Then they were all overjoyed to see the treasure, but the Brahmin said, “What a pity we have lost all the benefit of my son-in-law the Jackal’s good gift by not knowing its worth! I will go at once to that woman, and try and make her give us back the melons she took.”
So he went to the melon-buyer’s house, and said to her, “Give me back the melons you took from me, who did not know their worth.” She answered, “I don’t know what you mean.” He replied, “You were very deceitful; you bought melons full of precious stones from us poor people, who did not know what they were worth, and you only paid for them the price of common melons: give me some of them back, I pray you.” But she said, “I bought common melons from your wife, and made them all into common soup long ago; therefore talk no further nonsense about jewels, but go about your business.” And she turned him out of the house. Yet all this time she had a whole roomful of the emeralds, diamonds, rubies and pearls that she had found in the melons the Brahmin’s wife had sold her.
The Brahmin returned home and said to his wife, “I cannot make that woman give me back any of the melons you sold her; but give me the precious stones our daughter has just found, and I will sell them to a jeweler and bring home some money.” So he went to the town, and took the precious stones to a jeweler, and said to him, “What will you give me for these?” But no sooner did the jeweler see them than he said, “How could such a poor man as you become possessed of such precious stones? You must have stolen them: you are a thief! You have stolen these from my shop, and now come to sell them to me!”
“No, no, sir; indeed no, sir,” cried the Brahmin. “Thief, thief!” shouted the jeweler. “In truth, no sir,” said the Brahmin; “my son-in-law, the Jackal, gave me a melon plant, and in one of the melons I found these jewels.” “I don’t believe a word you say,” screamed the jeweler (and he began beating the Brahmin, whom he held by the arm); “give up those jewels which you have stolen from my shop.” “No, I won’t,” roared the Brahmin; “oh! oh-o! oh-o-o! don’t beat me so; I didn’t steal them.” But the jeweler was determined to get the jewels; so he beat the Brahmin and called the police, who came running up to his assistance, and shouted till a great crowd of people had collected round his shop. Then he said to the Brahmin, “Give me up the jewels you stole from me, or I’ll give you to the police, and you shall be put in jail.” The Brahmin tried to tell his story about his son-in-law, the Jackal, but of course nobody believed him; and he was obliged to give the precious stones to the jeweler in order to escape the police, and to run home as fast as he could. And every one thought the jeweler was very kind to let him off so easily.
All his family were very unhappy when they heard what had befallen him. But his wife said, “You had better go again to our son-in-law, the Jackal, and see what he can do for us.” So next day the Brahmin climbed the hill again, as he had done before, and went to call upon the Jackal. When the Jackal saw him coming he was not very well pleased. So he went to meet him, and said, “Father-in-law, I did not expect to see you again so soon.” “I merely came to see how you were,” answered the Brahmin, “and to tell you how poor we are; and how glad we should be of any help you can give us.” “What have you done with all the melons I gave you?” asked the Jackal. “Ah,” answered the Brahmin, “that is a sad story!” And beginning at the beginning, he related how they had sold almost all the melons without knowing their value; and how the few precious stones they had found had been taken from him by the jeweler. When the Jackal heard this he laughed very much, and said, “I see it is no use giving such unfortunate people as you gold or jewels, for they will only bring you into trouble. Come, I’ll give you a more useful present.” So, running into his cave, he fetched thence a small chattee, and gave it to the Brahmin, saying, “Take this chattee; whenever you or any of the family are hungry, you will always find in it as good a dinner as this.” And putting his paw into the chattee, he extracted thence currie and rice, pilau,[79] and all sorts of good things, enough to feast a hundred men; and the more he took out of the chattee, the more remained inside.
When the Brahmin saw the chattee and smelt the good dinner, his eyes glistened for joy; and he embraced the Jackal, saying, “Dear son-in-law, you are the only support of our house.” And he took his new present carefully home with him.
After this, for some time, the whole family led a very happy life, for they never wanted good food; every day the Brahmin, his wife and his six daughters found inside the chattee a most delicious dinner; and every day, when they had dined, they placed it on a shelf, to find it replenished when next it was needed.
But it happened that hard by there lived another Brahmin, a very great man, who was much in the Rajah’s confidence; and this man smelt daily the smell of a very nice dinner, which puzzled him a good deal. The rich Brahmin thought it smelt even nicer than his own dinner, for which he paid so much, and yet it seemed to come from the poor Brahmin’s little cottage. So one day he determined to find out all about it; and, going to call on his neighbor, he said to him, “Every day, at about twelve o’clock, I smell such a very nice dinner—much nicer than my own; and it seems to come from your house. You must live on very good things, I think, although you seem to every one to be so very poor.”
Then, in the pride of his heart, the poor Brahmin invited his rich neighbor to come and dine with him, and lifting the magic chattee down from the shelf, took out of it such delicate fare as the other had never before tasted. And in an evil hour he proceeded to tell his friend of the wondrous properties of the chattee, which his son-in-law, the Jackal, had given him, and how it never was empty. No sooner had the great man learnt all this than he went to the Rajah, and said to him, “There is a poor Brahmin in the town who possesses a wonderful chattee, which is always filled with the most delicious dinner. I should not feel authorized to deprive him of it; but if it pleased your Highness to take it from him, he could not complain.” The Rajah, hearing this, determined to see and taste for himself. So he said, “I should very much like to see this chattee with my own eyes.” And he accompanied the rich Brahmin to the poor Brahmin’s house. The poor Brahmin was overjoyed at being noticed by the Rajah himself, and gladly exhibited the various excellences of the chattee; but no sooner did the Rajah taste the dinner it contained than he ordered his guards to seize it and take it away to the palace, in spite of the Brahmin’s tears and protestations. Thus, for a second time, he lost the benefit of his son-in-law’s gift.
When the Rajah had gone, the Brahmin said to his wife, “There is nothing to be done but to go again to the Jackal, and see if he can help us.” “If you don’t take care, you’ll put him out of all patience at last,” answered she. “I can’t think why you need have gone talking about our chattee!”