Of the same type are the usual tales of the fairy gifts. Thus, in one version from Patna we read that one day a corpse came floating down the river, and a Faqîr announced that this was Chân Hâji. He was duly buried and honoured, and in many places he used to keep silver and gold vessels for the use of travellers. If anyone wanted a vessel, he had only to say so, and one used to float out of the water. But a covetous man appropriated one, and since then the supply has ceased.[149] The same legend is told of the great Karsota lake in Mirzapur, and of numbers of others all over the country. The culprit is generally a Banya, or corn-chandler, the type of sneaking greediness. The same story appears constantly in European folk-lore, as is shown by Mr. Hartland’s admirable summary.[150]
Another version current in India also corresponds with the Western tradition. This is where a person receives a gift from the fairies, which he does not appreciate, and so loses. Thus, in a tale from Râêpur, in the Central Provinces, the goatherd used to watch a strange goat, which joined his flock. One day it walked into the tank and disappeared. While the goatherd was looking on in wonder, a stone was thrown to him from the water, and a voice exclaimed, “This is the reward of your labour.” The disappointed goatherd knocked the stone back into the water with his axe. But he found that his axe had been changed by the touch into gold. He searched for the stone, but could never find it again.[151]
In another tale of the same kind, the cowherd tends the cow of the fairy, and, following the animal into a cave, receives some golden wheat. In a third version, the fool throws away a handful of golden barley, and only comes to know of his mistake when his wife finds that some fuel cakes, on which he had laid his blanket, had turned into gold.[152] So, at Pathari, in Bhopâl, there lived a Muni, or a Pîr, in a cave unknown to any one. His goat used to graze with the herdsman’s flock. The shepherd, one day, followed the goat into the cave and found an old man sitting intent in meditation. He made a noise to attract the saint’s attention, who asked the object of his visit. The herdsman asked for wages, whereupon the saint gave him a handful of barley. He took it home, and, in disgust, threw it on fire, where his wife soon after found it turned into gold. The herdsman went back to thank the old man, but found the cave deserted, and its occupant was never heard of again. The shepherd devoted the wealth, thus miraculously acquired, to building a temple.[153]
Underground Treasure.
This underground kingdom, stored with untold treasure, appears in other tales. Thus, Kâfir Kot, like many other places of the same kind, is supposed to have underground galleries holding untold treasures. One day a man is said to have entered an opening, where he found a flight of steps. Going down the steps, he came to rooms filled with many valuable things. Selecting a few, he turned to go, but he found the entrance closed. On dropping the treasure the door opened again, and it shut when he again tried to take something with him. According to another version he lost his sight when he touched the magic wealth, and it was restored when he surrendered the treasure.[154]
Another tale of the same kind is preserved by the old Buddhist traveller, Hwen Thsang.[155] There was a herdsman who tended his cattle near Bhâgalpur. One day a bull separated from the rest of the herd and roamed into the forest. The herdsman feared that the animal was lost, but in the evening he returned radiant with beauty. Even his lowing was so remarkable that the rest of the cattle feared to approach him. At last the herdsman followed him into a cleft of the rock, where he found a lovely garden filled with fruits, exquisite of colour and unknown to man. The herdsman plucked one, but was afraid to taste it, and, as he passed out, a demon snatched it from his hand. He consulted a doctor, who recommended him next time to eat the fruit. When he again met the demon, who as before tried to pluck it out of his hand, the herdsman ate it. But no sooner had it reached his stomach than it began to swell inside him, and he grew so enormous, that although his head was outside, his body was jammed in the fissure of the rock. His friends in vain tried to release him, and he was gradually changed into stone. Ages after, a king who believed that such a stone must possess medical virtues, tried to chisel away a small portion, but the workmen, after ten days’ labour, were not able to get even a pinch of dust.
These treasure rocks, which open to the touch of magic, are common in folk-lore.[156]