_Sir Buzz_.--In the vernacular Mîyân Bhûngâ, which is Pânjabî for
Sir Beetle or Sir Bee. The word is clearly connected with the common
Aryan roots _frem_, _bhran_, _bhah_, _bhin_, to
buzz as a bee or beetle.
_Tigress_.--Not otherwise described by the narrators than as a
_bhût_, which is usually a malignant ghost, but here she is rather
a benevolent fairy.
_Span_.--The word in the vernacular was _hâth_, the arm
below the elbow, or conventionally half-a-yard, or 18 inches.
_Hundredweight_.--The word here is _man_, an Indian weight
of about 80 Ibs.
_Princess Blossom_.--Bâdshâhzâdi Phûlî, Princess Flower, or
Phûlâzâdî, Born-of-a-flower.
_One-eyed Chief Constable_.--_Kotwál_ is the word used in
the original; he is a very familiar figure in all oriental tales of
Musalmân origin, and must have been one in actual mediæval oriental
life, as he was the chief police (if such a term can be used with
propriety) officer in all cities. The expression 'one-eyed' is
introduced to show his evil nature, according to the well-known saying
and universal belief--
_Kânâ, kâchrâ, hoch-gardanâ: yeh tînon kamsât!
Jablag has apnâ chale, to koî na pûchhe but. _
Wall-eyed, blear-eyed, wry-necked: these three are evil.
While his own resources last none asketh them for help.
_Vampire_.-The word used was the Arabic _ghûl_ (in English
usually ghowl or ghoul), the vampire, man-devouring demon, which
corresponds to the _bhût_ and _pret_, the malignant ghosts
of the Hindus. It may be noted here that the Persian _ghol_ is
the _loup-garou_ of Europe, the man-devouring demon of the woods.
_King Indar or Indra_--Was originally the beneficent god of
heaven, giver of rain, _etc_., but in the later Hindu mythology
he took only second rank as ruler of the celestial beings who form the
Court of Indra (_Indar kâ akhârâ_ or _Indrâsan Sabhâ_),
synonymous with gaiety of life and licentiousness.