THE GRAIN OF CORN
The verses.—In the original they were—
_Phir gîâ billî ke pâs,
'Billî, rî billî, mûsâ khâogî'
Khâtî khûnd pâr nâ!
Khûnd chanâ de nâ!
Râjâ khâtî dande nâ!
Râjâ rânî russe nâ!
Sapnâ rânî dase nâ!
Lâthî sapnâ mâre nâ!
Âg lâthî jalâve nâ!
Samundar âg bujhâve nâ!
Hâthî samundar sukhe nâ!
Nâre hâthî bandhe nâ!
Mûsâ nâre kâte nâ!
Lûngâ phir chorûn? nâ!'
He then went to the cat (saying),
'Cat, cat, eat mouse.
Woodman won't cut tree!
Tree won't give peas!
King won't beat woodman!
Queen won't storm at king!
Snake won't bite queen!
Stick won't beat snake!
Fire won't burn stick!
Sea won't quench fire!
Elephant won't drink up sea!
Thong won't bind elephant!
Mouse won't nip thong!
I'll take (the pea) yet, I won't let it go!'_
It will be seen that in the text the order has been transposed for obvious literary convenience.
Verses.—In the original these are—
Usne kahâ, 'Lap, lap, khâûngî!'
Phir gîâ mûsâ ke pâs, 'Mûsâ, re mûsâ, ab khâ jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
nâre katenge.'
Phir gîâ nâre ke pâs, 'Nâre, re nâre, ab kâte jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
hâthî bandhenge.'
Phir gîâ hâthî ke pâs, 'Hâthî, re hâthî, ab bandhe jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî samundar sûkhenge.'
Phir gîâ samundar ke pâs, 'Samundar, re samundar, ab sukhe
jâoge?' 'Ham bhî âg bujhâenge.'
Phir gîâ âg ke pâs, 'Âg, rî âg, ab bujhâî jâogi?' 'Ham bhî lâthî
jalâvenge.'
Phir gîâ lâthî ke pâs, 'Lâthî, re lâthî, ab jal jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
sâmp mârenge.'
Phir gîâ samp ke pâs, 'Sâmp, re sâmp, ab mâre jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
rânî dasenge?'
Phir gîâ rânî ke pâs, 'Rânî, rî rânî, ab dasî jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
râjâ rusenge.'
Phir gîâ râjâ ke pâs, 'Râjâ, re raja, ab rânî rus jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî khâtî dândenge.'
Phir gîâ khâtî ke pâs, 'Khâtî, re khâtî, ab dande jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî khund kâtenge.'
Phir gîâ khund ke pâs, 'Khund, re khund, ab kâte jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî chanâ denge.'
Phir woh chanâ lekar chalâ gîâ?
The cat said, 'I will eat him up at once!'
(So) he went to the mouse, 'Mouse, mouse, will you be eaten?' 'I
will gnaw the thong.'
He went to the thong, 'Thong, thong, will you be gnawed?' 'I
will bind the elephant.'
He went to the elephant, 'Elephant, elephant, will you be bound?'
'I will drink up the ocean.'
He went to the ocean, 'Ocean, ocean, will you be drunk up?' 'I
will quench the fire.'
He went to the fire, 'Fire, fire, will you be quenched?' 'I will
burn the stick.'
He went to the stick, 'Stick, stick, will you be burnt?' 'I will
beat the snake.'
He went to the snake, 'Snake, snake, will you be beaten?' 'I will
bite the queen.'
He went to the queen, 'Queen, queen, will you be bitten?' 'I will
storm at the king.'
He went to the king, 'King, king, will you be stormed at by the
queen?' 'I will beat the woodman.'
He went to the woodman, 'Woodman, woodman, will you be
beaten?' 'I will cut down the trunk.'
He went to the trunk, 'Trunk, trunk, will you be cut down?' 'I
will give you the pea.'
So he got the pea and went away.