Story 233 - The Fortunate Boy

^[1]

AT a certain city there was a poor family, it is said. Of that family, the father having died, the mother and also a son remained, it is said. The mother, by [reason of] her destitute state without food, was supported by pounding [rice into] flour for hire at the shops, it is said.

While getting a living thus, having sent the son to school he began to leam letters. While he was staying in that way for learning them, one day [his mother] having sent him to school, at the time when he was coming home he was looking on nearby while a great rich man was getting a ship prepared on the sea shore. While he was thus looking, at the time when this boy having gone near looked, the work at the ship was becoming finished, it is said.

Owing to it, the boy, speaking to the rich man, says,

“Will you sell this ship ?”

He asked [thus], it is said.

[In reply] to it, the rich man having looked in the boy’s direction, said in fun,

“Yes, I will sell it.”

The boy asked,

“For how much will you sell it ?”

“For five hundred pounds for the ship on which pounds, thousands in number, have been spent I will give it,” he said.

On account of it the boy, having placed in pawn his books and slates at a shop near by, and having [thus got and] brought twenty-five cents,^[2] and given them as earnest money for the ship, says,

“To-morrow morning at nine, having secured the money I will take the ship,”

he said. The rich man through inability to say two words remained without speaking, it is said.

The boy having gone home, at the time when he was there, when his mother asked,

“Why, Bola, where are thy books and slates ?”

the boy says,

“Having asked the price for a new ship of such and such a rich man, and agreed to take it, I placed the slates and books in pawn, and bringing twenty-five cents I gave them as earnest money,”

he said.

His mother having become angry at it, and having beaten the boy, scolding him drove him away without giving him food, it is said.

At the time when she drove him away, having gone near a Hettiya of that city he says,

“Ane ! Hettirala, I having agreed to take such and such a rich man’s ship, and having gone to school, at the time when I was coming I placed my books and slates in pledge at a shop; and bringing twenty-five cents and having given them as earnest money, and agreed to secure the remaining money to-morrow morning at nine, I was going home meanwhile. When I told my mother these matters, she bringing anger into her (undae) mind, beat me, and drove me from the house without having given me food. Because it is so, you having paid this price for this ship keep it in your name,”

he said.

The Hettiya becoming pleased at it, on the following day morning having made ready the money and gone with the boy, the Hettiya says,

“I will stay here. You having gone with this money and given it to him, take the ship. As soon as you take it (e aragana wahama) speak to me; then I will come,”

he said.

Then the boy, having gone in the manner he said, at the agreed time, and having spoken to the rich man, says,

“According to the agreed manner, here (menna), I brought the price for you. Taking charge of it and having written the deeds, give me the ship,”

he said.

The rich man, as soon as he was out of a great astonishment,^[3] having gone and written the deeds, and having handed over the ship, says,

“Ade! Bola, boy, is thy filth (kunu) a religious merit ? Where, indeed, if this had not broken and fallen [on me], for a price of that manner was

I to give the ship on which I incurred expenses to the amount of thousands of pounds ! Thy birth having been consistent with it, it will be a debt [of a previous existence] which I was to give to thee. Because it is so, I will launch on the great sea this ship on which these five hundred pounds are spent, and will give [thee it there],”

he said.

On account of it, the boy having summoned the Hettiya, says,

“There (Onna) ! I got the ship ! Although I got it, the price I gave for the ship was not mine; it was yours. Because of that, load into this ship the goods you want [to send], and having placed hired workmen [on board] for it, give charge of it to me. I having gone to some country or other [after] doing trading shall come back in happiness,”

he said.

Then that man who sold the ship, having collected together people and incurred great expenses, and caused the ship to be launched on the sea, gave him it, it is said. Having acted in that manner and given it, out of that price not bringing a cent home, he spent it over that; and having related the circumstance to his family, not feeling (ne-gena) any grief, in good happiness he dispatched the time (kal aeriya), it is said. If you said,

“What is [the reason of] that ?”

“There is no need for us to take [to heart] sorrow. From the debt that we were to give him [in a previous existence] we are released,”

he said.

After that, the Hettiya having loaded into the ship bags of rice, thousands in number, and placed [over it] a hired captain, made the boy the principal (palamuweniya), and having given him charge sent it off, it is said.

While the ship was going, time went by, many days in number, it is said; but while they were going on as a land (godak) was not yet to be perceived, the ship drifted to a great never-seen country, it is said. When they investigated in the country, and looked at the auspicious character of the kind of men who are [there], their faces were of the manner of dogs’ faces, the body like these bodies of ours,^[4] but the food was human-flesh food, it is said.

On account of it, the persons who were in the ship being afraid, say,

“Ane ! This is indeed a cause for both ourselves and our ship to be lost !”

While they are staying [there] the boy says anew,

“I think of an expedient for this, that is, let us cook a great rice [feast] on the ship. Having cooked it, I will go to this village, and having spoken, to the men and come [after] assembling them, and having eaten this food of ours, we will tell them to look [round the ship].”

Having caused the rice to be made ready the boy went to the village, and having come [after] assembling the men, while giving them the food to eat, these men, perceiving that it was a food possessing great flavour that they had not eaten and not seen (no-ka nu-dutu) say,

“This sort you call ‘rice’ we [first] saw to-day indeed. For what things will you give this ?”^[5]

they asked.

To that the sailors say,

“Except that we give for money, for another thing we do not give,”

they said, it is said.

Meanwhile the men (minisun) say,

“In our country there is not a kind called ‘money’; in our country there are pieces of silver and gold. If you will give it for them, give it,”

they said, it is said.

After that, the sailors having spoken [together] and caused them to bring those things, began to measure and measure and give the rice, it is said. Should you say,

“In what manner was that ?”

that kind of men, putting the pieces of silver and gold into sacks and having brought them, began to take away rice to the extent they give, it is said.

During the time while they are doing taking and giving (ganu denu) in that way, because the sailors had great fear of staying, at night, at about the time when both heaps were equal (hari) by stealth they began to navigate the ship, it is said. At that very time, at the time when they looked at the accounts of that rice they gave, the cost had been not more than a hundred bags in number, it is said. For the rice that was of that cost there had been collected sacks of gold and silver,—about twelve were assembled, it is said.

Having gone to yet [another] country, and sold those things, and made them into money (mudal kara), taking for the money yet nine ships, and together with this ship having loaded goods into the whole ten ships, he began to come to his own city.

While coming there, at the time when [the citizens] looked at this it was like the mode of coming for a great fight.

Meanwhile, not allowing them to approach their own country, the King asked,

“Of what country are these ships ? Are they coming for some fight, or what ?”

At that, having raised the flag of the ship they say,

“No; we have not come for a fight. In these ships are trading-goods. In any other way but that we have not come,”

they said.

Yet still the King asked, through the excess of his fear, saying and saying,

“Whose ships ? Who is the owner ?”

To that the boy, having caused them to raise the ship’s flag, says,

“Such and such a Hettirala’s indeed are these ships,”

he said.

Then speedily having caused the Hettiya to be brought, when he asked him, the Hettiya says,

“These ships are not for me. I bought such and such a rich man’s ship for such and such a boy, and loaded rice in it; since I sent it (aeriya haetiye) there is not even news yet,”

the Hettiya said.

After that, having sent a boat, and caused the principal person of the ships to be brought, when he asked, indeed, thereafter the Hettiya gets to know [the facts]. As soon as he ascertained he caused the ships to be brought, and when the Hettiya asked the boy about these matters the boy gave account of (kiya-dunna) the wonderful things that occurred, it is said.

At the time when he reported them the Hettiya says,

“I will not take charge of these ships. Should you ask, ‘What is [the reason of] that ?’ because your merit (pina) is great, when I have taken the things you obtained they will not flourish for me,”

he said. On account of it, the Hettiya took only the five hundred pounds that the Hettiya gave the boy, and the price of the rice, it is said.

Thereupon the boy, having caused a great palace to be built, and having decorated his mother with great beauty, causing her to ascend a great horse-carriage, published it by beat of tom-toms; and obtaining the office of Treasurer (situ tanataera) he dwelt in that palace. Having established hired persons for the ships, he began to send them to various countries (rata ratawala), it is said.

Western Province.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The Sinhalese title is, “The Story of the Ship and the Hettiya.”

[2]:

A quarter of a rupee, which in Ceylon was subdivided into one hundred cents about forty years ago.

[3]:

Or, “having been in a great astonishment, speedily having gone,” etc. The text is Mahat pudumayakin in̆da wahama gos.

[4]:

In the paintings on the walls or ceilings of Buddhist temples, many Yakshas are represented as having the heads of animals, such as bears, dogs, snakes, and parrots, with bodies like those of human beings.

[5]:

Lit., “these,” hal, rice, being a plural noun.