, and awoke the Heṭṭiyā, saying, “Anē! [84] Heṭṭi-elder-brother, it is necessary for me to go expeditiously. Quickly give me those few gem-stones.”
Thus, in this manner he asks and asks. It is no affair of the Heṭṭiyā’s. Then the woman said, “What is this! One cannot exist for this troubling. Must not persons who took a thing give it back? Must not this youth who is not vicious nor low go away? Why are you keeping them back?” ”

“ Of all the animals, the poor Leopard is relegated to the lowest place, both as regards want of intelligence and cowardice; and in only one adventure does he come off better than the Jackal. Even in that one his position is a despicable one, and he is completely cowed by a little Mouse-deer, the clever animal of Malay stories. In Ceylon the Leopard occupies the place taken in India by the foolish Tiger. ”

“ When the Gamarāla went to the corn store for the cakes to eat, there were no cakes. “Where, Bolan, are the cakes?” he asked.
Saying, “Why are you asking for them at my hands? If there are none the boys will have eaten them,” the Gama-Mahagē pushed against the Gamarāla. [220]
Then the Gamarāla said, “Now I shall not remind you again. You do not make and give me the food I tell you about.” Having said, “It is good,” and thinking, “Having pounded and taken about half a quart of rice, and given it at a place outside, and got the cakes fried, I must eat them,” pounding the rice he took it away. ”

“ Taking the seven quart measures of money, and returning to his village, Tamarind Ṭikkā spread a mat on the raised veranda of his house, and having put the seven quart measures of money on it, was counting it. The six uncles having come, said, “Whence, Tamarind Ṭikkā, this money?”
“Ō! Will people with cattle hides to sell become in want of money?” he said.
After that, the six uncles having cut the throats of all the cattle they had, and tied the skins into pingo loads, taking them to the villages asked, “Will you buy cattle hides?” ”

“ Then, if one be lucky, comes a tract of the original forest that has escaped the chēna clearer’s destructive bill-hook and fires, in which is immediately experienced the welcome relief afforded by the delightful cool shade cast by the forest trees of many species which stretch high above the lower bushes. This is the home of the Elephant, traces of which are observed in the wide footprints and an occasional broken-down sapling or fractured branch. ”

“ There is a certain city. There is a very great jungle belonging to the city. A wild Sow stays in the jungle. The Sow having come to a house on the high ground, and pains having come to her, gave birth to a little Boar. The men of the house having seen the little Boar, catching it and amply giving it to eat, reared it.
[After he had grown up] , one day that village Boar says, “I cannot remain thus.” Having thought, “I must go to a great jungle,” he went away.
After that, having gone to the jungle, while he was there a Rākshasa having come to that jungle was eating the large Boars. ”

“ Here all is peace: an uneventful calm that has survived the changes of perhaps two thousand years, and that may be unaltered in another two thousand. One may wonder if the fevered life of the present western civilisation will last as long, or will have burnt itself out, and been swept away like that of the dead civilisations that preceded it. ”

“ The seventh boy got his grandfather, a carpenter, to make him a wooden flying horse. He was sent for singing-water, magic rice, and news of the Rākshasa Queen’s relatives. He met a lion, a wolf, and various other savage animals, which he appeased by addressing them as “Uncle,” “Cousin,” etc. A kind Yōgī changed his letter, and he was welcomed by the Rākshasas, whose lives he learnt were in a number of birds. These he killed, taking back a pea-hen in which lay the life of the Ogress Queen, as well as the magic water and rice. ”

“ As two Princes whose parents had been reduced to poverty, were passing, the younger one picked up the fruit and placed it in their packet of rice. The sage followed them, but they denied all knowledge of the fruit. He informed them that the person who ate the outer part would become a king, and that from the mouth of the person who ate the seed, gems would drop whenever he laughed. The brothers divided the fruit in this way, and a royal elephant coming in search of a new King placed a garland on the neck of the elder one, and depositing him on its back went off with him. ”

“ These fragile-looking animals always stand on tiptoe, appearing exactly, as Mr. R. A. Sterndale expressed it in his work, The Mammalia of India, “as if a puff of wind would blow them away.” But as a rule, there is not much animal life noticeable even in these forests, unless one can spare time to search for it.
Another patch of the chēna jungle succeeds the forest, and then the path reaches one end of the embankment of a village tank or reservoir, a shallow sheet of water varying in size from two or three acres to more than one hundred, but commonly from twenty to fifty in area. ”

“ The Kandian village is a self-contained unit, producing everything that the inhabitants require, with the exception of the few articles previously mentioned. It hears a faint echo of the news of the great outer world, without feeling that this has any connexion with its own life. ”

“ When the tom-tom beaters returned to their village they fetched up all the rest of the old women, and after belabouring them well with the proper end of the club, put them also into the corn-stores. Yet after three days they found that the result was just the same as at first; all the women were dead.
Determined to revenge themselves on Loku-Appu, they came to his house, tied him up in a sack, and set off to the river with him, intending to drown him. On the way, they heard the beating of tom-toms, whereupon they set the sack down on the road, and went to see what it was about. ”

“ In a certain city there were a woman and a man, it is said. Both of them were deaf. A female child was born to that man, and this child was also deaf. The man to whom she was given in marriage when she grew up was also deaf.
The girl’s husband went to plough a rice field at the side of the high road. While he was ploughing, a man who was going along the road asked the way. Continuing to plough with the yoke of bulls, the deaf man said, “I brought this bull from the village. This other bull is from father-in-law’s herd.” ”

“ The man being afraid of being charged with murdering him, got hid in the jungle. He came to his house at night, but was supposed to be the Mala upan Yakā, “the evil spirit born from the dead,” and was refused admittance by his wife, who gave an alarm. As men were coming on hearing it, he ran off. On another night when he came, his wife assailed him with a volley of invectives, as demon-scarers; so carrying off his dancing paraphernalia, he again retired, and afterwards robbed travellers, and frightened the people till they threatened to leave the district. ”

“ In the end the woman retires, the visitor stretches himself on his grass mat in the veranda, and the host extinguishes the lamp, if one had been lit, and enters the single room of his house. On the next night it will be his turn to occupy the watch-hut at the chena, where his partner is sitting now.
All take care to lie, if possible, in an east and west direction, and on no account with their heads to the south. ”

“ Then the giant said to Sīgiris Siññō, “To-day you must come and swim [against me] in the great sea for eight days. We require from the King ten rupees in order to get things to eat while we are swimming.” Having said this and got them, the two giants went to the shops, and got things for the ten rupees.
Then Sīgiris the Giant said to that giant, “What are these few things! For one meal I want six quarts of rice and I want three bottles of arrack. I can swim for eight or ten months.” ”

“ It is impossible to believe that any travellers who wished to proceed to Ceylon in the fifth century B.C., from a district lying between Anga and Vanga, and probably within a few miles of a port from which vessels sailed, would not step on board a ship at their own doors, so to speak, rather than undertake an arduous journey across several other countries, in order to embark at a port more than eight hundred miles away in a direct line, which when reached was still no nearer their destination. ”

“ While going along the path on which were the elephant’s footprints, he saw that his Prince’s robes were torn and torn, and repeating, “Anē! Elder brother has been killed. It is this very elephant. Kill me also, O Gods,” weeping and weeping, going on and on, he went after nightfall to a Heṭṭiyā’s house at some city or other, and said, “Anē! You must give me a resting-place for the night.” [82]
The Heṭṭiyā was not at home; only his wife was there. The woman said to the Prince, “No resting-place will be given here. We do not allow any one to come to our house. ”

“ The Crocodile was going to eat him, but referred the matter to an old horse and an old ass (both of which recommended it to do so) , and lastly to a Hare, which refused to believe that the child could have carried it. When this was proved, and the Crocodile taken back, the Hare said to the child, “Doesn’t thy father eat Crocodile?” “Yes.” “And thy mother?” “Yes.” “Hast thou not an axe?” “I have one,” the child replied. “Then break the Crocodile’s head and eat it,” the Hare said. In many West African tales the Hare is the clever animal who outwits the others. [342] ”

“ One day, as he was going hunting, he met with a Vaeddā. Thinking he would kill the Vaeddā, the Prince chased him along the path. The Vaeddā, being afraid, went running away, and having met with the King said, “O Lord, Your Majesty, there is a very handsome Prince in the midst of this forest. One cannot say if the Prince is the son of a deity or a royal Prince. He does not come near enough to speak. When he sees a man he drives him away, saying he is going to eat him.” ”

“ It is perhaps the chief merit of these stories, and certainly a feature which gives them a permanent value, that we have in them the only existing picture of the village life of ancient times, painted by the villagers themselves. From the histories we can learn practically nothing regarding the life of those of the ancient inhabitants of Ceylon who were not monks or connected with royalty, or the conditions under which they existed. ”

“ A variant related in another village is nearly the same. Some tom-tom beaters passing the Elephant’s carcase were accosted by the Jackal, to whom they replied that they were going to “a pōya tom-tom beating,” that is, one given on the Buddhist sabbath, at the quarter of the moon. When he inquired what profit they would get from it, they stated that they would receive cakes and milk-rice. “You don’t want cakes and milk-rice,” he said, “I will give you gold. Bring water to this Elephant’s carcase.” They did so, breaking open the “eyes” of their tom-toms for the purpose, and the Jackal escaped. ”

“ The elder brother went for food to a city, where the royal elephant threw a garland over his neck, and he became King. The younger brother being unable to find him worked for a potter, then travelled on and took the place of a woman’s son who was going to be offered to an Ogre, who had forced a King to give him daily a cart-load of sweet cakes, a couple of goats, and a young man. The Prince killed the Ogre while he was eating the cakes. The King gave him his daughter in marriage, and half the kingdom. The elder brother came to the wedding, and they recognised each other. ”

“ As they came to the rice field of the village, the women and boys of the village having heard the men coming crying and crying aloud, said, “Anē! Our men are coming crying and crying. What is it? It will be a dreadful thing.” So the women and boys, having come from the houses to that side of the field before those men came across, began to cry also. ”