Story 213 - Æwariyakka

THE first part of this story is a repetition, with little variation, of the incidents in No. 58, vol. i, and the first part of No. 10. After eating the fruit in the plantain garden the youth was set afloat in the river, and had a similar experience at a Kaekiri garden, where he said his name was Ena-ena-gaeta Kanna, Wael Peralanna,—Eater of the young fruits which keep coming, Turner-over of creepers. The present story continues:—

Then the ship (raft) went to the place where the washer-man-uncle was washing clothes. “Ane! Washerman-uncle, take me out,” the boy said. He got him ashore, and after taking him asked,

“What is your name?”

“Hu-kiyanna” (He who calls “Hu”), he said. Well then, calling him they went home. The woman who was in the house asked,

“What is your name?”

“Asiya,”^[1] he said.

After that, the boy went with the washerman-uncle to a house, to tie cloths for decoration [on the walls and ceiling].^[2] While tying them the cloths became insufficient, so the washerman-uncle said,

“Go home ; take cloths from the box at the foot of the bed,^[3] and bring them.”

The boy having gone home and opened the box, took cloths from it, and as he was coming back decorated with the cloths a Jambu tree^[4] that was near the path. Having decorated it (that is, hung them from the branches), while he was there Hettiralas who were going trading in cloth [came up and] asked the boy,

“What is that ?”

“This Jambu tree produces cloth as fruit,” he said.

When he said this, the Hettiralas said,

“Give the cloth tree to us for money.”

Afterwards the boy having given them the cloth tree for money, said,

“I have no cloth to wear. Give me those two cloths; the tree will bear other cloths for you.”

The men gave him the two cloths.

After that, while he was taking the cloths he met with a Banyan tree, and decorated that tree also with the two cloths. While he was there [after] decorating it, a man was taking an elephant [along the path]. When he came near the tree he asked,

“What is that ?”

“This Banyan tree produces cloth as fruit,” the boy replied.

After he said this [the man] said,

“Taking this elephant give me that cloth tree.”

Then the boy, having given that man the cloth tree, took the elephant to a house.

After he went there, having tied up the elephant he made the elephant eat (swallow) the gold [coins] which he had [got from the cloth traders]. Next morning it had voided them.

Afterwards, taking [the elephant’s dung], while he was washing it [and picking out the gold coins] th? house man, [learning from him that the elephant always dropped gold coins in that way], said,

“Give that elephant to me for money.”

He gave the elephant.

After that, the boy, taking the money, went to his father’s house.

Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.

 

Notes:

The last incident is given in The Indian Antiquary, vol. xviii, p. 120, in a Tamil story by Pandit Natesha Sastri. A Brahmana’s son who was sent away by his father, stayed at a courtesan’s house. At dawn he put two gold coins in each of the droppings of his horse, and when the sweeper came he refused to let him remove the horse dung until he took out his money. After the courtesan bought the horse, and learnt the spell which he said was necessary, he went away to Madura.

In the same Journal, vol. iii, p. xi, in a Bengal story by Mr. G. H. Damant, a farmer made his cow swallow one hundred rupees. Six men who saw him afterwards collecting the rupees from the cow-dung, bought the animal for five thousand rupees. When they returned after discovering the trickery the stick incident followed, in which the wife was beaten in order to change her into a girl.

In Indian Nights’ Entertainment (Swynnerton), p. 109, a man made his servant insert rupees into his mule’s dung overnight, and in the morning break it up and remove them. He then sold the mule for four thousand rupees to some people who had robbed his brother.

In a Khassonka story of the interior of West Africa, given in Conies Soudanais (C. Monteil), p. 66, a boy received from a credulous King a thousand slaves in exchange for a hen which he averred changed all the herbs it ate into nuggets of gold. He explained that he did not know what to do with it because gold was nothing to him. The King kept the hen in confinement for a month, caused the dung to be washed, and of course found no gold.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Apparently “The Ace,” with a personal suffix; but his real meaning was, “He who goes about cheating” (a+shrii+ya).

[2]:

Wiyan. This work is always done by the local washerman, who supplies the cloth for it.

[3]:

Pamula pettiya. See note, vol. i, p. 183.

[4]:

This is an old notion. In A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures (Beal), p. 74, it is stated, “Again, there are different kinds of kalpa trees which produce garments, from which they can select every sort of robe to wear.”