Chapter IV: Part 4

“Oh, King!” replied the supposed Lama, “I, you must know, am a great recluse, and as the result of many years of solitary meditation, I have become proficient in all the magic arts. I will undertake to secure for you and your horse and dog the birth of offspring as you desire. But I can only do so on one condition, which is as follows: three children will be born to you, three to the horse and three to the dog. They will all be of a miraculous nature, and will grow to their full powers in the course of three years. At the end of three years I will return here, and will claim from you one of each to follow me and serve me and to obey my orders in all matters.”

The King gladly agreed to this condition, and asked the Lama how he should proceed in order to secure the desired result. The Lama replied:

“Here, oh King, are nine pills; three of these must be administered to the Queen, three to the horse and three to the dog. In three months’ time a child will be born to each, to be followed by two others at intervals of one month.”

So saying, he handed the pills to the King and forthwith took his departure. The King accordingly administered the pills as directed, and after three months the Queen gave birth to a boy, the mare to a foal, and the dog to a pup, and these were followed by two others at intervals of one month as the Lama had predicted.

All the young ones grew apace, and at the end of the three years they had all attained to their full growth and powers, and punctually at the conclusion of the third year the Ogre, still disguised as a Lama, returned to the palace to demand his due.

The King and Queen, though reluctant to part with any of their children, resolved to abide by their bargain, and they consulted together as to which of the young Princes should be handed over to the Lama. After some consideration they decided that it would not be advisable to part with the eldest son, as he was heir to the throne, nor with the second, who would have to succeed to the kingdom should any accident or mischance befall his elder brother; so they resolved to send the youngest son, and with him the youngest horse and the youngest dog. These three accordingly were handed over to the Lama, who ordered the Prince to follow him, and started off at once to his own country.

After travelling for some considerable distance they arrived at the top of a high pass, whence the Ogre, pointing down to a great castle standing in the valley below, said to the young Prince:

“That is my house below there; I shall leave you here and you must go on down to the house. When you arrive there you will find a goat tied up near the door of the courtyard, and a bundle of straw lying near by. You must pick up the bundle of straw and place it within reach of the goat. Then you must go into the farmyard, where you will find many fowls, and in one corner you will see an earthenware jar full of soaked grain, and you must sprinkle this grain for the fowls to eat. These two tasks I give you to-day, and you are on no account to enter my castle until I rejoin you in the evening.”

So saying the Ogre went off in another direction, whilst the young Prince, riding on his horse and followed by his dog, went down to the Ogre’s castle. When he reached the gateway he found, as the Ogre had predicted, a goat tied up and a bundle of straw lying in a corner of the courtyard. So he dismounted from his horse, and, picking up the bundle, he carried it near the goat and placed it on the ground. Scarcely had the bundle touched the ground when it became transformed into three great wolves, who, leaping upon the goat, devoured it in an instant, and then fled away to the hills.

The young Prince was very much astonished at seeing this, but being of a courageous spirit he did not allow the incident to frighten him, and proceeded to finish the remainder of his task. So he entered the yard where the poultry were kept, and proceeding to the corner where stood the jar of soaked barley, he took out a handful and scattered it amongst the fowls. As the grain touched the ground it was transformed instantly into three wild cats, who leapt fiercely upon the cocks and hens, and in a few moments, having destroyed them all, fled away into the hills.

The Prince’s curiosity was now thoroughly aroused, and he determined, in spite of the Ogre’s warning, to enter the house itself, and to discover what sort of place he had come to, so he pushed open the door of the castle and began wandering about all over the house. For some time he found nothing to interest him. The rooms were all well furnished and in good order, but he could find no trace and hear no sound of any living creature.

At last, after having explored the greater part of the building, he suddenly turned a corner in a passage, and saw in front of him a room whose walls were composed entirely of glass. Entering this room he saw in one corner a beautiful lady lying asleep on a couch with a flower behind her ear. The Prince was pleased at finding a human being in this desolate and mysterious castle, and, approaching the lady, he endeavoured to arouse her from her slumber. But all his efforts were in vain; she appeared to be in a sort of trance, and all he could do did not succeed in waking her.

At last in despair he took away the flower which was placed behind her ear, and as he did so she woke and sat up upon her couch, rubbing her eyes. As soon as she perceived the young Prince she was much astonished, and asked him what he was doing in the Ogre’s castle. The Prince told her the whole story of his miraculous birth through the magic of the holy Lama, and how he was condemned to serve the Lama as his servant through the agreement which the King his father had made, and how he had carried out the two tasks which the Lama had given him that day.

On hearing this story the lady was very indignant, and spoke to him as follows:

“You must know, oh Prince,” said she, “that the person whom you suppose to be a Lama is in reality a fearful and wicked Ogre. The only food of which he partakes is men’s hearts, and this house is full of the lifeless bodies of his numerous victims. He, however, is unable to obtain any power over the body of a human being unless that being directly disobeys his orders. Thus it is his practice upon obtaining a fresh servant to set him strange tasks which terrify and repel him. These tasks grow daily more difficult and more odious, until at last one day the servant disobeys his orders, and forthwith his body is at the mercy of the Ogre, who devours the heart and places the lifeless body in a large chamber at the back of this house. The process has evidently begun with you to-day. You have fulfilled all of his tasks without allowing yourself to be terrified by the strange portents which you have observed, but on his return he will no doubt set you further and more disagreeable duties to perform. I, you should know, am a Princess in my own country, and I was handed over to the Ogre by my parents about a year ago in circumstances very similar to your own. But when he had brought me to his castle, instead of destroying me as he does his other victims, he fell in love with me, and I have remained here as his wife ever since. But he is of a very jealous disposition, and never allows me to leave his castle; and for fear I should make my escape during his absence, he invariably, before going out, places an enchanted flower behind my ear which makes me fall into a trance, and I cannot awake until the flower is removed.”

The young Prince was very much interested on hearing this story, and he begged the Princess to give him some further information about the Ogre’s habits, in order that he might not unawares fall into his power, and might eventually be able to bring about the destruction of the monster.

“It is very difficult,” replied the Princess, “for any human being to kill the Ogre, for he is of a supernatural nature, and even if you were to cut off his head he would come to life again at once, unless you could also destroy his ‘mascot’ [6]—that is to say, the object upon the preservation of which his life in this world depends. Now the Ogre’s mascot is very carefully concealed, and its existence and whereabouts are known to no person except myself. I, however, have discovered where it is, and I will reveal the secret to you later, but first I will tell you the method by which you may destroy the Ogre’s body. You must know, then, that it is only possible for a human being to strike a mortal blow at the Ogre when his face is turned away. He knows this very well, and will never in any circumstances turn his back upon a man. Similarly, if he can make you turn your back to him he may be able to do you a mischief. When he comes in this evening and finds that you have fulfilled both the tasks he has set you, the first thing he will order you to do will be to walk three times round a great stove which stands in the centre of the kitchen; and if you obey his orders he will follow you from behind and will possibly do you some harm while your back is turned towards him. When he gives you these orders, then, you must not disobey, but you must tell the Ogre that it is so dark in the kitchen that you cannot see your way clearly, and you must ask him to precede you. This he is bound to do, and while he is going round the stove you may perhaps find an opportunity for stabbing him. If, however, you cannot succeed in doing so, and you both pass through this ordeal successfully, he will set you no further task to-night, and I will ascertain from him during the evening what trial he has in store for you to-morrow.”

The Prince thanked the young lady for all her good advice, which he promised to follow faithfully in every respect, and she then said to him:

“It is now near the time for the Ogre’s return. I will lie down on the couch, and you must place the flower behind my ear just as it was before; and when I fall into a trance you must at once go out into the courtyard and wait the return of the Ogre, and mind you are careful not to let him know that you have been inside the castle.”

So saying, the Princess lay down upon her couch, and the young man having placed the flower behind her ear she instantly fell into a deep trance. The Prince then went out into the courtyard and shortly after the Ogre arrived. He had now discarded his lama costume and appeared in his proper form, and riding up to the Prince he asked him in an angry tone whether he had carried out the orders he had received, and on the Prince replying in the affirmative, the Ogre ordered him to come into the kitchen. On entering the kitchen the Ogre pointed to a great stove standing in the centre, and said to the Prince:

“You must now walk three times round that stove.”

“It is so dark in here,” replied the Prince, “that I cannot see my way at all clearly. Will you please precede me and show me the way?”

The Ogre was very angry at hearing this, but he was unable to refuse, so he started off and ran round the stove three times, the Prince following closely at his heels. But he went so fast that the Prince, although he had his knife ready in his hand, was unable to catch him; and the Ogre, seeing that the Prince was not to be outwitted by this stratagem, went upstairs to his wife, leaving the young man locked up in the kitchen, where he spent the night alone.

Next morning the Ogre started off soon after daylight on his own business, and as soon as he was gone the Prince ran upstairs to the glass room, where he found the lady lying in a trance as before. He took the flower from behind her ear, and she immediately woke up and looked about her.

“Good-morning, Prince,” said she. “How did you succeed last night? I hope you followed the instructions which I gave you.”

The Prince described to her what had occurred, and she said:

“I have ascertained what the Ogre proposes to do when he returns this evening. He will seat himself in his chair of state in his great hall of audience and will order you to kow-tow to him three times, and if you do so he will seize an opportunity whilst you are lying on your face before him to do you some injury. It will not do, however, absolutely to disobey his orders; but you must explain to him that, being a Prince, you have never had to kow-tow to anybody and do not exactly know how to do it, and you must ask him to show you the proper way to proceed. He cannot refuse your request, and you must take the opportunity of stabbing him or cutting off his head whilst he is lying on his face before you. If you succeed in this come at once to me, and I will show you what else is necessary in order to bring about his complete destruction.”

The Prince promised to obey the lady’s orders, and after again sending her into a trance by placing the magic flower behind her ear, he returned to the courtyard and awaited the Ogre’s return. Just before dusk the Ogre came back and as the Princess had predicted he proceeded at once to the great audience hall, and seated himself on his chair of state.

“Now,” said he to the Prince, “you must kow-tow to me three times.”

“I am very sorry,” answered the Prince, “that I do not know how to do so. Being a Prince myself, I have never had to kow-tow to anybody; but if you will show me the proper manner in which to proceed I will do my best.”

This reply made the Ogre very angry, but he was unable to refuse to do as the Prince had asked him. So the Prince took his seat on the Ogre’s chair and the Ogre kneeling on the ground before him proceeded to kow-tow three times in the orthodox manner. As the Ogre’s face touched the ground the first time the Prince drew his sword; as it touched the ground the second time he raised the sword above his head; and as it touched the ground the third and last time the Prince delivered a violent blow, completely severing the Ogre’s head from his body. Leaving the body where it lay, the Prince ran up to the glass room as fast as he could, and having awakened the lady from her sleep, he told her what had happened.

“Well done!” said she. “The first part of your task is now accomplished; but as I told you before, it is still necessary to destroy the Ogre’s mascot, or he will come to life again in a short time. What you must do now, therefore, is as follows: you must descend into the vaults below the castle, and having traversed nine dark subterranean chambers, you will come to a blank stone wall. You must rap three times on this wall with the hilt of your sword, exclaiming with each rap, ‘Open, blank wall’; and as you pronounce these words for the third time the wall will fly asunder, and you will find yourself entering another subterranean chamber. In the centre of this chamber you will see a beautiful boy seated with a goblet of crystal liquid in his hand. This boy is the Ogre’s mascot, and upon his existence depends the Ogre’s life in this world. You must at once slay the boy, and taking the goblet very carefully in your hand, carry it upstairs to me. But be careful not to spill any of the liquid, as each drop means a man’s life.”

On receiving these instructions the Prince went down into the vaults at the basement of the castle, and having traversed nine great subterranean chambers, he found his progress stopped by a blank wall. Raising his sword he rapped three times with the hilt on the wall, exclaiming each time as he did so, “Open, blank wall.” As he pronounced these words for the third time a grating sound was heard, and with a hollow clang the wall gave way for him.

Advancing a few paces the Prince found himself in a small dungeon, lighted only by the glimmer which issued from a goblet of crystal liquid held in the hand of a beautiful young boy, who was seated in the centre of the chamber. Without a moment’s hesitation the Prince thrust his sword through the heart of the boy, and taking the goblet in his hand, he carried it upstairs to the Princess, being very careful on the way not to allow a single drop to be spilt.

When the Princess saw him entering her room with the goblet in his hand she was very much delighted.

“Now,” said she, “the Ogre is effectually destroyed, and can never more come to life in this world. All that now remains to be done is to restore to life his previous victims.”

So saying she ordered the Prince, still carrying the goblet, to follow her, and she proceeded by many winding passages and staircases to a remote part of the great castle. Presently, opening a huge door, she entered a long, low, gloomy chamber, lighted only by a narrow window which looked out over the back part of the castle. When the Prince entered this chamber he was horrified to see that down both sides of it were stretched the bodies of many scores of men, women and children, who lay there fully dressed, but to all appearance quite lifeless.

“These,” said the lady, “are the bodies of the Ogre’s victims; he has eaten their hearts, but the bodies, as you see, remain unharmed, while the spirit of each one is compressed into a drop of crystal liquor with which that goblet is filled. You must now sprinkle the bodies with the liquid, giving one drop to each.”

Accordingly the Prince passed down the rows of lifeless bodies, dropping as he went one drop of the magic liquid on each body; and as the liquor touched the body the life returned, and each person, as if awakened from a long sleep, moved and yawned, and finally sat up and began to talk and walk. In a few moments the transformation was complete, and the Ogre’s victims, after thanking the Prince and Princess heartily for their good offices, returned to their own homes. The Prince himself bade farewell to the lady, and leaving her in possession of the Ogre’s castle and all its belongings, he himself mounted upon his horse, and with his dog following at his heels, set out in search of further adventures.

[This is only the first instalment of the Prince’s adventures, which continue to an interminable length. I have given this section as a sample of the whole.]

STORY No. XVII.

THE STORY OF THE STONE LION.

Once upon a time there were two brothers whose father was dead, and who lived alone with their mother in a big house in a well-cultivated valley.

Now the elder of these brothers was a smart, clever man, but was of a very selfish, cold-hearted disposition; and the younger brother was simple and kind, but rather dull. The consequence was that after the death of their father the elder brother conducted most of the business of the family himself, and entirely supported his brother and his mother; whilst the younger brother, although quite willing to do his best, was not clever enough to be of any assistance in the household.

After a time the elder brother decided in his mind that he could no longer endure this state of affairs, so he one day called his young brother aside, and told him plainly that he would no longer continue to support such a lout, and that it would be better for him to go out into the world and seek his own fortune alone. The poor boy was much grieved on hearing this decision from his brother; but he was quite unable to protest or dispute, so, having packed up his few belongings, he went to say good-bye to his mother, and told her what had occurred. The good woman was very angry when she heard the news, and she said to her son:

“Very well, if your hard-hearted brother insists on turning you out of the house, I will accompany you. I cannot consent to remain any longer with such an unnatural and cruel son.”

So next day the mother and her younger son left the house and set off together to seek some means of livelihood on their own account. After travelling for some little distance they reached an empty hut situated at the foot of a large hill, not far from a populous town; and finding that the place was apparently deserted and that the owner, whoever he was, had left nothing to show that he proposed to return, they took possession of the hut, and slept there during the night.

Next morning early the boy, taking an axe with him, went out on to the hillside and began chopping wood. By evening he had chopped a fine big bundle of wood, and taking it down into the town he sold it in the market for a good sum of money. Greatly elated at the success of his labours he returned to his mother in the hut, and showing her the money he had earned, he told her that she need no longer have any anxiety regarding the future, for he would now be able to support her without any difficulty. Next morning, shouldering his axe, he started off again, and as before, began to chop wood. He had done a good morning’s work, and was walking a little further up the hill in order to search for some better timber, when, in a sheltered part of the hillside he suddenly found himself face to face with a large life-sized Lion carved out of the stone.

“Now,” thought he to himself, on seeing the Lion, “this, no doubt, is the guardian deity of this mountain, and to him must be due my good fortune in so easily obtaining a means of livelihood. I will certainly make him some offering to-morrow.”

So that evening, after selling his wood, he purchased two candles in the town, and on the following day he went straight to where the stone Lion stood, and lighting the candles, he placed one upon each side of the image, and prostrating himself humbly upon the ground before it, he prayed for renewed good fortune. Suddenly, to his surprise and alarm, the Lion opened its mouth, and asked him what he was doing there.

The young man replied that having been driven from his home by his proud and hard-hearted brother, he was now engaged in earning his livelihood by chopping wood upon that hill; and that, thinking that the Lion must be the guardian deity of the mountain, he had considered it right to make him some sort of an offering, and to request his continued patronage and assistance.

“Very good,” replied the Lion in a guttural tone of voice, “come again at this time to-morrow, and bring with you a large bucket, and I will furnish you at once with what wealth you require.”

The boy thanked the Lion for his kindness, and carrying his load of firewood down to the village he sold it for a good price, and with the proceeds he purchased himself a large wooden bucket.

Next morning he went up onto the hill again, carrying his bucket, and arriving near the stone Lion, he again prostrated himself upon the ground and announced his presence.

“Very good,” replied the Lion, “you must now act as follows: hold the bucket under my mouth, and I will vomit gold into it. But as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must tell me, as on no account must a single morsel of gold fall to the ground.”

The young man proceeded to do as the Lion had instructed him. He held the bucket below the Lion’s mouth, and the Lion forthwith began to vomit into it a stream of gold pieces. When the bucket was nearly full the young man informed the Lion of the fact, and forthwith the stream of gold came to an end; and the youth, having thanked the Lion most heartily for his munificent gift, carried off his bucket of gold in triumph to his mother. The poor woman was at first quite frightened at seeing so much wealth, but her son, having explained to her how he had come by it, she became greatly excited, and pleased.

Next day the widow and her son set about placing themselves in more comfortable circumstances. They purchased a large farm-house in the neighbourhood, and a large stock of cattle and sheep, and settled down in their new abode, and henceforward they began to live in a very comfortable and prosperous manner.

The news of the changed condition of life of his mother and younger brother soon reached the ears of the eldest son, and overcome with curiosity as to how this result had been brought about, he decided to call upon them, and to ascertain the cause of their prosperity. So, accompanied by his wife, and carrying with him a very small piece of cloth as a present, he set out to pay them a visit. When he reached the house his younger brother was away engaged upon his farm business, but the mother received her elder son and his wife very kindly and made them as comfortable as she could. In the evening, when the younger brother returned, he greeted his brother heartily, and being of a most kind-hearted and forgiving disposition, he related to him fully the manner in which he had come by his wealth, and strongly recommended his brother to act in a similar way.

The elder brother and his wife, as they returned home together that evening, talked the matter over between them, and decided that so good an opportunity of making money so easily was not to be lost. So next day the husband proceeded to the town, and after a prolonged search purchased the largest bucket which was to be had in the whole place. Carrying this with him, and bringing also a couple of candles, he proceeded to the hillside, and following the directions he had received from his brother, he soon found himself face to face with the stone Lion. He at once lighted his candles and placed them one on each side of the Lion, while he prostrated himself upon the ground, and prayed to the Lion for good fortune.

“Who are you?” said the Lion in a gruff voice; “and what do you want?”

“I,” replied the elder brother, “am the brother of the young man who was here the other day, and to whom you gave so much gold; and, following his advice, I have now come to ask you for a similar benefit for myself.”

“Very well,” said the Lion, “place your bucket under my mouth and I will vomit gold into it; but as soon as the bucket is nearly full you must inform me of the fact, as on no account must a single piece of gold fall to the ground. If this should happen, you will meet with misfortune.”

So the elder brother, trembling with eagerness, held his bucket as directed, and forthwith a stream of gold pieces began to pour from the Lion’s mouth into the bucket. The covetous fellow shook the bucket slightly from time to time in order to make the gold lie well together and so to obtain a larger quantity; and, overcome by greed, he could not bring himself to inform the Lion that the bucket was nearly full until it brimmed over and a piece of gold, slipping off the heap, fell to the ground. As it touched the ground the stream of gold suddenly ceased, and the Lion, in a hoarse voice, said:

“The largest piece of gold of all has stuck in my throat. Put your hand into my mouth and pull it out.”

The elder brother, on hearing this, immediately thrust his hand into the Lion’s mouth, hoping to secure a large lump of gold; and no sooner had he done so than the Lion, closing his jaws, held him fast. It was in vain that he struggled and wrenched his arm to and fro, endeavouring to release it; the stone jaws of the Lion gripped him so tight that he was totally unable to effect his escape, and the Lion, deaf to all prayers and entreaties, had relapsed apparently into an insensible figure of stone. And worst of all, when he glanced at his bucket of gold he saw, to his horror, that instead of gold it held nothing but stones and earth.

Towards evening the elder brother’s wife grew anxious concerning her husband’s absence, and knowing the direction in which he had gone, she set forth to the hillside to seek him. After hunting for some time she suddenly came across him, and asked him what he was doing and why he did not come home.

“Oh, wife,” said he, “a terrible thing has happened to me. I put my hand into the Lion’s mouth in order to extract a lump of gold which was stuck in his throat, when all of a sudden he closed his jaws, and gripped my arm, and now I am unable to effect my escape.”

The poor woman, on hearing this, wept and wailed, but all her entreaties to the Lion proved of no avail, and she went off to her home, and soon returned carrying her husband some food. Every day, for many days after, she returned to her husband, bringing him such provisions as he required to keep him alive; but as she had now no one to work for her, and was obliged to support her husband and her child entirely by her own exertions, she became gradually poorer and poorer, and was soon obliged to sell her household goods to procure the necessary food.

Some months passed away and the poor woman, falling ill, was at length reduced to such complete destitution that she had not even a morsel of bread to bring to her husband, and one morning she came weeping up the hill, and addressed him as follows:

“I have sold everything in the house, and have now no money to buy any food. There is not a scrap left to eat anywhere, and now nothing remains but for us to starve to death.”

On hearing this the Lion was so tickled that he could not refrain from laughing.

“Ha, ha!” said he, and opened his great jaws.

As quickly as he could, and before the Lion had time to close his mouth again, the man withdrew his arm, and, finding himself free, he at once hastened down the hill with his wife. Then, taking their child with them, they proceeded straight to the house of the younger brother, and having related to him the whole of their story, begged some relief from their misery. The young man reproached his brother for his greedy conduct in trying to obtain an extra supply of gold from the Lion in spite of his warning; but being of a very forgiving nature, he consented at last to supply his brother with a sum of money sufficient for him to take a small farm in the neighbourhood. Here the proud brother and his wife settled down in very humble circumstances, whilst the younger son lived for many years very happily with his mother and prospered exceedingly in all he undertook.

STORY No. XVIII.

THE STORY OF THE LAMA’S SERVANT.

There was once an old Lama who lived in a small house at the very top of a hill in a lonely part of Tibet. He was a very holy man and spent his time entirely in religious contemplation, and the only person whom he allowed about his house was a certain young man of low birth, who acted as his Servant and used to cook his meals and perform other household duties. This man was a great character in his way. He was an amusing fellow and very fond of his joke, but was quite unreliable and incapable of performing any regular work.

Now the old Lama’s diet, in accordance with the tenets of his religion, was a very small one, and he refrained entirely from taking the life of any living creature. So his food consisted chiefly of barley-flour, butter, and so on, and he abstained from meat of any kind. This mode of life, however, was not at all pleasing to the Servant, Rin-dzin, who had a healthy appetite and greatly missed his daily dish of meat, and he was constantly trying to persuade the Lama to allow him to kill a sheep or a goat in order that he might have a satisfactory meal. This, however, the Lama always sternly refused to do, and forbade his Servant on any account to destroy the life of a living being.

One day the Servant noticed a fine fat sheep, which, having become separated from the rest of the flock, was wandering about near the Lama’s house. So he pursued it and caught it, and carrying it into the ground floor of the house, he went up into the room above, and letting down a rope through a hole in the floor he hitched a slip-knot at the other end of the rope round the sheep’s neck. Having made these arrangements he went into the next room, where the Lama, as usual, was sitting alone wrapt in religious contemplation, deaf to all mundane affairs.

“Oh! Lama,” said the Servant, addressing the old man, “I have come to tell you that I have just found a sheep belonging to our neighbours, who live in the valley below, wandering about near the house; so, for fear he should be eaten by wolves, I have caught him and tied him up in a room below. But he is a very violent sheep and is struggling desperately to escape. Will you be so kind as to hold the rope for a short time while I go and inform the owner where his sheep is?”

The old Lama, who never refused a reasonable request, at once proceeded to do as he was asked, and, rising from his seat, he followed the Servant into the next room.

“Pray hold this rope,” said the Servant, handing the Lama the loose end of the rope to which the sheep was secured, “and if the sheep begins to struggle, pull it as hard as you can to prevent him from escaping.”

The Lama accordingly took hold of the rope, and the Servant went down into the lower storey as if he intended to leave the house. Instead of doing so, however, he went into the room where the sheep was tied and began to poke the animal with a sharp stick, and the sheep began to struggle violently, trying to escape from its tormentor. The more the sheep struggled below the more the Lama pulled above, and at last, when the tug-of-war had lasted for some minutes, the sheep was strangled by the slip-knot round its neck.

After the lapse of an hour or two the Servant returned to the Lama in the upper room and informed him that the sheep had died a natural death while he had been away seeking for its owner, and, in the circumstances, he supposed that they might as well cut it up and cook it for food. The unsuspecting old Lama agreed to this, and for several days the Servant was able to eat his fill of excellent mutton.

It chanced, however, that the shepherd boy who was in charge of the sheep had come to the Lama’s house looking for the one which was lost, and peeping in through the window had seen all that had happened. He told the story to his parents, who were very angry, and came to complain to the Lama of the conduct of his Servant. The old Lama was very much incensed at the treachery and wickedness of his attendant, and dismissed him on the spot, telling him to go away and never come back again. So Master Rin-dzin, with his few belongings on his back, marched off into the world to try and make his fortune.

He was a good deal cast down at first, but being naturally a volatile, light-hearted fellow he soon recovered his spirits and marched along the road singing blithely, and keeping a sharp look-out for anything that might turn up. He had not proceeded very far when he fell in with another young man going in the same direction as himself, and the two, joining company, fell into conversation. Rin-dzin soon related to his young friend all his recent adventures, and informed him that he was anxious to make a little money.

“Very good, brother,” replied the Stranger, “I am the very man to help you, for you must know I am a thief by profession, and I am always on the look-out for what fortune may bring me. So we will join company, and it will indeed be bad luck if we cannot succeed in hitting upon something profitable before many days have passed.”

So they went along together and towards evening they came upon a large house standing in a fertile valley. The Thief went forward alone to make enquiries, and he soon returned to Rin-dzin with the information he had gathered. The servants of the house had told him that the owner had died the day before, and was now awaiting burial in his own room. His only relation was his daughter, who was heiress to the whole of the property, and she was now mourning for her father all alone in the big house. Further, the Thief had learned that the old man had once had a son, who had run away from home many years before and had never been heard of again.

“Now,” said he to Rin-dzin, “I have a plan to propose to you. Do you climb in through the window into the room where the old man’s body lies awaiting burial, and conceal yourself somewhere. As soon as you are ready I will go to the young lady of the house and inform her that I am her brother, who has returned home after many years’ wandering. She will probably disbelieve my story, and I will propose that we should consult the corpse of her father on the matter. When we come into the room where the corpse lies I will address it, and ask whether I am not the long-lost son, whereupon you must reply that I am. On this evidence I shall secure at least one-half of the property, which, of course, I shall share with you. But be careful on no account to leave the room before morning, otherwise you are sure to be detected by the dogs which roam about the house by night.”

Rin-dzin agreed to this proposition, and climbed in by the window into the dead man’s room, and, concealing himself near the corpse, he awaited the arrival of his friend. Meanwhile the Thief went boldly up to the front door and gave a loud knock; and being admitted by the servants, he went straight to the chamber of the young lady of the house.

“Who are you?” said she; “and what do you want?”

“Oh! sister,” he replied, “I am your long-lost brother; do you not recognise me?”

“No,” said she, “it would be impossible for me to recognise you, as I was only a little child when you ran away. No one but my father could know you and he, alas! died yesterday.”

“That is very sad,” replied the Thief, “for indeed it will be difficult for me to prove the truth of my story. Let us, however, go into the room where my father’s corpse is lying, and ask it whether or no I am his long-lost son.”

The girl agreed to this, and the two went together into the chamber where the old man’s corpse was sitting trussed-up for burial, in accordance with the Tibetan custom.

“Are you there, father,” said the Thief, as he entered the darkened room; and Rin-dzin, in a sepulchral voice replied, “Ah.”

“I have come to ask you,” went on the Thief, “whether or no I am your long-lost son.”

“You are,” replied Rin-dzin.

And on hearing this the Thief at once retired, followed by the young girl, who was now completely convinced of his identity.

“Now, sister,” said the Thief, addressing her when they were alone together, “you see that my story is true, but, unfortunately, I am unable to stay here as I am called away this very night on urgent business. I will therefore make over to you the house and the whole of the landed property, and all I ask from you as my share of the estate is a bag of gold, as big as I can carry with me.”

The girl accepted these conditions, and handed over to the Thief a heavy bag of gold. He then bade her farewell and started off with his booty as fast as he could, leaving Rin-dzin behind him in the same room as the corpse.

Early next morning Rin-dzin climbed down from the window, and coming round to the front of the house he asked the lady where her brother was.

“Oh!” said she, “I gave him a big bag of gold last night, and he at once started off with it as fast as he could.”

When Rin-dzin heard this he was very angry indeed at the Thief’s treachery, and was determined to follow and punish him. So, borrowing a horse from the lady of the house, he galloped off down the road as fast as he could. About mid-day, as he was galloping along, he saw the Thief some distance ahead, sitting under the shade of a tree resting; for not knowing that Rin-dzin had a horse, he did not consider it necessary to go very fast.

When Rin-dzin caught sight of the Thief, he first thought that he would at once go up to him and demand his share of the gold, but on second thoughts he remembered that while he himself was unarmed, the thief possessed both a sword and a musket, so that if it came to a quarrel between them he would probably get the worst of it. So, leaning down over his horse’s neck, he pretended not to see the Thief, and galloped past him down the road, as if in mad pursuit. As soon as he was out of sight of the place where the Thief was sitting he pulled his horse up to a wall, and taking a new boot out of the bundle on his back, he dropped it in the middle of the road, and then pursued his way for some little distance further, when he took the fellow boot out of his bundle and dropped it also in the middle of the road. Having done this he turned aside from the roadway and concealed himself and his horse in a thicket near by.

As soon as Rin-dzin had galloped out of sight, the Thief congratulated himself at not having been seen, took up his bag of gold and continued his journey. After walking some little way, he came upon a new boot lying in the centre of the road.

“Ah!” thought he, “that foolish fellow has dropped one of his boots in his haste. But one boot isn’t worth picking up; it is of no use at all. What a pity it is he did not drop them both.”

So leaving the boot where it lay, he resumed his journey. The sun was now very hot, and the Thief, carrying his heavy bag of gold, was getting pretty tired, and by the time he reached the place where the other boot was lying he was nearly worn out.

“Hallo,” said he to himself, when he caught sight of the second boot, “here is the other boot. This is really too good a chance to be lost; I must certainly go back at once and pick up the first boot, and then I shall have a pair of new boots for nothing. But I can’t carry this heavy bag of gold all the way back with me.”

So thinking, he concealed the bag of gold under a tuft of grass by the roadside, and started off to retrace his steps to pick up the first boot. No sooner was he out of sight than Rin-dzin emerged from his hiding-place, and picking up the bag of gold, strapped it to his saddle and rode on his way.

STORY No. XIX.

THE COUNTRY OF THE MICE.

Once upon a time there was a King who ruled over a large tract of country in which there lived a great number of Mice. Generally the Mice were very prosperous and had plenty to eat, but it happened one year that the crops of the country were very poor, and the Mice, who subsisted chiefly on the spare grains left after the harvest, found that their stores were running short before the end of the winter. So the King of the Mice decided that he would make a petition to the King of the country, to lend the Mice what grain they required on condition that they repaid the whole amount the following year.

So he dressed himself up in his best clothes and set off one morning to the King’s palace. When he got to the door of the palace the door-keeper asked him where he was going.

“Oh!” replied the Mouse, “I wish to see the King of the country, as I have a petition to make to him.”

When the King heard that a Mouse wanted to see him he was very much amused, and he ordered that the little animal should be admitted.

When the Mouse entered the King’s presence he walked slowly up the Hall of Audience, carrying in his hand a little silk thread, which he presented to the King, instead of the usual ceremonial scarf. [7]

“Good-morning, Brother Mouse,” said the King, “what can I do for you?”

“Oh! King,” replied the Mouse, “you must know that this year our crops have fallen short, and we are threatened with a famine unless we can borrow sufficient grain to carry us through the winter; so I, who am King of the Mice, have come here to ask you if you can help us in this matter. If you can lend us the grain we require, we will repay you faithfully with interest at the next harvest.”

“Well,” said the King, “how much grain do you want?”

“I think that we shall require,” said the Mouse, “one of your big barns full.”

“But,” said the King, “if I were to give you a barn full of grain how would you carry it away?”

“Leave it to me,” said the Mouse; “if you will give us the grain we will undertake to carry it off.”

So the King agreed to present the Mice with one of his great granaries full of barley, and he ordered his officers to throw open the doors, and to let the Mice carry away as much as they wanted.

That night the King of the Mice summoned all his subjects together, and to the number of many hundreds of thousands they invaded the barn, and each one picked up as much grain as he could carry in his mouth, on his back, and curled up in his tail, and when they had all finished the barn was empty, and not a single grain of barley was left.

Next morning, when the King went out to look at his barn, he was very much astonished to find that the Mice had been able to empty it so effectually, and he conceived a very high opinion of their powers; and when, in the following spring, the King of the Mice redeemed his promise by repaying with interest the loan he had taken from the King of the country, the latter saw that they were trustworthy as well as clever.

Now it happened shortly after this that the King of the country went to war with a neighbouring kingdom, which lay on the opposite side of the river forming the frontier between the two countries. This other country was far more wealthy and powerful than the country where the Mice lived, and its King soon assembled a huge army on the opposite bank of the river and began making preparations for invasion.

When the Mice heard what was happening, they were much distressed, for they feared that if the enemy entered their country and destroyed their friend the King, they themselves would suffer considerable hardships under a strange ruler; so the King of the Mice set out again to visit the King of the country, and when he reached the palace he demanded an interview with His Majesty. This was at once accorded to him, and finding the King looking very depressed, he addressed him as follows:

“I have come to you a second time, Oh King, in order to see whether I can be of any use to you. The last time I was here you did me and my people a great favour, for which we shall ever be grateful, and if it is now in our power to assist you in any way, we shall be very glad to do our best.”

The King, in spite of his grief, was much amused on hearing these words from the Mouse.

“Why,” said he, “what could the Mice do to help me in my present predicament? We are threatened with invasion by a foreign army, outnumbering mine by many thousands, and all the men I can muster will not be sufficient to enable me to repel the enemy. I don’t see how the Mice can help me.”

“Do you remember, Oh King!” replied the Mouse, “that on the last occasion I was here you doubted our ability to carry away the grain you had given us, or to repay you the loan? And yet we proved ourselves able to do both. All we ask you now is to trust us again, and if you will undertake to do one or two things which we ask of you, we on our part will undertake to rid you of the invading army.”

The King was a good deal struck by this remark of the Mouse, and he replied:

“Very well, what you say is quite true; and if you will inform me what you wish me to do, I will undertake to carry out my share of the bargain.”

“Well, then,” answered the Mouse, “all we wish you to do is to provide us by to-morrow evening with one hundred thousand sticks, each about a foot long, [8] and to have them laid in rows on the bank of the river. If you will undertake to do this, we on our side will undertake to stave off the threatened invasion and to put the opposing army into a state of confusion and panic. And if we succeed in carrying out all we promise, we will ask you for the future to safeguard us against the two principal dangers which threaten the existence of the Mice who live in your country.”

“I will gladly do what I can,” replied the King, “to safeguard you against these dangers if you will tell me how to proceed.”