The Widow and the Mungus
I have not met with this tale as a true village folk-story, but it was related as one of the episodes in the series of tales included under the title of “The Four Paṇḍitayās,” in which various stories were told in order to induce a King not to execute the youngest Paṇḍitayā for wiping off the Queen’s body a drop of blood which fell on her at night when he cut in two a cobra that was about to bite the King. The whole story is an Indian one.
The account given to me is as follows:—[The Paṇḍitayā said,] “O Lord, Your Majesty, I myself will tell you a story, be pleased to hear it.” Having said this he began thus:—“At a time, at a city a widow-mother reared a Mungus. The widow-mother alone takes firewood and water home. One day the woman having placed her child in the house, while the Mungus stays there she went for firewood. Having gone for firewood, when she was returning, the Mungus,[2] having blood smeared on its body and head, came in front of the widow-woman. The woman thought that having indeed bitten her child it came here. At the time when through anger at it she struck the Mungus with the firewood sticks that were in her hand, causing it to fall, it died.
“When she came home, having seen that the Mungus had bitten in pieces a Polan̆gā which came to bite (lit., eat) the child, she said, ‘Anē! If not for my Mungus the Polan̆gā would have bitten my child. Now, not making inquiry I killed the Mungus, the Mungus!’ and having become grieved she died. After her death the child also died.”
P. B. Madahapola, Raṭēmahatmayā, North-western Province.
In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 213, Mr. H. A. Pieris gave this story, the widow killing the Mungus with the rice pestle, and in the end committing suicide.
In the Hitōpadēśa and Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues (Chavannes), vol. ii, p. 300, the story is similar, the owner of the animal being a Brāhmaṇa, who was overwhelmed with grief when he realised what he had done.
Regarding the supposed enmity between the Cobra and Polan̆gā, Capt. R. Knox wrote, “if the Polonga and the Noya meet together, they cease not fighting till one hath kill’d the other.” (Hist. Rel., p. 29.) In my own experience I have seen nothing to support this belief; but as both snakes live on similar food it is probable that on their casually meeting when in search of it the stronger or fiercer one will drive the other away, and occasionally this may result in a fight.
[1] Daboia russelli, the most venomous snake in Ceylon. [↑]
No. 185a
The Crab and the Frog
At a certain time for a certain Frog food became deficient. Having gone near a certain Crab he brought paddy. He having brought the paddy, after not much time had gone the Crab asked the Frog for the [repayment of the] paddy debt. Then the Frog said, “I will afterwards give [you] the debt.”
For the Frog’s getting two from the naeliya[1] that holds four patas, the Crab falsely asked for seven.
So the Frog in this fashion swears:—“By Karagama Devi, by the one daughter of mine, out of the naeliya of four patas [it was], two, two, two, two.”[2]
Then the Turtle, being there, says from a side, “If [you] got them, give; if [you] got them, give.”[3]
Notwithstanding this, the Frog did not give them.
[1] A dry measure said by Clough to be about three pints wine measure. See the Additional Notes at the end of this volume. [↑]
[2] Karagama Devi pal, eka mage duwa pal, hatara pata naeliyen dek, deka, deka, deka. Lit., “the protection of Karagama Devi,” etc. The oaths of this kind most commonly heard are ammā pal, “by [my] mother,” and aes deka pal, “by [my] two eyes.” But ammappā pal, “by [my] mother and father,” and maha poḷowa pal, “by the great earth,” are not unusual. [↑]
[3] Gattā nan̥ dī, gattā naṇ dī. All these are imitations of the voices of croaking frogs, the first being the rapid and shriller cries of the small frogs, and the second the deeper and slower calls of the larger frogs. [↑]
No. 186
A Louse and a Bug
In a certain country, at a King’s palace there is a delightful bed for reclining on. There was a female Louse which dwelt among the exceedingly white sheets spread on the bed. And that female Louse, drinking blood on the body of the King, passed the time in happiness.
At that time, one day a certain Bug walking anywhere came to the bed. At that time the White Louse said with a displeased countenance, “Embā! O meritorious Bug, because of what camest thou to this place? Before anyone gets to know about it go thou quickly from here.”
At that time the Bug said, “Embā! O meritorious female, although [addressed even] to a wicked person who came to the house, speech like this is not proper. Whether of acrid taste, bitter taste, or sour taste, the fault of [requiring] food being the cause, various kinds of blood of several low men were sucked and drunk by me. By me at any time a sweet blood was not drunk. On that account, sitting down, if thou art willing, [the desire of] very sweet food being the cause, by sucking for myself thus, betimes, the blood—any blood, be it inferior—on the body of this King, to-day I shall dwell in happiness. Therefore, to me who, not having obtained food, came to the house, may you be pleased to give this very food. The drinking this King’s blood solitarily, by thee only, is not proper,” he said.
Having heard that, the Louse said, “O meritorious Bug, I suck and drink the blood of this very King who has gone to sleep. If thou swiftly shouldst be drinking the blood with me, thou wilt drink much blood.”
Having heard that, the Bug said, “O meritorious female, I will not do in that way; while thou drinkest the blood I will not drink. In the presence of this excellent King I will do it till full.”
While both of them were talking in this way they approached the King’s bed. Thereupon the Bug having arrived at great greediness, bit the King.
At that time the King having arisen from the bed and gone, said, “There are bugs in the bed; wipe it down to clean it.”
The servants having come there, and at the time when they looked having seen the White Louse, killed it. The Bug crept into a corner of the bed [and escaped].