Told by BIKKÚ MISRA, Brahman, Achhnérá village, Agra district.
Butcher buys a Goat--"Spare my life, and I will repay you"--He spares
him--The Goat goes into the forest and meets a Jackal--"I am going to
eat you." "Wait till I get fat in the forest." "Good: look out for me
when you come back"--Meets a Wolf--Same thing happens--Finds a temple of
Mahádeva--In it are gold coins--Swallows them--Goes to a
flower-seller--"Cover me with flowers"--He does so, and the Goat voids
two mohurs--Sets out to return--Meets the Wolf--"Have you seen a Goat?"
"No"--Meets the Jackal--"Have you seen a Goat?" "Yes, some distance
back"--Proceeds to the Butcher, and voids the rest of the coins--The
Butcher is grateful, and never kills him as long as he lives.
Agra district. Tales of animals spitting gold are common, as in Grimm's
"Three Little Men in the Wood" ("Household Tales," i. 56) and in
Oriental Folk-lore (Tawney, "Katha Sarit Ságara," ii. 8, 453, 637;
Knowles, "Folk-tales of Kashmir," p. 443).