Simla Village Tales; Or, Folk Tales from the Himalayas

by Alice Dracott

• PAGE
• [THE CAUSE OF A LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE OWL AND THE KITE] 1
• [A MONKEY OBJECTS TO CRITICISM] 2
• [THE DEAD MAN’S RING] 3
• [THE ORIGIN OF DEATH] 5
• [THE REAL MOTHER] 6
• [THE PRINCESS SOORTHE] 12
• [THE SNAKE’S BRIDE] 15
• [THE POWER OF FATE] 20
• [THE OLD WITCH WHO LIVED IN A FOREST] 31
• [KULLOO, A FAITHFUL DOG] 36
• [THE STORY OF GHOSE] 40
• [THE VIZIER’S SON AND THE RAJAH’S SON] 46
• [THE RAJAH’S SON AND THE VIZIER’S SON] 49
• [BEY HUSLO] 53
• [THE STORY OF PANCH MAR KHAN] 56
• [THE RABBIT AND THE BARBER] 59
• [RUPA AND BISUNTHA] 61
• [SHEIK CHILLI] 68
• [SHEIK CHILLI] 70
• [THE MONKEY, THE TIGER, AND THE PRINCESS] 75
• [THE JACKAL AND THE GUANA] 81
• [THE STORY OF THE BLACK COW] 83
• [THE BRAHMIN AND THE WILD GEESE] 88
• [THE FOUR-GIFTED PRINCESS] 93
• [THE MAN WHO WENT TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE] 96
• [THREE WISE MEN AND THE KING’S DAUGHTER] 101
• [BARBIL’S SON] 104
• [THE TIGER AND THE RATS] 107
• [THE ADVENTURES OF A BIRD] 109
• [THE LEGEND OF NALDERA TEMPLE] 111
• [THE BUNNIAH’S WIFE AND THE THIEF] 113
• [WHO STOLE THE RUBY?] 115
• [THE STORY OF VICKRAMADIT] 119
• [THE WEAVER] 125
• [THE DOG WHO WAS A RAJAH] 132
• [THE FOURTH WIFE IS THE WISEST] 135
• [THE STORY OF PIR SAB] 141
• [THE ORIGIN OF A RIVER] 145
• [THE GOLDEN SCORPIONS] 148
• [THE STORY OF A PEARL] 150
• [THE BUNNIAH’S GHOST] 152
• [BICKERMANJI THE INQUISITIVE] 155
• [THE BRAHMIN’S DAUGHTER] 163
• [ABUL HUSSAIN] 166
• [THE MAGICIAN AND THE MERCHANT] 174
• [THE SNAKE AND THE FROG] 180
• [THE BARBER AND THE THIEF] 184
• [THE STORY OF “PURAN”] 186
• [TABARISTAN] 194
• [THE PAINTED JACKAL] 198
• [THE ENCHANTED BIRD, MUSIC, AND STREAM] 200
• [THE DOG TEMPLE] 213
• [THE BEAUTIFUL MILKMAID] 216
• [A REMEDY FOR SNAKE-BITE] 218
• [A LEGEND OF SARDANA] 220
• [THE STORY OF “BUNJARA TULLAO”] 224
• [THE ANAR PARI, OR POMEGRANATE FAIRY] 226

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

• [A Simla Village Woman] From a Snapshot by A. E. D. Frontispiece.
• [The Snake’s Bride] To face page 16
  “Sukkia, child of Dukhia, will you marry me?”
• [The Power of Fate] 20
  Took out the fan and began to wave it.
• [The Old Witch who lived in a Forest] 32
  “O Tree, shelter me!”
• [Sheik Chilli] 68
  “I’ve lost my goats, I’ve lost my cows!”
• [The Man who went to Seek his Fortune] 96
  While he stood there the old Fakir opened his eyes and saw him.
• [The Story of Pir Sab] 142
  The old woman alone remained at home on account of her feeble age.
• [The Bunniah’s Ghost] 152
  Could it be fancy, or did he see a strange man standing before him?

THE CAUSE OF A LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE OWL AND THE KITE

The owl and the kite once went to law on these grounds. The owl said that she was the oldest creature in the world, and that when the world was first made, she alone existed. The kite objected. He said that he flew in the air and lived in the trees.