_HOW THE THREE CLEVER MEN OUTWITTED THE DEMONS._
There was once upon a time a very rich man who had a very beautiful
wife, and this man's chief amusement used to be shooting with a bow
and arrow, at which he was so clever that every morning he would shoot
through one of the pearls in his wife's nose-ring without hurting her
at all.[106] One fine day, that was a holiday, the Pearl-shooter's
brother-in-law came to take his sister to their father and mother's
house to pay her own family a little visit; and when he saw her, he
said, "Why do you look so pale and thin and miserable? is your husband
unkind to you, or what is the matter?" "No," she answered; "my husband
is very kind to me, and I have plenty of money and jewels, and as nice
a house as I could wish; my only grief is that every morning he amuses
himself by shooting one of the pearls from my nose-ring, and that
frightens me; for I think perhaps some day he may miss his aim and the
arrow run into my face and kill me. So I am in constant terror of my
life; yet I do not like to ask him not to do it, because it gives him
so much pleasure; but if he left off of his own accord, I should be
very glad." "What does he say to you himself about it?" asked the
brother. "Every day," she replied, "when he has shot the pearl, he
comes to me quite happy and proud, and says, 'Was there ever a man as
clever as I am?' and I answer him, 'No, I do not think there ever was
any as clever as you.'" "Do not say so again," said the brother; "but
next time he asks you the question, answer, 'Yes, there are many men
in the world more clever than you.'" The Pearl-shooter's wife promised
to take her brother's advice. So, next time her husband shot the pearl
from her nose-ring, and said to her, "Was there ever a man as clever
as I am?" she answered, "Yes, there are many men in the world more
clever than you."
[106] See Notes at the end.
Then he said, "If so be that there are, I will not rest until I have
found them." And he left her, and went a far journey into the jungle
in order to find, if possible, a cleverer man than himself. On, on, on
he journeyed a very long way, until at last he came to a large river,
and on the river-bank sat a traveler eating his dinner. The
Pearl-shooter sat down beside him and the two began conversing
together. At last, the Pearl-shooter said to his friend, "What is the
reason of your journey, and where are you going?" The stranger
answered, "I am a Wrestler, and the strongest man in all this country;
I can do many wonderful things in the way of wrestling and carrying
heavy weights, and I began to think that in all this world there was
no one so clever as I; but I have lately heard of a still more
wonderful man who lives in a distant country, and who is so clever
that every morning he shoots one of the pearls from his wife's
nose-ring without hurting her. So I go to find him, and learn if this
is true."
The Pearl-shooter answered, "Then you need travel no further, for I
am that man of whom you heard." "Why are you traveling about, then,
and where are you going?" asked the Wrestler. "I," replied the other,
"am also traveling to see if in all the world I can find a cleverer
man than myself; therefore, as we have both the same object in view,
let us be as brothers and go about together; perhaps there is still in
the world a better man than we." The Wrestler agreed; so they both
started on their way together. They had not gone very far before they
came to a place where three roads met, and there sat another man, whom
neither of them had ever seen before. He accosted the Wrestler and the
Pearl-shooter and said to them, "Who are you, friends, and where are
you going?" "We," answered they, "are two clever men, who are
traveling through the world to see if we can find a cleverer man than
we; but who may you be, and where are you going?" "I," replied the
third man, "am a Pundit,[107] a man of memory, renowned for my good
head, a great thinker; and verily I thought there was not in the world
a more wonderful man than I; but having heard of two men in distant
lands of very great cleverness, the one of whom is a Wrestler, and the
other a shooter of pearls from his wife's nose-ring, I go to find them
and learn if the things I heard are true." "They are true," said the
others; "for we, O Pundit, are the very two men of whom you speak."
[107] Wise man.
At this news the Pundit was overjoyed, and cried, "Then let us be as
brothers; since your homes are far distant, return with me to my
house, which is close by; there you can rest a while, and each of us
put our various powers to the proof." This proposal pleased the
Wrestler and the Pearl-shooter, who accompanied the Pundit to his
house.
Now, in the kitchen there was an enormous cauldron of iron, so heavy
that five-and-twenty men could hardly move it; and in the dead of
night the Wrestler, to prove his power, got up from the veranda where
he was sleeping, and as quietly as possible lifted this great cauldron
on his shoulders and carried it down to the river, where he waded with
it into the deepest part of the water, and there buried it. After
having accomplished this feat, he returned to the Pundit's house as
quietly as he had left it, and, rolling himself up in his blanket,
fell fast asleep. But though he had come never so softly, the Pundit's
wife heard him, and waking her husband, she said, "I hear footsteps as
of people creeping quietly about and not wishing to be heard, and but
a little while ago I noticed the same thing; perhaps there are thieves
in the house; let us go and see: it is strange they should choose such
a bright moonlight night." And they both got up quickly and walked
round the house. They found nothing, however, out of order, nor any
signs of anything having been touched or disarranged, until they came
to the kitchen. And, indeed, at first they thought all was as they
left it there, when, just as they were going away, the Pundit's wife
cried out to him, "Why, what has become of the great cauldron? I never
thought of looking to see if that was safe; for it did not seem
possible that it could have been moved." And they both looked inside
the house and outside, but the cauldron was nowhere to be seen. At
last, however, they discovered deep footprints in the sand close to
the kitchen door, as of some one who had been carrying a very heavy
weight, and these they traced down to the river-side.
Then the Pundit said, "Some one immensely strong has evidently done
this, for here are the footprints of one man only; and he must have
buried the cauldron in the water, for, see, there is no continuation
of the footprints on the other side. I wonder who can have done it?
Let us go and see that our two guests are asleep; perhaps the Wrestler
played us this trick to prove his great strength." And with his wife
he went into the veranda, where the Pearl-shooter and the Wrestler lay
rolled up in their blankets, fast asleep. First, they looked at the
Pearl-shooter; but on seeing him the Pundit shook his head, saying,
"No, he certainly has not done this thing." They then looked at the
Wrestler, and the cunning Pundit licked the skin of the sleeping man,
and, turning to his wife, whispered, "This is assuredly the man who
stole the cauldron and put it in the river, for he must have been but
lately up to his neck in fresh water, since there is no taste of salt
on his skin from his foot even to his shoulders. To-morrow I will
surprise him by showing him I know this." And so saying, the Pundit
crept back into the house, followed by his wife.
Next morning early, as soon as it was light, the Pearl-shooter and the
Wrestler were accosted by their host, who said to them, "Let us go
down to the river and have a wash, for I cannot offer you a bath,
since the great cauldron, in which we generally bathe, has been
mysteriously carried away this very night." "Where can it have gone?"
said the Wrestler. "Ah, where indeed?" answered the Pundit; and he led
them down to where the cauldron had been put into the river by the
Wrestler the night before, and wading about in the water until he
found it, pointed it out to him, saying, "See, friend, how far this
cauldron traveled!" The Wrestler was much surprised to find that the
Pundit knew where the cauldron was hidden, and said, "Who can have put
it there?" "I will tell you," answered the Pundit; "why, I think it
was you!" And then he related how his wife had heard footsteps, and,
being afraid of thieves, had awakened him the night before, and how
they had discovered that the cauldron was missing, and traced it down
to the river-side; and then how he had found out that the Wrestler had
just before been into the water up to his neck. The Wrestler and the
Pearl-shooter were both much astonished at the Pundit's wisdom in
having found this out; and the Pearl-shooter said to himself, "Both
these men are certainly more clever than I." Then the three clever men
returned to the house, and were very happy and joyful, and amused
themselves laughing and talking all the rest of the day; and when
evening came, the Pundit said to the Wrestler, "Let us to-night forego
all meagre fare and have a royal feast; friend Strongman, pray you go
and catch the fattest of those goats that we see upon the hills
yonder, and we will cook it for our dinner." The Wrestler assented,
and ran on and on until he reached the flock of goats browsing upon
the hill-side. Now, just at that moment a wicked little Demon came by
that way, and on seeing the Wrestler looking at the goats (to see
which seemed the finest to take home to dinner), he thought to
himself, "If I can make him choose me, and take me home with him for
his dinner, I shall be able to play him and his friends some fine
tricks." So, quick as thought, he changed himself into a very
handsome goat, and when the Wrestler saw this one goat, so much taller
and finer and fatter than all the rest, he ran and caught hold of him
and tucked him under his arm, to carry him home for dinner. The goat
kicked and kicked and jumped about, and tried to butt more fiercely
than the Wrestler had ever known any mortal goat do before, but still
he held him tight and brought him in triumph to the Pundit's door. The
Pundit heard him coming and ran out to meet him; but when he saw the
goat, he started back quite frightened, for the Wrestler was holding
it so tight that its eyes were almost starting out of its head, and
they were fiery and evil-looking and burning like two living coals,
and the Pundit saw at once that it was a Demon, and no goat, that his
friend held; then he thought quickly, "If I appear to be frightened,
this cruel Demon will get into the house and devour us all; I must
endeavor to intimidate him." So, in a bold voice, he cried, "O
Wrestler! Wrestler! foolish friend! what have you done? We asked you
to fetch a fat goat for our dinner, and here you have only brought one
wretched little Demon. If you could not find goats, while you were
about it you might as well have brought more Demons, for we are hungry
people. My children are each accustomed to eat one Demon a day, and my
wife eats three, and I myself eat twelve, and here you have only
brought one between us all! What are we to do?" At hearing these
reproaches, the Wrestler was so much astonished that he dropped the
Demon-goat, who, for his part, was so frightened at the Pundit's
words, that he came crawling along quite humbly upon his knees,
saying, "Oh, sir, do not eat me, do not eat me, and I will give you
anything you like in the world. Only let me go, and I will fetch you
mountains of treasure, rubies and diamonds, and gold and precious
stones beyond all count. Do not eat me; only let me go!" "No, no,"
said the Pundit; "I know what you'll do; you'll just go away and never
return: we are very hungry; we do not want gold and precious stones,
but we want a good dinner; we must certainly eat you." The Demon
thought all that the Pundit said must be true, he spoke so fearlessly
and naturally. So he only repeated more earnestly, "Only let me go; I
promise you to return and bring you all the riches that you could
desire."
The Pundit was too wise to seem glad; but he said sternly, "Very well,
you may go; but unless you return quickly and bring the treasure you
promise, be you in the uttermost part of the earth, we will find you
and eat you, for we are more powerful than you and all your fellows."
The Demon, who had just experienced how much stronger the Wrestler was
than ordinary men, and then heard from the Pundit's own lips of his
love for eating Demons, thought himself exceedingly lucky to have
escaped their clutches so easily; and returning to his own land, he
fetched from the Demons' storehouse a vast amount of precious things,
with which he was flying away with all speed (in order to pay his debt
and avoid being afterward hunted and eaten), when several of his
comrades caught hold of him, and in angry tones asked where he was
carrying away so much of their treasure. The Demon answered, "I take
it to save my life; for whilst wandering round the world I was caught
by terrible creatures, more dreadful than the sons of men, and they
threaten to eat me unless I bring the treasure."
"We should like to see these dreadful creatures," answered they, "for
we never before heard of mortals who devoured Demons." To which he
replied, "These are not ordinary mortals; I tell you they are the
fiercest creatures I ever saw, and would devour our Rajah, himself,
did they get the chance; one of them said that he daily ate twelve
Demons, that his wife ate three, and each of his children one." At
hearing this they consented to let him go for the time; but the Demon
Rajah commanded him to return with all speed next day, that the matter
might be further discussed in solemn council.
When, after three days' absence, the Demon returned to the Pundit's
house with the treasure, the Pundit angrily said to him, "Why have you
been so long away? You promised to return as soon as possible." He
answered, "All my fellow-Demons detained me, and would hardly let me
go, they were so angry at my bringing you so much treasure; and though
I told them how great and powerful you are, they would not believe me,
but will, as soon as I return, judge me in solemn council for serving
you." "Where is your solemn council held?" asked the Pundit. "Oh, very
far, far away," answered the Demon, "in the depths of the jungle,
where our Rajah daily holds his court." "I and my friends should like
to see that place, and your Rajah and all his court," said the Pundit;
"you must take us with you when you go, for we have absolute mastery
over all Demons, even over their Rajah himself, and unless you do as
we command we shall be very angry." "Very well," answered the Demon,
for he felt quite frightened at the Pundit's fierce words; "mount on
my back and I'll take you there." So the Pundit, the Wrestler and the
Pearl-shooter all mounted the Demon, and he flew away with them, on,
on, on, as fast as wings could cut the air, till they reached the
great jungle where the durbar[108] was to be held, and there he placed
them all on the top of a high tree just over the Demon Rajah's throne.
In a few minutes the Pearl-shooter, the Wrestler and the Pundit heard
a rushing noise, and thousands and thousands of Demons filled the
place, covering the ground as far as the eye could reach, and
thronging chiefly round the Rajah's throne; but they did not notice
the men in the tree above them. Then the Rajah ordered that the Demon
who had taken of their treasure to give to mortals should be brought
to judgment; and when they had dragged the culprit into the midst of
them, they accused him, and having proved him guilty, would have
punished him; but he defended himself stoutly, saying, "Noble Rajah,
those who forced me to fetch them treasure were no ordinary mortals,
but great and terrible; they said they ate many Demons; the man ate
twelve a day, his wife ate three, and each of his children one. He
said, moreover, that he and his friends were more powerful than us
all, and ruled your majesty as absolutely as we are ruled by you." The
Demon Rajah answered, "Let us see these great people of whom you
speak, and we will believe you; but----" At this moment the tree upon
which the Pundit, the Pearl-shooter and the Wrestler were, broke, and
down they all tumbled--first, the Wrestler, then the Pearl-shooter,
and lastly the Pundit--upon the head of the Demon Rajah as he sat in
judgment. They seemed to have come down from the sky, so suddenly did
they appear, and, being very much alarmed at their awkward position
determined to take the aggressive. So the Wrestler kicked and hugged
and beat the Rajah with all his might and main, and the Pearl-shooter
did likewise, while the Pundit, who was perched up a little higher
than either of the others, cried, "So be it, so be it. We will eat him
first for dinner, and afterward we will eat all the other Demons." The
Demons hearing this, one and all flew away from the confusion and left
their Rajah to his fate; while he cried, "Oh spare me! spare me! I see
it is all true; only let me go, and I will give you as much treasure
as you like." "No, no," said the Pundit; "don't listen to him,
friends; we will eat him for dinner." And the Wrestler and the
Pearl-shooter kicked and beat him harder than before. Then the Demon
cried again, "Let me go! let me go!" "No, no," they answered; and they
chastised him vigorously for the space of an hour, until, at last,
fearing they should get tired, the Pundit said, "The treasure would be
no use to us here in the jungle; but if you brought us a very great
deal to our own house, we might give up eating you for dinner to-day;
you must, however, give us great compensation, for we are all very
hungry." To this the Demon Rajah gladly agreed, and, calling together
his scattered subjects, ordered them to take the three valiant men
home again and convey the treasure to the Pundit's house. The little
Demons obeyed his orders with much fear and trembling, but they were
very willing to do their best to get the Pundit, the Pearl-shooter and
the Wrestler out of Demon-land, and they, for their parts, were no
less anxious to go. When they got home, the Pundit said, "You shall
not go until the engagement is fulfilled." Instantly Demons without
number filled the house with riches, and when they had accomplished
their task, they all flew away, fearing greatly the terrible Pundit
and his friends, who talked of eating Demons as men would eat almonds
and raisins. So, by never showing that he was afraid, this brave
Pundit saved his family from being eaten by these Demons, and also got
a vast amount of treasure. Then he divided it into three equal
portions: a third he gave to the Wrestler, a third he gave to the
Pearl-shooter, and a third he kept himself; after which he sent his
friends, with many kindly words, back to their own homes. So the
Pearl-shooter returned to his house laden with gold and jewels of
priceless worth; and when he got there, he called his wife and gave
them to her, saying, "I have been a far journey and brought back all
these treasures for you, and I have learnt that your words were true,
since in the world there are cleverer men than I; for mine is a
cleverness that profits not, and but for a Pundit and a Wrestler, I
should not have gained these riches. I will shoot the pearl from your
nose-ring no more." And he never did.
[108] Council.
[Decoration]
[Decoration]