Village Folk-tales of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), vol. 1-3
by Henry Parker | 1910 | 406,533 words
This folk-tale entitled “the kadambawa men and the mouse-deer” is gathered from oral sources sources, tracing its origin to ancient Ceylon (Sri Lanka). These tales are often found to contain similarities from stories from Buddhism and Hinduism. This is the story nr. 42 from the collection “stories of the tom-tom beaters”.
Story 42 - The Kadambawa Men And The Mouse-deer
The Kadambawa men having appointed a wedding-[day], and having caught a great many Mouse-deer [for eating at it], tied clappers on their necks like those on goats, and having made an enclosure put them in it, and came away. The Mouse-deer escaped into the jungle.
Having gone to it on the wedding-day, when they looked there was not one Mouse-deer left.
Then the men, saying,
“Ane ! The Mouse-deer that we reared have all gone,”, came back to the village, much astonished.