No. 28
The Female Quail
A female Quail having laid an egg on a rock, went to eat food. Then the [overhanging] rock closed over it, and when the bird returned there was no egg. “Andō! There is no egg,” she said.
Well then, she went to the Mason. The Mason said, “Sit down, O Bird.”
“What is [the use of] sitting and staying? What is [the use of] betel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? Cut the rock, and give me the egg, O Mason,” she said.
The Mason said, “I will not.”
From there she went to the Village Headman.[1] The Village Headman said, “Sit down, O Bird.”
“What is the use of sitting and staying? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed? O Village Headman, tie up the house-door[2] of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.
The Village Headman said, “I will not.”