Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India Part 7

Readily did the fisherman promise, "Never, never will I forget."

Immediately the crow took the fisherman on his back and flew to the far distant province. Leaving the fisherman just outside the city gate, the crow entered the city, went to the chow's home, and took the body of the chow away, and, in the place put the fisherman.

When the fisherman moved, the watchers heard, and rejoicing, they all cried, "Our chow is again alive."

Great was the joy of the people, and, for many years, the fisherman ruled in the province and enjoyed the possessions of the former chow.

But, as time went by, the fisherman forgot the crow had been the author of all his good fortune, that all were the gifts of a crow, and he drove all crows from the rice fields. Even did he attempt to banish them from the province. Perceiving this, the G.o.d of wisdom again a.s.sumed the form of a crow and came down and sat near the one-time fisherman.

"O, chow, wouldst thou desire to go where all is pleasure and delight?"

asked the crow.

"Let me go," replied the chow. And the crow took him on his back and flew with him to the house where, as a fisherman he had lived in poverty and squalor, and ever had he to remain there.

The Legend of the Rice

In the days when the earth was young and all things were better than they now are, when men and women were stronger and of greater beauty, and the fruit of the trees was larger and sweeter than that which we now eat, rice, the food of the people, was of larger grain. One grain was all a man could eat, and in those early days, such, too, was the merit of the people, they never had to toil gathering the rice, for, when ripe, it fell from the stalks and rolled into the villages, even unto the granaries.

And upon a year, when the rice was larger and more plentiful than ever before, a widow said to her daughter, "Our granaries are too small. We will pull them down and build larger."

When the old granaries were pulled down and the new one not yet ready for use, the rice was ripe in the fields. Great haste was made, but the rice came rolling in where the work was going on, and the widow, angered, struck a grain and cried, "Could you not wait in the fields until we were ready? You should not bother us now when you are not wanted."

The rice broke into thousands of pieces and said, "From this time forth, we will wait in the fields until we are wanted," and, from that time the rice has been of small grain, and the people of the earth must gather it into the granary from the fields.

[Ill.u.s.tration: At Work in the Rice Fields.]

VII Parables and Proverbs

"One Woman in Deceit and Craft is More Than a Match for Eight Men"

Chum Paw was a maiden of the south country. Many suitors had she, but, by her craft and devices, each suitor thought himself the only one.

Constantly did each seek her in marriage, and, upon a day as one pressed her to name the time of their nuptials, she said, "Build me a house, and I'll marry you when all is in readiness." To the others, did she speak the same words.

Each man sought the jungle for bamboo for a house, and, it happened, while they were in the jungle that they all met.

"What seekest thou?" they asked one another. "What seekest thou?" The one answer was, "I have come to fell wood for my house."

And, as they ate their midday meal together, each had a bamboo stick, filled with chicken and rice. Now, it happened that Chum Paw had given the bamboo sticks to the men, and, lo, on investigation, they found the pieces in their various sticks were the parts of one chicken, and with one accord, they cried, "Chum Paw has deceived us. Come, let us kill her. Each has she promised to marry; each has she deceived."

All were exceedingly angry and vowed they would kill the deceitful woman.

Chum Paw, seeing the men return together, knew her duplicity was known and realized they sought to kill her.

"I entreat that you spare my life, but take and sell me as a slave to the captain of the s.h.i.+p lying at the mouth of the river."

Relenting, the suitors took her to the captain. She, however, running on before, privately told the captain she had seven young men, her slaves, whom she would sell him for seven hundred pieces of silver. Seeing the young men were desirable, the captain gave Chum Paw the silver, and she fled while the seven lovers were placed in irons.

Chum Paw fled to the jungle, but, frightened by the wild beasts, she sought refuge in a tree. And it came to pa.s.s that the suitors escaped from the s.h.i.+p and they, too, sought refuge in the jungle. Unable to sleep and also frightened, one of them climbed a tree that he might be safe from the wild beasts, and, lo, it was the same tree in which Chum Paw had taken refuge.

"Be silent, make no noise, lest the others hear us," whispered Chum Paw.

"I love you and knew you were wise and would escape from the s.h.i.+p. I only desired the silver for us to spend together."

The unfortunate man believed, and sought to embrace her, but, as he threw up his arms, Chum Paw threw him down, hoping thus to kill him. The others, hearing the commotion, feared a large bear was in the tree and hastily fled. Uninjured the suitor, whom Chum Paw had thrown from the tree, fled with them.

Chum Paw seeing that they all fled ran behind, as she knew no beast would attack her while there was so great a commotion. As the suitors looked back, they saw her, but mistook her for a bear and ran but the faster, and finally, they all, the seven suitors and Chum Paw reached their homes.

Knowing the suitors would again seek her life, Chum Paw made a feast of all things they most liked and bade the young men to come. (All the food was prepared by Chum Paw and poisoned.) "I want but to make me _boon_ before I die, so I beg you eat of my food and forgive me, for I merit death," said the maiden, as they sat in her house. All ate; and all died.

Chum Paw carried six bodies into the inner part of the house, and one she prepared for the grave. Weeping and wailing, she ran to the nearest neighbor, crying, "I want a man to come bury my husband. He died last night. As he had smallpox, fifty pieces of silver will I give to the one who buries him."

A man who loved money said, "I will bury him." When he came to the house, Chum Paw said, "Many times has he died and come back to life. If he comes back again, no money shall you have."

The man took the body, made a deep grave, buried the man and returned for his silver. Lo, on the mat lay the body! He made a deeper grave and again buried it. Six times he buried, as he supposed, the body, and, on returning and finding it a seventh time, he angrily cried, "You shall never return again." Taking the body with him, he built a fire, placed the body on it, and, while it burned, went to the stream for water. When he returned, lo, a charcoal man was standing there, black from his work.

Filled with wrath, the man ran up to him crying, "You will come back again, will you? will cause me this trouble again, will you?"

The charcoal burner replied, "I do not understand." Not a word would the man hear, but fought the burner, and as they struggled, they both fell into the fire and were burned to death.

Chum Paw built a beautiful home and spent the silver as she willed.

"The Wisest Man of a Small Village is Not Equal in Wisdom to a Boy of the City Streets"

Once a boy of the city, watching a buffalo outside the gate of the largest city in the province, saw three men approaching. Each was the wisest man of the village from whence he came. The boy called to them, "Where go ye, old men?"

The men angrily replied, "Wherefore dost thou, who art but a child, speak thus to us who are old and the judges of the villages from whence we come?"

The boy replied, "There is no cause for anger. How was I to know ye were wise men? To me, ye seem but as other men from a country place,--the wisest of whom are but fools."

The three men were very angry, caught the boy and said, "We will not enter into the city, but will go to another province and sell this insolent boy, because he neither reverences age nor wisdom."

The boy refused to walk, so they carried him. All day they walked along the road, carrying the boy, and at night they slept by the roadside. In the morning, when they craved water and bade the boy go to a brook, he refused, saying, "If I go, ye will run and leave me. I will not go."

Thirst drove one of the wise men for the water, and the boy drank of it freely.

Several days' journey brought them to a wall of a large city, and night was spent at a _sala_ near the wall. Seeking to rid themselves of the boy, they bade him go to the city for fire to cook food. Realizing their motive, he answered, "Should I go, ye will leave me. I will not go, though, if ye let me tie ye to the posts of the _sala_, then will I go."

With one accord they agreed, saying, "Do thou even so. We are weary carrying thee and cannot go for the fire."

Tying them all, the boy ran to the city, where he met a man whom he asked, "Dost thou wish to purchase three slaves? Come with me."

The man returned with the boy, saw the men, and gave him full value for each.