W. F. O'Connor

“ One night, as the two were sitting together after dinner, a fox began to bark in the palace grounds outside.
“Ah!” said the King, “do you hear that tiger roaring?”
“My dear,” replied the Queen, “that is not a tiger, it is a fox.”
“Certainly not!” said the King. “Do you think I don’t know a tiger when I hear him? There can be no question but that it is a tiger.” ”

“ A Crow once caught a fine fat Frog, and taking him in her bill she flew with him to the roof of a neighbouring house in order to devour him at her leisure. As she alighted on the roof of the house the Frog gave an audible chuckle.
“What are you laughing at, Brother Frog?” said the Crow.
“Oh, nothing, Sister Crow,” said the Frog; “never mind me. I was just thinking to myself that, as it fortunately happens, my Father lives close by here, on this very roof, and as he is an exceedingly fierce, strong man, he will certainly avenge my death if anyone injures me.” ”

“ His two brothers and his mother tried to reason with him and to persuade him to remember the words of his dying father, but with no avail; and finally, one fine morning, in spite of their prayers and entreaties, he set off alone on his search.
He had not proceeded very far when he met an old, worn-out pack-Bullock, thin and emaciated, and with the marks of many ancient scars on his back. The young Tiger had never seen a Bullock before, and he regarded the creature with some curiosity. Walking up to it he said:
“What sort of animal are you, pray? Are you a Man by any chance?” ”

“ On hearing this decision the girl joyfully agreed. So she and her husband mounted together upon the broad back of the Gryphon, and the great beast, spreading his wings, sailed through the golden gates of the palace and swept downwards through the blue heavens to the earth below. He soon deposited the youth and his wife on the ground near their old home, where he bade them farewell and returned to his own nest. And henceforward, although the Fairy had lost her magic powers, the two lived happily together, and grew to a good old age in prosperous and comfortable circumstances. ”

“ I am much interested in your story, Sister Deer, and would gladly help you if I could; but I am bound to answer you honestly in accordance with my own experience of life. Now consider my own case. I grow here by the roadside and spread my branches over the dusty highway ready to give shelter to man and beast in their shade. Travellers passing constantly up and down the road avail themselves of this cool retreat, and they come themselves and they bring their poor beasts of burden to rest in my shadow. ”

“ You are not a Man, I suppose?”
“No, indeed,” replied the Elephant; “I am only a poor old worn-out Elephant.” [9]
“Is that so?” answered the Tiger. “Perhaps you can tell me, however, what sort of a creature Man is, as I am now hunting for one in order to kill and eat him.”
“Beware how you hunt Man, young Tiger,” replied the old Elephant; “he is a faithless and dangerous animal. Look at my case. Although I am the Lord of the jungle, Man tamed me, and trained me, and made me his servant for many years. ”

“ So we made a bargain that we would ask the first three living creatures we met whether or no there is such a thing as good faith in this world. If they say there is, then I am to go free; but if they say there is not, then the Tiger is at liberty to kill and eat me. We have already consulted two persons in the matter, and they are both of opinion that there is no such thing as good faith. You are the third and last, and on your decision depends my life. ”

“ Entering this room he saw in one corner a beautiful lady lying asleep on a couch with a flower behind her ear. The Prince was pleased at finding a human being in this desolate and mysterious castle, and, approaching the lady, he endeavoured to arouse her from her slumber. But all his efforts were in vain; she appeared to be in a sort of trance, and all he could do did not succeed in waking her. ”

“ When the Wolf ran away, Da-gye the Sheep and Pen-dzong the Goat were so elated that they could not refrain from vaingloriously galloping after him until they saw him dive hastily into his earth some distance away; they then sat themselves down at the mouth of the hole and remained there for some time chaffing the Wolf and telling him to hurry up and come out to be skinned, whilst the foolish Wolf lay cowering and trembling within.
Presently the Sheep grew rather hungry and thirsty, so she went off to eat and drink, leaving the Goat to watch the earth. ”

“ When autumn came the Wolf started off one morning to meet the Kyang at the appointed place, and as he was going across the hills he came across a Fox.
“Good-morning, Brother Wolf,” said the Fox. “Where are you going to?”
“Oh!” replied the Wolf, “I am going into the valley to meet a young Kyang by appointment, as I have arranged to catch him and eat him this very day.”
“That is very pleasant for you, Brother Wolf,” answered the Fox; “but as a Kyang is such a large animal you will scarcely be able to eat him all by yourself. I hope you will allow me to come too and share in the spoil.” ”

“ Once upon a time there were two Tigers who lived in a certain forest and had a family of three children. The Father Tiger grew old and began to fail, and just before his death he sent for his three children and addressed them as follows:
“Remember, my children,” said he, “that the Tiger is Lord of the jungle; he roams about at his will and makes a prey of the other animals as he wishes, and none can gainsay him. But there is one animal against whom you must be on your guard. He alone is more powerful and cunning than the Tiger. ”

“ King,” replied the Mouse, “you must know that this year our crops have fallen short, and we are threatened with a famine unless we can borrow sufficient grain to carry us through the winter; so I, who am King of the Mice, have come here to ask you if you can help us in this matter. If you can lend us the grain we require, we will repay you faithfully with interest at the next harvest.” ”

“ Village headmen, monks, servants, local government officials, peasants, traders—these and many others have contributed to my store. Shyly and haltingly at starting, with many bashful apologies and disclaimers, the story-teller will begin his tale. But a Tibetan audience is one of the best imaginable, and their open sympathy and appreciation soon melt the frosts of reserve, and the words flow freely. ”

“ The Fairy King, however, insisted upon her carrying out her share of the bargain, so leaving his daughter with the Boy, he again turned himself into a Drake and, flying up into the sky, he disappeared from view.
The Boy now led his bride home to his father and mother, and next day the marriage was duly completed. The Fairy wife, by means of her magic, was able to erect a magnificent palace, and to furnish it in the most luxurious manner with everything necessary for comfort; and she supplied, moreover, horses and servants, and everything else that a married couple could desire. ”

“ These remarks made the Lion more angry than ever, and he moved up and down on the brink of the tank, glaring fiercely at his own reflection in the water, and growling and showing his teeth at it.
“That’s right, Uncle Lion,” called out the Hare; “I am so glad you are taking good care of yourself. Don’t on any account come to grips with that beast in the water or he might do you an injury. You are certainly much safer on the bank, and no doubt you will frighten him if you continue to growl and show your teeth.” ”

“ Presently the Mouse found herself a third time with child, and this time she prayed to the gods that her child might become wise, wealthy and powerful; and when the child appeared she saw that it was a young man child. As the Boy grew up the mother was afraid that he, too, like his brothers, would want to leave his nest and go out into the world to live with his fellow-men. So she told him the story of his two elder brothers, and explained to him that he was a man child, and could not wander away into the jungle like they did, but must stay in the nest. ”

“ When the Queen had made a good meal, the old man addressed her as follows:
“You must know,” said he, “that I am a magician, living in this prairie, and you must carefully follow the directions which I shall now give you. You must first follow the path, which will lead you to the top of a small hill, and when you arrive there a son will be born to you. This boy is not an ordinary human child, but is the incarnation of a very holy Lama, with miraculous qualities, and he will from his birth be able to walk and talk. ”

“ Next day, at the appointed hour, the Boy went down to the lake as usual, and seated himself in his usual place; and not long afterwards he saw the white Drake and a white Duck flying towards him from the sky. They descended swiftly until they touched the ground, where they were at once transformed into the Fairy King and his beautiful daughter. The boy was overcome with joy when he saw the lovely wife that had been brought to him; but the girl was horrified at his ugly appearance, and begged her father to take her back to her abode in the skies. ”

“ Whom shall we kill?”
Baki now pointed to the King, and in a moment the band of armed men fell upon him, cut him to pieces, and disappeared with shouts of triumph through the roof of the palace. When the courtiers saw what had happened, they hastened to prostrate themselves before the feet of so powerful a magician, and installed Baki as their new king.
As soon as he was seated upon his throne he sent for the young lady whom he had rescued from the Ogre’s cave, and, having married her, they lived happily for many years. ”

“ The rich man, whose name was Tse-ring, was proud, arrogant, and stingy; whilst the poor man, whose name was Cham-ba, was a kind-hearted man, who was generous to all as far as his means allowed.
Now it happened that a pair of Sparrows came and built their nest in the eaves over the doorway of the poor man’s house, where, in the course of time, the young birds were hatched out. One day, before the young birds had learnt to fly, the two old Sparrows were away hunting for food, and one of the young ones fell out of its nest on to the poor man’s door-step, and broke its leg. ”

“ Now the old Lama’s diet, in accordance with the tenets of his religion, was a very small one, and he refrained entirely from taking the life of any living creature. So his food consisted chiefly of barley-flour, butter, and so on, and he abstained from meat of any kind. This mode of life, however, was not at all pleasing to the Servant, Rin-dzin, who had a healthy appetite and greatly missed his daily dish of meat, and he was constantly trying to persuade the Lama to allow him to kill a sheep or a goat in order that he [125] might have a satisfactory meal. ”

“ For some time great bustle prevailed, everyone searching hither and thither, and ransacking every hole and corner; but no one thought of examining the piece of dirty rag thrust carelessly into a crevice of the farmyard wall.
Finding that all their efforts were of no avail, the Lady of the house sent off in hot haste to summon all the most famous diviners, magicians, and lamas of the neighbourhood, and these, when they arrived, began practising all kinds of spells and casting auguries in the hope of discovering what had become of the turquoise ”

“ He put a saddle on my back and made stirrups of my ears, and he used to strike me over my head with an iron goad. While I was young and strong he valued me highly. Food was brought to me, as much as I could eat every day, and I had a special attendant who used to wash and groom me, and to see to all my wants. But when I became old and too infirm for further work, he turned me out into the jungle to fend for myself as best I could. If you will take my advice you will leave Man alone, or it will be the worse for you in the end.”
But the young Tiger laughed contemptuously and went on his way. ”

“ The Drake flew far up into the blue sky until he arrived at the country of the gods, where he changed at once into the form and raiment of the King of the Fairies. Seating himself upon his throne, he summoned his three daughters before him and informed them of what had occurred; and he gave orders to his middle daughter to prepare herself forthwith to go and marry a mortal. The girl wept bitterly on hearing this, but nevertheless she prepared to carry out her father’s [96] orders, and got ready a large stock of beautiful clothes and much gold and silver and jewels to take with her. ”

“ They noticed that the old Cow contented herself with the driest and smallest patches of grass, whilst showing her Calf where to find the richest and most luxuriant pasture, and that she willingly deprived herself of any comfort in order to afford pleasure to the youngster. ”

“ When they were as full as could be the Hare said:
“What I advise now is as follows: let us each take some provisions, as much as we can carry, and bring them with us to our own homes, so that we may have something to go on with when we next feel hungry. I myself shall take some cheese; Brother Fox no doubt would like some cold fowl; and I should advise you, Brother Wolf, to carry off that jar of wine.”
The Fox and the Wolf both agreed with the Hare’s proposals, and they began to load themselves with the provisions they proposed to take with them. ”

“ Next morning at daybreak, a great outcry arose from the enemy’s camp. Each man as he rose from his sleep found himself in a woeful plight—his clothes in rags, his pigtail cut off, his bow without a string, his rifle without a sling, and with no fuse or slow-match to fire it, and no provisions for breakfast. ”

“ So the foolish Boy got up out of his grave, and taking the jar of oil on his back, he walked along the road with the King’s Servant towards the palace. As they went along, he kept thinking to himself what he should do with his hen when he got it.
“As soon as I have got some eggs,” thought he to himself, “I shall set the hen to hatch them. And then I shall have a nice lot of chickens. And when the chickens grow up into cocks and hens I shall sell them in the market. And with the money I get I shall buy a cow. And presently the cow will have a calf. ”

“ Shortly after the poor man coming into his house saw the young Sparrow lying helpless on his door-step, so he picked it up to see what was wrong, and found that its leg was broken. So he carried it into the house, and very carefully bound up its leg with a piece of thread; and then took it up to the roof, and put it back in the nest. [21]
Now this Sparrow, although the poor man did not know it, was really a fairy in disguise, and later on, when it had grown up, it flew out one day and returned with its beak full of grain. ”

“ As the Boy grew up, his Mother grew more and more fond of him, and disliked parting from him even for a moment. She was afraid that if he left her house and began wandering about by himself some accident might happen to him, and she would be left desolate in her old age. ”