“After I have got to know the lucky hour and gone to take the milk, the buffalo cow, becoming afraid, will kick at me.” Saying this, he jumped aside in order to avoid it.
As he was coming on the path, at this time he had reached a foot-bridge formed of a single tree trunk (ēdanḍa), and while going along at the middle of it he made the jump [to escape the cow’s kick]. As he jumped, he fell off the tree trunk, taking the load of oil with him [and the two pots were smashed].
At his fall, the owner of the oil asked, “Having come so far taking care of this oil, why did you throw it down and break the pots at this foot-bridge, friend?”
The man said, “With the funds provided by the four tuttu I thought of buying a chicken. This happened owing to that.”
Afterwards the owner of the oil, saying, “Never mind the spilling of the oil; you must go with me,” invited the man to accompany him, and they went together. Having arrived at the village, because he was a capable man [the owner of the oil] gave him his daughter [in marriage].
Not a very long time afterwards, the men of the village said that they must go to Puttalam to load salt and sun-dried fish, and bring them back [bartering part of them on the way home]. The man said, “Father-in-law, I also must go to Puttalam.” So the father-in-law made ready a cart load of goods, and giving them to him told him to go with the other men, and said, “[When disposing of the goods] the things which they count you also count and give; the goods which they give ‘simply’ (that is, without counting), you also give ‘simply.’ ”[1]
Afterwards the men who went from the village, while coming back from Puttalam, from place to place gave the goods they were bringing, and took [in exchange] the things they wanted. The man having observed which goods they counted, counted and gave the same goods, without [taking] money. The goods which the other men gave without counting, that man also gave without counting. Thus, in that manner he gave all the goods loaded into the cart, until at last only the cart and the yoke of bulls remained over.
Afterwards the men who went in the party gave goods, and each one got a horse. This man gave the cart and yoke of bulls and got a horse.
While they were coming bringing the horses, the men of the party gave goods, and each one got a goat of foreign breed. So this man gave his horse, and got a goat.
While they were bringing the goats, the men of the party, saying, “We must each one get a dog with a party-coloured body,” gave goods, and got one apiece. So this man gave the foreign goat that he was bringing, and got one.