Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India Part 13

Suspecting naught, the husband went to the bushes, and cried, "Yoo, yoo!"[25] The father struck him, but he freed himself and returned to the house and told his wife that the buffalo had been dangerous and had horned him. But the father, convinced the husband had deceived them all, drove him from the house.

As the blind man walked, he met a man with palsied feet.

"If thou wilt be eyes to me, I will be feet to thee," called the blind man, and, forthwith, he put the palsied man on his back. As they journeyed, they met a wizard, who said, "Would you prosper, that which you grasp hold with a secure hand."

And upon a day, the man with the palsy saw a bird's nest; thinking there would be eggs therein, he bade the blind man go up the tree and bring them. When the blind man grasped the nest, the head of a venomous snake appeared, but his companion called, "Grasp it tightly," and, as he held it, the snake cast of its venom in his eyes, and he saw all things. Just lingering to place the snake on his afflicted friend, and seeing him, too, restored, the husband hastened home to his wife, but as he ran, he beheld her coming out to him. With these kind words did she greet him, "O, my husband, come I will work for thee. I have ever loved thee!" but, when she beheld that his eyesight was restored, she was exceeding glad, and greatly did she rejoice.

24: Enclosed grounds or yard--generally a place of residence.

25: Yoo, yoo--stand still, be quiet.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

A man once asked his newly-married son-in-law, "You will help me in the work that the chow gives me to do, now that you are one of us, will you not?"

And the son-in-law replied, "I will promise this. Whenever you go, I will stay at home, and when I stay at home, you will go and work."

Pleased with the ready promise, the father said, "I thank you, my son."

When the chow called the father, the son said, "This time you go, and I will stay at home," and the father went.

And when the chow again called, the son said, "Now, I will stay at home, whilst you go."

Then the father understood the promise of his son, and he did his government work alone until the day of his death.

The Great Boaster

There lived in the south a man who so continually boasted of his strength and endurance that all the people called him, "Kee-oo-yai"--the great boaster. Never entered into his ear a tale of danger, but his mouth opened to speak of a greater one which had been his; never a feat of strength but he could tell of one requiring greater strength which he had done, so, when the men of the village talked together and saw him drawing near, they would derisively say, "There is the great boaster coming. We must flee from his face for, is not he as strong and brave as the elephant? And we, compared to him are but as the dogs, or as the pigs." And the company would separate, so when the boaster reached the place no one would be there.

Once, a young boy came from a distant province, and, hearing of the boaster, said, "Verily, I can bring him to have a face of shame before his neighbors, for, in one thing I can excel any man almost. I can run for a short distance and my heart does not beat faster, neither can any man say that my heart is quicker than when I am but seated, doing no labor. I will challenge the boaster to run up a hill with me, breathing but four times until the top is reached."

The next day, the boy met and challenged the boaster to run to the top of a small hill, drawing breath but four times on the way. "If you can run and draw breath but four times, I can run the same distance and draw breath but twice," the boaster said.

When the race was run, many men ran along to see that neither of the runners deceived the other. The boaster ran but a short distance, when he shouted in pain and shame, "Had we been running down-hill, I am sure that I could have done more than you."

Then all the men mocked the boaster, saying, "Your words are truly large, but your works are but small. Never again will we listen to you, for a young lad has overcome one who says that he is stronger than the strongest." From that time never were they troubled, for, "Kee-oo-yai,"--the great boaster, was never heard to boast again.

A Clever Thief

Once a man went into the field of a gardener and stole a melon. Before he had had time to eat it the gardener discovered him, took the melon and tied it to the neck of the thief, and led him to the home of the head man of the village.

As they walked along, the thief took his scarf and covered his head and shoulders, and, as he was in front, he ate the melon without the gardener's seeing him.

When they reached the home of the head man, the gardener said, "This man stole a melon from me. It is tied to his neck under the cloth which covers his head and shoulders."

"I thought this man but walked along. I did not know he would accuse me of such a sin. If I stole a melon, where is it?" asked the thief. He removed the scarf, and, lo, there was nothing to prove his guilt, and the head man said, "I see no sign of guilt in this man. Do not again falsely accuse one, or you will be punished."

Eyeless-Needle, Rotten-Egg, Rotten-Banana, Old-Fish and Broken-Pestle.

Once upon a time there were five men so lazy and wicked that no one would speak to them nor have anything to do with them. No one of their native province would speak to them at all, and, to show their contempt for them, the people had christened them by odious names. One was called, "Eyeless-Needle"; one, "Rotten-Egg"; one, "Rotten-Banana"; one, "Old-Fish," and the fifth, "Broken-Pestle."

As there was neither shelter nor food for them in the village, they went to live in the woods, and one day they saw a cannibal building a fire.

He had both a fine house and much goods, so one of the men said, "Let us go kill him, and take his goods."

"Eyeless-needle" said, "No, we must not kill him now. When he sleeps we will kill him. I have planned just how it shall be done. You, 'Rotten-Egg,' go to the fireplace. You, 'Old-Fish,' jump into the water jar. 'Rotten-Banana,' lie down at the top of the stairs, and, you, 'Broken-Pestle,' lie at the foot."

As the eye of day had closed and the cannibal slept, "Eyeless-Needle,"

from under the bed, p.r.i.c.ked him. The cannibal thought insects were biting him, and, unable to sleep, he arose to build a fire. When he stooped to blow the flame, "Rotten-Egg" broke and flew up into his face; when he sought the water jar to wash his face, "Old-Fish" jumped and broke the jar and all the water was lost. Taking the dipper to go to the well for water, the cannibal slipped on "Rotten-Banana" and fell downstairs, where "Broken-Pestle" struck him on the head and killed him.

Then, taking much goods, "Eyeless-Needle," "Rotten-Banana,"

"Rotten-Egg," "Old-Fish," and "Broken-Pestle" fled, and to this day, has no one either seen or heard of them.

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