Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India Part 6

VI Moderation and Greed

The Wizard and the Beggar

Once upon a time there was a poor man who ever begged for food, and, as he walked along the road he thought, "If any one will give me to eat until I am satisfied, never will I forget the grace or merit of that person." Chanting these words as he walked slowly along, he met a wizard.

"What do you say as you walk along, my son?" asked the wizard.

"If any one will give me to eat all I crave, I will never forget the grace or merit of that person," said the poor man.

"My son, the people of this day are ever careless and ungrateful. They forget benefits," replied the wizard.

"I will not forget," vowed the poor man.

"Go on, my son," said the wizard.

Chanting as before, the poor man went on his way, and as he walked he met a dog.

"What do you say as you go along, my son?" asked the dog.

"Whosoever will give me to eat to my satisfaction, the grace or merit of that person will I never forget," replied the poor man.

"Men are p.r.o.ne to forget. None remember favors. When I was young and strong, I guarded my master's house and grounds; now, when I am old, he will not permit me to enter his gate, but curses and beats me and gives me no food. By him are all my services forgotten," said the dog.

Ever chanting, the poor man walked on, and as he walked he met a buffalo.

"What do you say as you walk along, my son?" asked the buffalo. And the poor man repeated what he had told the wizard and the dog.

"Man is ever ungrateful. When I was young and strong, I plowed the fields so my master could have rice and my master was grateful to me.

Now that I cannot work, I am driven out to die," said the buffalo. And the poor man, discouraged, sought the wizard again.

"My son, will you ever remember benefits?" asked the wizard.

"Never would I forget a benefit," vowed the poor man, vehemently.

"Then here are two jewels; one, if held in your mouth, will enable you to fly as a bird; the other, if held in the mouth, will give you your desires, and this second one I now give to you," said the wizard, and he handed the second jewel to the poor man.

"Your grace and merit will ever be remembered by me. More than tongue can utter, do I thank you. Ever will I wish you health and happiness and pray for blessings on your head," declared the poor man. Having thus spoken, the once poor man sought his home and, through the virtue of the wis.h.i.+ng jewel he had every wish for wealth gratified.

"How do you secure your desires?" asked the neighbors of the once poor, begging man.

"A wizard gave me a wis.h.i.+ng-jewel and, by simply placing it in my mouth, all I wish to possess is mine," answered he. "Listen to me," he continued, "the wizard has yet another jewel, which, if placed in the mouth, will enable one to fly as a bird. Come, let us go and kill him that we may all possess it together."

With one accord they agreed, and, as they approached the home of the wizard, the wizard, espying the man he had so benefited, called to him,

"Why have you not visited me, my son?"

"There was no time, much work have I had to do," replied the ungrateful man.

Now the wizard of course knew the intent of the wicked fellow, that he, with his neighbors, had come to secure the second jewel, and he asked,

"Why do you desire to kill me?"

"Give to me the jewel you have, else I shall kill you, you old wizard,"

cried the ungrateful fellow.

"Have you the wis.h.i.+ng-jewel with you? If so, show it to me first," said the wizard.

Eagerly did the greedy fellow thrust it toward the old wizard, but he, having already placed the flying-jewel in his mouth, seized the wis.h.i.+ng-jewel and instead of giving the rascal the flying-jewel, flew away, leaving both the man and his neighbors without either.

A Covetous Neighbor

There was a poor and lonely man who had but a few melon seeds and grains of corn which he planted; tenderly did he care for them, as the garden would furnish his only means of a living. And it came to pa.s.s that the melons and corn grew luxuriantly, and the apes and the monkeys from the neighboring wilderness, seeing them, came daily to eat of them, and, as they talked of the owner of the garden, wondered just what manner of man he might be that he permitted them unmolested to eat of his melons. But the poor man, through his sufferings, had much merit, and charitably and willingly shared his abundant fruit with them.

And upon a day, the man lay down in the garden and feigned death. As the monkeys and apes drew near, seeing him so still, his scarf lying about his head, with one accord they cried, "He is already dead! Lo, these many days have we eaten of his fruit, therefore it is but just that we should bury him in as choice a place as we can find."

Lifting the man, they carried him until they came to a place where two ways met, when one of the monkeys said, "Let us take him to the cave of silver." Another said, "No, the cave of gold would be better."

"Go to the cave of gold," commanded the head monkey. There they carried him and laid him to rest.

Finding himself thus alone, the man arose, gathered all the gold he could carry and returned to his old home, and, with the gold thus easily gained, he built a beautiful house.

"How did you, who are but a gardener, gain all this gold?" asked a neighbor, and freely the man told all that had befallen him.

"If you did it, I, too, can do it," said the neighbor, and forthwith, he hastened home, made a garden, and waited for the monkeys to feast in it.

All came to pa.s.s as the neighbor hoped; when the melons were ripe great numbers of monkeys and apes came to the garden and feasted. And upon a day, they found the owner lying as one dead in the garden. Prompted by grat.i.tude, the monkeys made ready to bury him, and while carrying him to the place of burial, they came to the place in the way where the two roads met. Here they disputed as to whether they should place the man in the cave of silver, or the cave of gold. Meanwhile, the man was thinking thus, "I'll gather gold all day. When I have more than I can carry in my arms, I'll draw some behind me in a basket I can readily make from bamboo," and, when the head monkey said, "Put him in the cave of silver," he unguardedly cried out, "No, put me in the cave of gold."

Frightened, the monkeys dropped the man and fled, whilst he, scratched and bleeding, crept painfully home.

A Lazy Man's Plot[15]

Upon a day a beggar, who was too lazy to work, but ever lived on the bounty of the people, received a great quant.i.ty of rice. He put it in a large jar and placed the jar at the foot of his bed, then he lay down on the bed and thus reasoned:

"If there come a famine, I will sell the rice, and with the money, buy me a pair of cows, and when the cows have a calf, I'll buy a pair of buffaloes. Then, when they have a calf, I'll sell them, and with that money, I'll make a wedding and take me a wife. And, when we have a child large enough to sit alone, I'll take care of it, while my wife works the rice fields. Should she say, 'I will not work,' I'll kick her after this manner," and he struck out his foot, knocking the jar over, and broke it. The rice ran through the slats of the floor, and the neighbors' pigs ate it, leaving the lazy plotter but the broken jar.

15: The motive corresponds to that of the venerable story of the Milkmaid.

The Ungrateful Fisherman

It happened on a time that a poor fisherman had caught nothing for many days, and while he was sitting thinking sadly of his miserable fortune, Punya In, the G.o.d of wisdom, came from his high home in heaven in the form of a crow, and asked him, "Do you desire to escape from this life of a fisherman, and live in ease?" And the fisherman replied, "Greatly do I desire to escape from this miserable life."

Beckoning him to come to him and listen, the crow told him of a far distant province, whose chow lay dead.

"Both the province and all the chow's former possessions will I give thee, if thou wilt promise ever to remember the benefits I bestow," said the crow.