Green fruit! green fruit!
The rat has encompassed the Râjâ's daughter.
Stool—Pîrhî, a small, low, square stool with a straight upright back, used by native women.
Stewpan-lid—Sarposh, usually the iron or copper cover used to cover degchîs or cooking-pots.
THE FAITHFUL PRINCE
Bahrâmgor—This tale is a variant in a way of a popular story published in the Panjâb in various forms in the vernacular, under the title of the Story of Bahrâmgor and the Fairy Hasan Bâno. The person meant is no doubt Bahrâmgor, the Sassanian King of Persia, known to the Greeks as Varanes V., who reigned 420-438 A.D. The modern stories, highly coloured with local folklore, represent the well-known tale in India—through the Persian—of Bahrâmgor and Dilârâm. Bahrâmgor was said to have been killed while hunting the wild ass (gor), by jumping into a pool after it, when both quarry and huntsman disappeared for ever. He is said to be the father of Persian poetry.
Demons: Demonsland.—The words used are deo or dev and deostân; here the deo is a malicious spirit by nature.
Jasdrûl.—It is difficult to say who this can be, unless the name be a corruption of Jasrat Râî, through Râwal (rûl) = Râo = Râî; thus Jasrat Râî = Jasrat Râwal = Jasad Rawal = Jasadrûl. If this be the case, it stands for Dasaratha, the father of Râma Chandra, and so vicariously a great personage in Hindu story. It is obvious that in giving names to demons or fairies the name of any legendary or fabulous personage of fame will be brought under contribution.
Shâhpasand.—This is obviously a fancy name, like its prototype Dilaram (Heart's Ease), and means King's Delight. The variant Hasan Bano means the Lady of Beauty. In the Pushto version of probably the original story the name is Gulandama = Rosa, a variant probably of the Flower Princess. See Plowden's Translation of the Kalid-i-Afghâní, p. 209 ff.
Chief Constable.—See note to Sir Buzz, ante.
Emerald Mountain.—Koh-i-Zamurrad in the original. The whole story of Bahrâmgor is mixed up with the 'King of China,' and so it is possible that the legendary fame of the celebrated Green Mount in the Winter Palace at Pekin is referred to here (see Yule's Marco Polo, vol. i. pp. 326-327 and 330). It is much more probable, however, that the legends which are echoed here are local variants or memories of the tale of the Old Man of the Mountain and the Assassins, so famous in many a story in Europe and Asia in the Middle Ages, e.g. The Romans of Bauduin de Sebourg, where the lovely Ivorine is the heroine of the Red Mountain, and which has a general family likeness to this tale worth observing (see on this point generally Yule's Marco Polo, vol. i. pp. cxliv-cli and 132-140, and the notes to Ind. Ant. vol. xi. p. 285 ff.; which last, though treated as superseded here, may serve to throw light on the subject). It is evident that we are here treading on very interesting ground, alive with many memories of the East, which it would be well worth while to investigate.