The man said, "That, indeed, is Allan Bostan." Then the cudgel went
and began to beat the Hettiya.
Thereupon the Hettiya said, "Lord, don't beat me. I will give you
all the things I took."
So the man said, "Stop, Bostan." Then the cudgel stopped the
beating. After that [the Hettiya] gave him that stolen plate and ring,
and the cow that dropped gold, these very three things. After that,
the man having become wealthy, remained so.
North-central Province.
In The Story of Madana Kama Raja (Natesa Sastri), p. 130, a Prince
stole the articles left by a dying Sannyasi,--a cup which supplied
food, a bag which yielded everything desired, sandals that transported
their wearer where he wished to go, and a cudgel which thrashed all
enemies but is not mentioned again. By means of the bag he obtained
a palace, but two dancing women cheated him and stole all his magical
articles; he recovered them by the aid of some miraculous fruits.
In Folk-Tales of Bengal (L. Behari Day), p. 53, an indigent Brahmana
received from the goddess Durga an earthen pot out of which food
fell when it was reversed. At an inn it was changed for a common one,
and he was driven away. Durga gave him another pot out of which when
reversed a number of demons issued and beat him, returning to it when
it was set mouth upwards. When he was bathing the innkeeper reversed
the pot, was thrashed by the demons, and the Brahmana regained the
pot formerly stolen.
In Folklore of the Santal Parganas (collected by Dr. Bodding), p. 83,
an indigent Prince received a magic cow that granted everything
desired, from a jackal whose protection he craved. It was afterwards
changed by a man at whose house he lodged for the night, but by the
help of the jackal he recovered it.
In Old Deccan Days (M. Frere), p. 182, a Brahmana who had seven
daughters married the eldest to a jackal who was in reality a Raja
in disguise and a magician. He gave the Brahmana a melon to plant;
the fruits, which were ripe next day, contained precious stones,
but, unaware of it, the man sold some and was cheated out of the
others. The jackal gave him a pot which contained food when required,
a Raja took it, and the man then received from his son-in-law another
pot containing a stick and rope which would tie and beat people when
ordered. When the Raja, hearing he had got a better pot than before,
came to take it, the man caused him and his attendants to be beaten
until he got back the former pot. In the same way he recovered all
the precious stones.
In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues (Chavannes), vol. iii, p. 256,
a religious mendicant gave an inexhaustible jar of copper to a poor
man who had presented food to him, and warned him against inviting
the King to his house. The man neglected the advice, and the King took
the jar. He then received from the donor a pot filled with sticks and
stones. When he demanded the copper jar the King ordered him to be
seized, but the men were beaten by the articles which issued from the
second jar, and the King returned the first one. In the same volume,
p. 267, there is an account of a rice measure, a jar of ambrosia,
and a bag of jewels which were all inexhaustible. When a King sent
men to take them a magical stick drove them away.
In Indian Fairy Tales (M. Stokes), p. 32, a foolish youth broke cakes
into five pieces in the jungle, and said, "Now I'll eat this one, then
the second, then the third, then the fourth, and then the fifth." The
fairies who haunted the place thought he was about to devour them,
and gave him a cooking pot out of which any food could be procured;
at a cook's shop it was changed for a common one. When no food issued
from this, he took five more cakes, repeated the words, received
a box which produced any clothes required, and was drugged by the
cook, who substituted a common box for it. He again took five cakes,
and received a rope and stick which would tie and beat men when
ordered. With these he recovered the other articles.
In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 13, a King called
Putraka persuaded two Asuras to race for the possession of articles
left by their father,--shoes on which one could fly, a staff that
wrote only truth, and a food vessel. The King then put on the shoes,
carried off the other things, and founded the city called Pataliputra
after Patali (his wife) and himself. The translator gave references
to an Indian variant in which the rod is replaced by a purse, and to
European examples.
In vol. ii., p. 3, of the same work four Yakshas presented a poor
man with an inexhaustible food pitcher. When his kinsmen inquired
about it he took it on his shoulder and began to dance, his foot
slipped, the pitcher fell and was broken, and he reverted to his
former poverty. This story is found in Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues
(Chavannes), vol. ii, p. 74. Inexhaustible bowls filled with jewels
are mentioned in vol. ii, p. 220, also.
In Les Avadanas (Julien), vol. ii, p. 8, and Cinq Cents Contes et
Apologues, vol. ii, p. 185, the story of the demons (Pisacas) is
almost the same as that above quoted. In the latter work, vol. iii,
p. 259, two persons were quarrelling over a hat which rendered the
wearer invisible, shoes with which he could walk on water, and a
cudgel that would beat a person to death. When they raced for an
arrow that a man shot he made off with the things.
In Sagas from the Far East, p. 84, in a Kalmuk tale, a man who
frightened away some demons found that they had left an inexhaustible
gold goblet which provided food and drink. He exchanged it for a magic
cudgel, a hammer which when struck on the ground nine times caused a
nine story tower to rise, and a goat-skin bag out of which rain fell
when it was shaken, in each case sending back the cudgel to recover
the articles.
In the Maha Bharata (Vana Parva, iii) Yudhishthira recited a Hymn to
the Sun, on which this deity bestowed on him an inexhaustible copper
pot out of which fruit, roots, meat, and vegetables were produced.
There is a Bamana variant from the interior of Senegambia, given
in Contes Soudanais (C. Monteil), p. 58. A hyæna found a small pot
called The Generous Pot, out of which he obtained rice, kus-kus
(large millet), and other food. His hostess informed the King, who
after testing it, kept it, and attached it to his arm. The hyæna then
found a cutlas which told him its name was Cutlas-who-strikes. The
King heard from his hostess that it was better than the pot. When he
took it the hyæna stood beside his arm on which the pot hung, told
him the name of the cutlas, and while it was striking him snatched
away the pot and absconded.
In Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria (Dayrell), p. 20, a King had
a drum the beating of which caused food to appear, but if the owner
stepped over a stick or tree the food went bad, and men with sticks
beat the guests and owner.