THE FARMER, THE CROCODILE, AND THE JACKAL.
After this, the Crocodile saw that it was no use to try himself to catch the Jackal, “for,” said he, “he is too cunning for me; I must employ someone who comes to get water here.” So one day he saw a Farmer, and said to him, “If you will catch a Jackal for me, I will make you a rich man, for I will give you several jewels which people have dropped in this tank for years and years, and they are lying here at the bottom.”
“Oh!” replied the Farmer, “that is easily done;” so that very night he went into the jungle and lay down as if dead. Presently the Jackal made his appearance, and smelling along he came close up to the body. Then he hesitated and said, “I wonder if this is really a dead body or not.” He then called out audibly, “If it is really dead it will shake its leg, and if it is alive it won’t do so.” This he said so quickly and so artfully that the Farmer was taken aback, and to make him believe he was dead he at once stupidly shook his leg, and off skipped the Jackal, saying, “I caught you there,” and was lost to view in an instant.
The Farmer, who was very avaricious, and wanted the jewels badly, made up his mind that he would by hook or by crook make sure of the Jackal on the next occasion; so this time he prepared of the softest wax a doll of the size of a child, and digging a small grave and covering it over with leaves and mud, he waited in hiding to see the result.
Shortly after sunset the Jackal began to prowl about as usual, and coming on the new grave he said to himself, “Ah! this is someone lately buried; I will try my luck here.” He then began to scratch with his paw, and presently one paw got caught in the wax, and in trying to get that away, all four became stuck with the wax, when in a moment out came the Farmer from his hiding-place and said, “Ah! at last I have got you, and you are my prisoner!” The Jackal yelled and howled, and endeavoured to escape, but was hindered by the wax on his feet; so then he took to frightening the Farmer, and said, “If you do not get me out of this scrape I will call all the Jackals in a moment of time, and they will destroy you for ever, for do you not know that I am the ‘king’ of the Jackals?”
“What am I to do?” asked the Farmer. “Go!” he said; “go and get some oil, and rub it all over me; then get a fowl, and tie it about fifty yards away, and bring two men with hatchets to stand over me, so that if I attempt to get away they may chop me to pieces!”
This being done by the Farmer, the Jackal while being held in his hands sought his opportunity, and being well greased all over, he made a violent spring and so got clear of the Farmer; then he dashed between the legs of the men with hatchets, when they made a plunge at him, but they only succeeded in hurting their own legs, so the Jackal got finally off, and picking up the fowl he was soon lost to view, and so won the day.
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
“Crocodile.”—The word used in the original Punjabi was “Sainsar,” literally the “Gavial,” or rather “gharial.” This animal is called “Timsah” in Arabic, but as this class of the Crocodiles lives usually on fish, the saurian in the tale must have been unusually ferocious. The seizure of the leg of the Jackal by the Crocodile is common to many folk-tales throughout India, and is an indication of the general groundwork of many Aryan tales.