Tibetan Folk Tales, A. L. Shelton [early reader books txt] 📗

the stream and see where the water comes from.” He went a short distance and found that the stream issued from the mouth of a great snake, and looking along the banks he saw many skeletons of birds and animals that had been drinking the water. Then he grieved greatly because he had killed the raven that had tried to save his life.

Footnotes

103:1 Perhaps a variation of the same story told of Genghis Khan.

***

TWENTY-FIVE

The Two Thieves. (A Black Tent Story)

In the presence of a kind man you are uncomfortable, in the presence of bad food there is an odor.

Tibetan Proverb.

THERE was once upon a time two thieves, one named Lozong, the other Adra. They went out one day and slipping down the mountain stole one of a herd of cattle that belonged to a rich man. They drove this cow into a ravine and killed it where nobody could see them. They were afraid to leave the beef and go and wash the stomach and intestines, as each was afraid the other would run away with it. Adra wanted to stay with the big beef, so finally after much persuasion Lozong took the intestines down to wash them. And both were afraid the rich man would discover what they had done. As Lozong washed and washed and cleaned the intestines he wondered how he could cheat Adra out of his part of the beef. Adra sat and schemed how he could cheat Lozong out of his part. But Lozong had the best plan. He took the stomach and blew it up as big and tight as he could, got him a club and began to beat it as if it were a big drum, all the time yelling. When Adra heard him he was very much frightened and said, “A k� k�, they have caught him now, and are giving him a good beating; they would have gotten me if I had gone down there to wash those things, so I will run away as fast as I can and they will think that he was the only man that did the stealing.” So he ran away as fast as he could, and when Lozong got back he kept all the beef himself and laughed to think how easily he had won it from the other thief.

***

TWENTY-SIX

The Golden Squash. (A Black Tent Story)

The shepherd will protect his flock of sheep and without power can save a hundred lives.

Tibetan Proverb.

ONE time in a corner of the world, high up among the mountains, there lived two old men who were very good friends. Each had a small garden patch. One was a good old man, naturally; that is, he didn’t have to try very hard to be good, for his heart was pure, he loved all animals and birds and was very happy in his little garden. But the other old man wanted very much to be wealthy. One day the first old man found in his garden a little, crippled bird. He took it and cared for it, felt sorry for it, healed it and fed it every day. Then he was able to fly away, and the old man let him go. He soon returned bearing a seed in his mouth which he gave to the old man, saying, “You plant this seed—it’s a very fine squash seed, the very finest in the world, and be sure you tend it well.”

So the old man planted it and watered it, and at last there grew on the vine just one squash, but it was monstrous big. When cold weather came and it was fully ripe the old man tried to pull it and take it into the house, but he couldn’t carry it and had to call five men to help him get it in. By and by he wanted to eat some and peeled off the outer skin, which was very thin like paper, and when he cleaned it, he found it to be solid gold. Now, he was very rich, but he made good use of his money and gave to the poor and aided all who were needy. His old neighbor came over one day and asked him where he got the seed for that squash, and he told him the story of the little bird. The old man went home, very envious, and thought he would think up a plan so that he would be rich too.

He got his bow and arrow and slipped out into the garden and waited until he saw a little bird light on a tree. Then he deliberately shot, breaking its leg. Picking it up carefully, he pretended to be grieved over its hurt and tended the little thing until it was finally well and able to fly away. One day sure enough the bird flew back bringing a seed which he told the man how to plant and care for because it was very wonderful indeed. It sprouted and grew and grew until finally when winter came he had to have five or six men help him carry his squash into the house. He was much delighted, for he thought, “Now I shall be rich, too.” He could hardly wait until he could get his knife and cut the skin, but he had no more than broken it when it popped wide open and out jumped a fierce old man, who said he was sent by the king of the lower regions to weigh him. He grabbed him by the back of the neck and set him on the scale which he carried and said, “You are far too light and no use at all,” and at once took him out and cut off his head.

So much for the sin of covetousness.

***

TWENTY-SEVEN

The Story of the Bald-Headed Man

Eating much of sweetness you do not know if it be sweet any more. But the evil in a man shows and you know it very well.

Tibetan Proverb.

ONE time, when the world was young and men and women were ill because an evil spirit possessed them, there lived a man and his wife who were very poor. A devil came and took possession of each of them and made them both sick. As they were not rich they couldn’t invite a holy lama to read prayers for them, so invited a lay-brother in his stead. After a while this man who was reading began to get very hungry. It was the custom to give the priests the best of food, but this man and his wife had no butter nor meat nor fine things to eat. They had no horses, nor yak and only one goat. So the reader began to think to himself that if they would kill this goat he’d have plenty to eat, as it was really pretty fat. The man who owned the house was bald-headed and now he came up and sat on the roof near where the man was reading. He really sat down in front of him and heard the man mumbling his prayers, “Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum;” he was reading, and read right on in the same tone, “The god says if a man is bald-headed and will take the skin of a goat and put it on his head he will have hair.” The old man sat and heard him read this over several times and finally decided it was there in the book of prayers; so he killed the goat. They all had some good eating for a while and the old man put the skin on his head, wore it and wore it for days and days and kept feeling his head, but not a single hair would come. He finally concluded that the man had lied to him out of the book, and besides, he thought, “If I wear this too long, I fear all the skin will be worn off my head and there will be nothing but bone.” So he asked the man about it, whether he hadn’t lied to him, and he said, “Oh, no, but if a man would have what the gods say come true, he must pray a great deal himself.” Thus he got around his lies and had goat to eat as well.

***

TWENTY-EIGHT

The Man with Five Friends with Different Colored Eyes (A Black Tent Story)

A man who can succeed is always sent—if there is nothing to be done, it doesn’t matter who goes.

Tibetan Proverb.

ONE time there was a man who had a son.

The man was not wealthy and hadn’t much to leave his son, but he said there were just two things he wanted to tell him before he died; if he heeded them he would be happy, if he didn’t he would be very miserable. The two things were these: first, when you are married never trust your wife with your secrets until you have ten children; second: choose your friends by their eyes. “Never choose for a friend a man with a light colored eye,” he said, “see that the inner corner of the eye is red and that the white of the eye is pure white and not brownish or yellow, and that the colored part is black. Now, if you will observe these two things you will never get into trouble.”

After his father’s death he soon married, and as he was a very amiable man, made many friends. It happened that one of his friends had blue eyes, one yellow eyes, another brown eyes, another black, and only one came up to the father’s stipulations. He heeded his father’s warning about telling his wife his secrets until after his first son was born, then he was so pleased and so happy, he told her what his father had said, but remarked, “I believe you will be trustworthy though, so I will tell you some of my secrets.” But he was a bit doubtful still, and resolved to put her to the test.

One night, coming home late, he stopped at a man’s place and bargained for a hog for twenty rupees, and the man was to tell nobody to whom he had sold the hog or where it had gone. He took the hog, killed it, drew off his trousers and put the hog in them, threw it over his back and carried it home. When he got there he called his wife in a loud whisper, saying, “Let me in, let me in quick.”

“Why, what is the matter?” she asked.

“I’ve killed a man, let us put him in the pond.”

So she helped him and they tied rocks to the trousers and sank it in the water. The man was all covered with blood, carrying the dead pig. He went in and washed himself, taking off his soiled clothes, saying to his wife, “You must never tell this to anybody, for it is as much as my life is worth if you do.”

One day he and his wife had a quarrel.

“You treat me this way, will you,” she said, “I’ll show you what about yourself. You know that man you killed, well, I’ll tell the official about it.” And she did. He sent an officer to come and get the man and put him in chains until the time should come for his beheading.

The man sent word now to his five friends. All came and listened to his tale, and four of them said, “Well, you did this, you told your wife you did, and you will have to take the consequences, for we can’t help you.” Then the four left. His last friend came and after hearing his story said, “This is terrible. I don’t know what I can do, but I will save you if