Chapter 30 - Oxen as witnesses

[Source: Kah-gyur, vi. if. 228-231.]

In a certain hill district there lived a householder, to whom, after his marriage, a daughter was born. He was a tiller of the soil, and ploughed his corn-field himself.

The orphan son of a householder, who was bringing a load of wood from the forest, happened to draw near to that corn-field one day. And he threw down the wood he was carrying, rested awhile, and then said, “O uncle, why do you plough yourself? You must certainly have village affairs to look after. Why, then, do you work like a forester in the forest?”

“O nephew, I have neither sons nor brothers.”

“O uncle, give me the plough. Do you take rest, and I will plough for you.”

With these words he began to plough.

After a time the householder came bringing rice-soup, and invited him to eat. When the meal was finished the householder’s son said, “O uncle, I do not know your house. Go away now, and 1 will continue ploughing; but come to meet me in the evening.”

The householder went away, and the youth went on ploughing for a time. Then he turned out the two oxen to graze by the side of the corn-field. In the evening he took a load of grass, and set off to go to the village. The householder came to meet him, and brought him to his house. The youth took the oxen to their stall, shook down straw, and placed grass before them. The householder thought that the youth would be useful to him, and that he would give him his daughter to wife. So he said to him, “O nephew, do everything satisfactorily, and I will give you my daughter to wife.”

He began to build a house there. One of his oxen ran into a rice-field, and he could not drive it out, so he reviled it, and then flung a log at it, whereby one of its horns was broken off. In consequence of this, the ox received the name of Hornbreak.

Another time, the ox ran again into the field, and he could not drive it back, so he reviled it, and then flung a sickle at it, whereby its tail was cut off; on account of which it received the name of Stumptail. These two names were afterwards contracted into that of Breakstump.

After some time the youth said to the householder, “Uncle, fulfil what you have promised.” The householder said to his wife, “Good wife, make all the preparations for a wedding. I am going to give my daughter in marriage.”

The wife said, “O lord, as our daughter has not been promised to any one, how can she be given in marriage?”

He replied, “I shall give her in marriage.”

“To whom?”

“To this householder’s son.”

The wife said, “Shall I give my daughter in marriage to this fortuneless one, forsooth, who has grown up like white pepper? I shall marry her there where I find food and clothing.”

The husband rejoined, “Good wife, the youth has done me excellent service. If he goes away, I shall be obliged to plough my land myself.”

The wife replied, “I cannot give my daughter to this paltry fellow.”

Then the householder said to himself, “If I tell the youth that I am not going to give him my daughter, he will go away this very day, and I shall be reduced to great straits.” So he tried putting him off from time to time. When the youth again called upon him to fulfil his promise he replied, “O nephew, first of all make an end of the rice-harvest, for I shall have to prepare rice-soup for a very large circle of relatives.”

When that was done, the youth called upon him to celebrate the wedding. The householder replied, “0 nephew, as sugar-cane will be wanted, first of all make an end of the sugar-cane harvest.”

The youth did so, and then renewed his demand. The householder said, “O nephew, as bread will be needed, first of all make an end of the wheat-harvest.”

The youth did so, and anew demanded the fulfilment of the promise. The householder said, “As the early rice has come to an end, make preparations for one more harvest.”

The youth thought, “As these things cannot be done at that time, and he is playing with me, I will go into one of the great assemblies of the people, and compel him to give me an answer. If he will not give me his daughter, I will bring it about so that I shall receive her in a friendly way out of the king’s palace.”

So he went into a large assembly of the people, and said, “O uncle, celebrate the wedding.” The householder reviled him, and said, “O friends, I certainly will not give my daughter to this man, who works for me as a day-labourer.” The young man thought, “As I have received from him neither money nor his daughter, I will do him some small injury and then go away.”

After ploughing with the oxen all day he beat them with the goad, fastened them to a dry tree in the sun, and then went away.”

Now it was part of the nature of things, not long after the creation of the world, that even brute beasts could speak. And so the two oxen said to him, “O man, you have constantly been for us, as it were, a father and a mother, and have always treated us with kindness. Why have you now beaten us with the goad, after ploughing with us through the day, and why are you going away, after fastening us to a dry tree in the sun? 0 man, have we wronged you in any way?”

“Ye have not wronged me in the least, but your master has wronged me.”

“In what way?”

“He promised me his daughter, but he has not given her to me.”

“Why do not you go to the palace of the king?”

“I have no witnesses.”

“You just go; we will be witnesses.”

“Will ye speak with the language of men?”

“No. But this is how you must make your asseveration. You must tie us up in our stalls for seven days, and give us neither grass nor water; and on the seventh day you must let us go free to a spot where grass and water are plentiful. And you must appear before the king, and say to him, ‘If I am speaking the truth, may these oxen neither eat grass nor drink water.’”

The householder’s son went to the palace of the king, and said, “O king, that proprietor has promised me his daughter, but he has not yet given her to me to wife.”

The king said, “Have you any witnesses?”

“Yes, O king.”

“Are they human beings or not?”

“No, they are not human beings, but oxen.”

“Can they speak the language of men?”

“No, but my words will in this way be proved to be true. I will tie up these oxen in their stalls during seven days, and leave them without grass or water. But on the seventh day I will let them go free to a place where grass and water are plentiful. Then the oxen, in order to prove the truth of my words, will neither eat grass nor drink water so long as the king refuses to believe me.”

The king said to his ministers, “O honoured ones, let the matter be so arranged.”

The ministers ordered the oxen to be tied up in their stalls. Breakstump asked, “Does the sun rise in the West? why are not we set free?”

The others said, “We have promised the householder’s son, that if he keeps us tied up in our stall, for seven days without giving us grass and water, and lets us go free on the seventh day in a spot which is rich in grass and water, and if he makes asseveration before the king that if he speaks the truth these oxen will neither eat grass nor drink water, then we will neither eat grass nor drink water so long as the king refuses to believe him.”

Breakstump said, “If I were set free I should eat even stones, not to speak of grass.”

The oxen said, “The householder’s son has always acted towards us like a father and a mother. So do not behave in that manner.”

Breakstump said, “It is indeed true that he has behaved towards us like a father and a mother; still, as he has given me the name of Breakstump, I will not consent, but would much rather that his belly should burst.”

The householder’s son visited the oxen from time to time, and asked, “O oxen, how do ye fare?” They replied, “We fare well, but you do not.”

“Why not?”

“Breakstump here has declared that if he be let loose he will devour the very stones, not to speak of grass.”

“Then ought I to give in?”

“Do not do that, but bore Breakstump’s nose. Then, when he wants to eat grass or drink water, we will seize his nose with our horns and hold it up in the air. At the same time you must say, ‘They are pointing to the sun, because they wish to show that the sun, as the fifth guardian of the world, is a witness.’”

So the youth set to work to bore the nose of the ox. Breakstump said, “Honoured ones, see how scandalously he is treating me!” They replied, “Hold your peace, he wishes to embellish you.”

On the seventh day the king, after calling his ministers together, had these oxen driven to a spot rich in grass and water. Breakstump was about to pluck a mouthful of grass, when the other oxen seized his nose with their horns and looked up towards the sun. The king asked his ministers, “O honoured ones, wherefore look these oxen towards the sun?” Then one of the ministers said, “That is done because they wish to show that not they alone are witnesses, but the sun, the fifth guardian of the world, is also a witness.” The king wondered and said to the ministers, “O honoured ones, as the beasts have thus borne witness, do ye take care that the householder gives his daughter to this young man.”

Overcome by the householder-son, the householder bestowed upon him his daughter.