Chapter I: Front Matter

[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.]

Our Little Hindu Cousin

THE

Little Cousin Series

(TRADE MARK)

Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover, per volume, 60 cents

LIST OF TITLES

BY MARY HAZELTON WADE

(unless otherwise indicated)

=Our Little African Cousin=

=Our Little Alaskan Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

=Our Little Arabian Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little Armenian Cousin=
By Constance F. Curlewis

=Our Little Australian Cousin=

=Our Little Brazilian Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

=Our Little Brown Cousin=

=Our Little Canadian Cousin=
By Elizabeth R. MacDonald

=Our Little Chinese Cousin=
By Isaac Taylor Headland

=Our Little Cuban Cousin=

=Our Little Dutch Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little Egyptian Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little English Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little Eskimo Cousin=

=Our Little French Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little German Cousin=

=Our Little Greek Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

=Our Little Hawaiian Cousin=

=Our Little Hindu Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little Indian Cousin=

=Our Little Irish Cousin=

=Our Little Italian Cousin=

=Our Little Japanese Cousin=

=Our Little Jewish Cousin=

=Our Little Korean Cousin=
By H. Lee M. Pike

=Our Little Mexican Cousin=
By Edward C. Butler

=Our Little Norwegian Cousin=

=Our Little Panama Cousin=
By H. Lee M. Pike

=Our Little Philippine Cousin=

=Our Little Porto Rican Cousin=

=Our Little Russian Cousin=

=Our Little Scotch Cousin=
By Blanche McManus

=Our Little Siamese Cousin=

=Our Little Spanish Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet

=Our Little Swedish Cousin=
By Claire M. Coburn

=Our Little Swiss Cousin=

=Our Little Turkish Cousin=

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
New England Building, Boston, Mass.

(_See page 19_)]

Our Little Hindu Cousin

By Blanche McManus

_Author of "Our Little English Cousin," "Our
Little French Cousin," "Our Little Dutch
Cousin," "Our Little Scotch
Cousin," etc._

_Illustrated by_

The Author

Boston
L. C. Page & Company
_MDCCCCVII_

_Copyright, 1907_
BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)

_All rights reserved_

Second Impression, August, 1908

Preface

OUR little cousins of Hindustan are charming little people, even though their manners and customs and their religion are so very different from our own.

India is a big country, and there are many different races of people living within its borders, the two principal ones being the Mohammedans and the Hindus. The Mohammedans number about sixty millions and there are about a hundred and eighty millions of Hindus, who are by far the superior race.

The intelligence of the Hindus is of a very high order, but, like all Eastern races, they have many superstitions. Their attention to their food and drink and personal cleanliness is remarkable, and, though their customs in this respect are peculiar, they follow a healthful and sanitary manner of living which might well be practised by Western folk.

The arts and crafts of the Hindus and their trades and professions are very strange and interesting, and the young people themselves invariably grow up in the same occupations as their elders. There is no mixing of the races or _castes_, and members of one caste always associate with those of the same class.

But the English influence is making itself so strongly felt, that frequently the children learn English as early in life as they do their own language; so our little American cousins would almost always be able to make of them good playfellows and would perhaps be able to learn many valuable lessons from Our Little Hindu Cousins.

B. McM.

SUEZ, _January, 1907_.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE
I. CHOLA AT HOME 1
II. A DAY IN THE BAZAAR 16
III. THE CHILDREN'S HOLIDAY 35
IV. THE CHILDREN TRAVEL IN THE BIG OX-WAGON 50
V. THE CHILDREN SEE BENARES AND GO HOME FOR A WEDDING 66
VI. THE LITTLE SAHIB SEES THE BIG ELEPHANTS 80
VII. CHOLA GOES ON A TIGER HUNT 94

List of Illustrations

PAGE
CHOLA IN HIS FATHER'S SHOP (_See page 19_) _Frontispiece_
BUYING SWEETS IN THE BAZAAR 30
"FIRST THERE CAME A BIG ELEPHANT" 57
"THESE THE CHILDREN TWISTED INTO WREATHS
AND THREW INTO THE RIVER" 69
THE MARRIAGE OF SHRIYA 76
"SUDDENLY, UP OUT OF THE JUNGLE, THERE
SPRANG A GREAT YELLOW TIGER" 102

Our Little Hindu Cousin