_Little Anklebone_--This tale appears to be unique among Indian
folk-tales, and is comparable with Grimm's Singing Bone. It is
current in the _Bâr_ or wilds of the Gujrânwâlâ District, among
the cattle-drovers' children. Wolves are very common there, and the
story seems to point to a belief in some invisible shepherd, a sort of
Spirit of the Bâr, whose pipe may be heard. The word used for 'Little
Ankle-bone' was _Gîrî_, a diminutive form of the common word
_gittâ_. In the course of the story in the original, Little
Anklebone calls himself Giteta Ram, an interesting instance of the
process of the formation of Panjâbî proper names.
_Auntie_--Mâsî, maternal aunt.
_Tree that weeps over yonder pond_--_Ban_, _i.e.
Salvadora oleoides_, a common tree of the Panjâb forests.
_Jackal howled_--A common evil omen.
_Marble basins_--The word used was _daurâ_, a wide-mouthed
earthen vessel, and also in palaces a marble drinking-trough for
animals.
_The verses_,--The original and literal translation are as
follows--
_Kyûn garjâe badalâ garkanâe?
Gaj karak sâre des;
Ohnân hirnîân de than pasmâe:
Gitetâ Râm gîâ pardes!_
Why echo, O thundering clouds?
Roar and echo through all the land;
The teats of the does yonder are full of milk:
Gitetâ Râm has gone abroad!