Story 28 - The Female Quail

A FEMALE Quail having laid an egg on a rock, went to eat food. Then the [overhanging] rock closed over it, and when the bird returned there was no egg.

“Ando ! There is no egg,”

she said.

Well then, she went to the Mason. The Mason said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“What 'is [the use of] sitting and staying ? What is [the use of] betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ? Cut the rock, and give me the egg, O Mason,”

she said.    .

The Mason said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Village Headman.^[1] The Village Headman said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“ What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ?

O Village Headman, tie up the house-door ^[2] of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.

The Village Headman said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Pig. The Pig said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“ What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ?

O Pig, feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.

The Pig said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Vaedda. The Vaedda said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

" What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ? O Vaedda, shoot (with bow and arrow) the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.

The Vaedda said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Timbol creeper.^[3] The Tim-bola said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“ What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed ?

O Timbola, prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said. , The Timbola said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Fire. The Fire said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“ What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ?

O Fire, bum the Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.

The Fire said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Water-pot. The Water-pot said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ? O Water-pot, quench the Fire, the Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,”

she said.

The Water-pot said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Elephant. The Elephant said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the corner of the bed ? O Elephant, make muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the Fire, the Fire that did not bum the Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,”

she said.

The Elephant said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Rat. The Rat said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ?

O Rat, creep into the ear of the Elephant, the Elephant who did not make muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the Fire, the Fire that did not bum the Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.

The Rat said,

“I will not.”

From there she went to the Cat. The Cat said,

“Sit down, O Bird.”

“ What is the use of sitting and staying ? What is the use of betel leaf and areka nut at the comer of the bed ?

O Cat, eat the Rat, the Rat who did not creep into the ear of the Elephant, the Elephant who did not make muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot that did not quench the Fire, the Fire that did not burn the Timbola, the Timbola that did not prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda who did not. shoot the Pig, the Pig who did not feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman who did not tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason who did not cut the rock, and give me the egg,” she said.

The Cat said “Ha” (Yes).

Well then, the Cat went to catch the Rat, the Rat went to creep into the ear of the Elephant, the Elephant went to make muddy the Water-pot, the Water-pot went to quench the Fire, the Fire went to bum the Timbola, the Timbola went to prick the body of the Vaedda, the Vaedda went to shoot the Pig, the Pig went to feed in the rice field of the Village Headman, the Village Headman went to tie up the house-door of the Mason, the Mason went to cut the rock, and take and give the egg.

Here the story ends. “Was the egg given ?” I asked. “It would be given,” the narrator said. “No, he gave it,” said a listener.

North-western Province.

 

Note:

In a variant which I heard in the Southern Province, a bird laid two eggs in a crevice between two stones, which drew close together.

She went to

1. a Mason or Stone-cutter;
2. to a Pig ;
3. to a Hunter;
4. to an Elephant, which she requested to kill him;
5. to a Lizard (Calotes), which she told to crawl up the Elephant’s trunk into its brain;
6. to a Jungle Hen, which she told to peck and kill the Lizaxd;
7. to a Jackal, who, when requested to kill the Jungle Hen, at once agreed, and said, “It is very good,” and set off after her.

In Wide-Awake Stones (Steel and Temple), p. 209— Tales of the Punjab, p. 195—there is a variant. While a farmer’s wife was winnowing corn, a crow carried off a grain, and perched on a tree to eat it. She threw a clod at it, and knocked it down, but the grain of com rolled into a crack in the tree, and the crow, though threatened with death in case of failure, was unable to recover it.

It went for assistance, and requested

1. a Woodman to cut the tree;
2. a King to kill the man;
3. a Queen to coax the King ;
4. a Snake to bite the Queen ;
5. a Stick to beat the Snake;
6. Fire to burn the Stick ;
7. Water to quench the Fire;
8. an Ox to drink the water ;
9. a Rope to bind the Ox;
10. a Mouse to gnaw the Rope;
11. a Cat to catch the Mouse.

“The moment the Cat heard the name Mouse, she was after it, for the world would come to an end before a Cat would leave a Mouse alone.” In the end the Crow got the grain of corn, and saved its life.

In Indian Folk Tales (Gordon), p. 53, there is an allied variant. A bird had bought three grains of corn for three cowries, and while she was on a new cart eating them one fell into a joint of the cart where she was unable to get it.

She appealed to

1. the Carpenter to take the cart to pieces, so that she might obtain it;
2. the King to make him do it;
3. the Queen to persuade the King;
4. a Deer to graze in the Queen’s garden;
5. the Stick to beat the Deer;
6. the Fire to burn the Stick ;
7. the Lake to quench the Fire ;
8. the Rats to fill up the Lake ;
9. the Cat to attack the Rats ;
10. the Elephant to crush the Cat;
11. an Ant to crawl into the Elephant’s ear.;
12. the Crow,

“ the most greedy of all creatures," to eat the Ant. The Crow consented, and the usual result followed.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Gamaya.

[2]:

Ge-dera, which probably means only “house-door” in this case, and not buildings, etc., in general.

[3]:

A creeper with long sharp thorns, punctures by which usually cause ulcers.