I have not met with this tale as a true village folk-story, but it was
related as one of the episodes in the series of tales included under
the title of "The Four Panditayas," in which various stories were
told in order to induce a King not to execute the youngest Panditaya
for wiping off the Queen's body a drop of blood which fell on her at
night when he cut in two a cobra that was about to bite the King. The
whole story is an Indian one.
The account given to me is as follows:--[The Panditaya said,] "O
Lord, Your Majesty, I myself will tell you a story, be pleased to
hear it." Having said this he began thus:--"At a time, at a city a
widow-mother reared a Mungus. The widow-mother alone takes firewood and
water home. One day the woman having placed her child in the house,
while the Mungus stays there she went for firewood. Having gone
for firewood, when she was returning, the Mungus, [22] having blood
smeared on its body and head, came in front of the widow-woman. The
woman thought that having indeed bitten her child it came here. At
the time when through anger at it she struck the Mungus with the
firewood sticks that were in her hand, causing it to fall, it died.
"When she came home, having seen that the Mungus had bitten in pieces
a Polanga which came to bite (lit., eat) the child, she said, 'Ane! If
not for my Mungus the Polanga would have bitten my child. Now, not
making inquiry I killed the Mungus, the Mungus!' and having become
grieved she died. After her death the child also died."
P. B. Madahapola, Ratemahatmaya, North-western Province.
In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 213, Mr. H. A. Pieris gave this story,
the widow killing the Mungus with the rice pestle, and in the end
committing suicide.
In the Hitopadesa and Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues (Chavannes),
vol. ii, p. 300, the story is similar, the owner of the animal being
a Brahmana, who was overwhelmed with grief when he realised what he
had done.
Regarding the supposed enmity between the Cobra and Polanga,
Capt. R. Knox wrote, "if the Polonga and the Noya meet together,
they cease not fighting till one hath kill'd the other." (Hist. Rel.,
p. 29.) In my own experience I have seen nothing to support this
belief; but as both snakes live on similar food it is probable that on
their casually meeting when in search of it the stronger or fiercer one
will drive the other away, and occasionally this may result in a fight.