Story 239 - The Mad King

IN a certain country there was a King. Madness seized the King. It having seized him, he caused all the men of the city to be brought, and seized from them their gains; should the party say even a word about it he kills them.

Having killed them in this manner, when the city was diminished a half share, he sent to tell the Treasurer (sitano) to come. He knows thoroughly that in order to kill that person he had been told to come.

The Treasurer asked at the hand of the Treasurer’s wife,

“What shall I do for this ?”

Thereupon the woman said,

“You having gone, to the talk which the King says having said nothing [else] in reply, say ‘Eheyi’ (Yes),^[1] to the whole.”

Having heard her word the Treasurer went to the palace.

The King asked,

“Treasurer, is there rain in your quarter ?”

The Treasurer said “Eheyi, Lord.”

“Are you well now ?” he asked.

The Treasurer, not saying another speech, to that also said,

“Eheyi, Lord.”

In this manner they talked until the time for eating rice in the day time.

To all he said,

“Eheyi.”

Then the King said to the Treasurer,

“Treasurer, now the time for eating rice has come, hasn’t it ?”

The Treasurer said,

“Eheyi, Lord.”

Thereupon the King said,

“Treasurer, let us go to bathe.”

The Treasurer said,

“Eheyi, Lord.”

The King said,

“Ask for the copper water-pot.”

The Treasurer said,

“Eheyi, Lord.”

Having said it and gone, he returned [after] asking for [and getting] it.

Then the King said,

“Get in front.”

The Treasurer said,

“Eheyi, Lord”;

having said it the Treasurer got in front.

Having gone to the river, the King took off his clothes, and putting on the bathing cloth, [entered the water, and] asked the Treasurer,

“Treasurer, won’t you bathe ?”

The Treasurer, having said,

“Eheyi, Lord,”

remained on the rock.

While the King was talking and going backwards and backwards, he was caught by an eddy in the water, and went to the bottom. Having sunk, when he was rising to the surface he said,

“Treasurer, I shall die; draw me out quickly.”

Thereupon the Treasurer said,

“Eheyi, Lord,”

[but did not move]. When he was going to the bottom the next time the King died.

Then the Treasurer, taking the few royal ornaments, came home. Having come, he said at the hand of the Treasurer’s wife,

“The King died,”

[and he gave an account of his death].

Thereupon the woman said,

“ O fool! I said that indeed. Putting on those royal ornaments, go to the royal palace and say,

‘It is I who am King; also I killed the King. If ye do not hearken to the things I say I will kill you also.’”

The Treasurer did in that very way. The whole of the men of the city were afraid. Well then, the Treasurer exercising the sovereignty over the city, the Treasurer’s wife became the Queen.

Western Province.

 

The Kahawana Sowing (Variant)

AT a certain city there was a foolish King.

At the time when the King says anything he kills the whole of the Ministers who do not give answer,

“Yahapati” (It is good),

to it.

In this way, by not remembering to say Yahapati a great number of Ministers tasted death.^[2] By his doing thus, on account of his making this order [in the end] there was not a Minister for the King.

After that, he caused notice to be given by tom-toms in the city for a person to come for the ministership (aemaeptiya-kama). Because they were not willing to taste death anybody was unwilling to do it.

At last, a drunken cheat having the name Jobbuwa arrived.

“Yahapati; be pleased to give me the office of Minister,”

he said.

The King having said,

“Yahapati,”

gave him the office of Minister.

While time was passing, he spoke to the Minister one day, and said,

“Cannot I obtain profit by cultivating kahawanas (coins) ?”

“Yahapati; you can get much gain by it,” he said.

“If so, for the purpose of sowing them cause a chena to be cut,”

the King said to the Minister.

The Minister, having said,

“Yahapataeyi” (It is good),

went away, and firstly having told the Chiefs (pradaninta) of the village to collect and bring Tamarind seeds, told the villagers to put in order a wide, level, open place on the border of a certain river. The villagers having put the Tamarind seeds into sacks and stitched them up, brought them.

Having cut the chena, after it was completed the Minister having gone, asked the King for kahawanas [to sow in it].

The King said,

“Take as many as you require for sowing in the chena.”

The Minister having brought the kahawanas home, caused the Tamarind seeds to be sown in the chena.

After they sprouted, the King said he must go to look at the chena. The Minister inviting the King [to go], having gone in state (peraharin) with him, and caused the army to stay on one side, the King and the Minister went into the chena.

Because, when the Tamarind seeds sprouted, many young shoots were of golden colour^[3] the King said,

“These are very good.”

While he was walking there a long time, having arrived at weariness the King went to the river to bathe. In that river the water is very rapid. Because of it, at the time when the King descended into the water he began to be drawn down into the water.

Thereupon, at the time when the King says,

“Take hold of me,”

the Minister, having said,

“Yahapati,”

remained looking on.

After the King had been swallowed up in the river and died, the Minister, having put on the royal ornaments and gone away with the army, exercised the sovereignty of that city with renown.

Uva Province.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

A very respectful form of affirmative.

[2]:

Maerum kaewoya, ate dying.

[3]:

It is evident that some kahawanas were golden ones. See also vol. i, p. 348, and the Appendix, p. 454.