“How many is the number of the cakes?”
“Three less than three hundred.”
After that, [as both agreed regarding the number] he handed over the wife [to him]. Both of them, making and making obeisance, went away.
Potter. North-western Province.
With the exception of the ending, this is the sixth test case which was settled by the wise Mahōsadha, in The Jātaka, No. 546 (vol. vi, p. 163);[3] but the variations show that, like some other Sinhalese folk-tales, it is not taken over directly from the Jātaka story, which appears to be one of the latest in that collection.
There was a village, apparently of Vaeddās, called Dippiṭigama, in the North-western Province[4]; and “the house of the Dippiṭiyās,[5] at the village called Koṭikāpola” is mentioned in the story numbered 215 in this volume, related by a Tom-tom Beater. This latter tale apparently contains a large amount of fact, and ends “the persons who saw these [things said] they are in the form of a folk-tale.” Thus there is a possibility that this part of the Jātaka story is derived from a Sinhalese folk-tale of which the Potter’s story gives the modern version.
[1] Where bushes or reeds are in the water near the shore, fishing is usually done by means of a baited hook at the end of a short fishing line attached to the extremity of a number of canes tied end to end. These float on the surface of the water, and are gradually pushed forward until the bait is in an open space in the water. [↑]
[2] “Soft are the six seasons of woman”; but the text is so full of mistakes that it is possible this may be intended for Sarasāyu-wirī, “the bee’s life is delicate,” or Sarāsayu-wirī, “soft are the six seasons of Love.” [↑]