LITTLE ANKLEBONE
Little Anklebone—This tale appears to be unique among Indian folk-tales, and is comparable with Grimm's Singing Bone. It is current in the Bâr or wilds of the Gujrânwâlâ District, among the cattle-drovers' children. Wolves are very common there, and the story seems to point to a belief in some invisible shepherd, a sort of Spirit of the Bâr, whose pipe may be heard. The word used for 'Little Ankle-bone' was Gîrî, a diminutive form of the common word gittâ. In the course of the story in the original, Little Anklebone calls himself Giteta Ram, an interesting instance of the process of the formation of Panjâbî proper names.
Auntie—Mâsî, maternal aunt.
Tree that weeps over yonder pond—Ban, i.e. Salvadora oleoides, a common tree of the Panjâb forests.
Jackal howled—A common evil omen.
Marble basins—The word used was daurâ, a wide-mouthed earthen vessel, and also in palaces a marble drinking-trough for animals.
The verses,—The original and literal translation are as follows—
Kyûn garjâe badalâ garkanâe?
Gaj karak sâre des;
Ohnân hirnîân de than pasmâe:
Gitetâ Râm gîâ pardes!
Why echo, O thundering clouds?
Roar and echo through all the land;
The teats of the does yonder are full of milk:
Gitetâ Râm has gone abroad!