The last incident is given in The Indian Antiquary, vol. xviii, p. 120, in a Tamil story by Pandit Naṭēśa Sāstrī. A Brāhmaṇa’s son who was sent away by his father, stayed at a courtesan’s house. At dawn he put two gold coins in each of the droppings of his horse, and when the sweeper came he refused to let him remove the horse dung until he took out his money. After the courtesan bought the horse, and learnt the spell which he said was necessary, he went away to Madura.
In the same Journal, vol. iii, p. 11, in a Bengal story by Mr. G. H. Damant, a farmer made his cow swallow one hundred rupees. Six men who saw him afterwards collecting the rupees from the cow-dung, bought the animal for five thousand rupees. When they returned after discovering the trickery the stick incident followed, in which the wife was beaten in order to change her into a girl.
In Indian Nights’ Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 109, a man made his servant insert rupees into his mule’s dung overnight, and in the morning break it up and remove them. He then sold the mule for four thousand rupees to some people who had robbed his brother.
In a Khassonka story of the interior of West Africa, given in Contes Soudanais (C. Monteil), p. 66, a boy received from a credulous King a thousand slaves in exchange for a hen which he averred changed all the herbs it ate into nuggets of gold. He explained that he did not know what to do with it because gold was nothing to him. The King kept the hen in confinement for a month, caused the dung to be washed, and of course found no gold.
[1] Apparently “The Ace,” with a personal suffix; but his real meaning was, “He who goes about cheating” (ā + śṛi + yā). [↑]
[2] Wiyan. This work is always done by the local washerman, who supplies the cloth for it. [↑]
[3] Pamula peṭṭiya. See note, vol. i, p. 183. [↑]
[4] This is an old notion. In A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures (Beal), p. 74, it is stated, “Again, there are different kinds of kalpa trees which produce garments, from which they can select every sort of robe to wear.” [↑]