Story 69 - The Roll Of Cotton

IN a certain country there is a city. In the city there are two persons, an elder sister and a younger sister. There are two female children of the two persons.

The younger sister took to spinning cotton. At that time her daughter also came there. A roll of cotton was driven away in the wind out of the daughter’s hand.

Then her mother beat the daughter.

“Wherever it should go do thou bring back the roll of cotton,”

she said. This girl, weeping and weeping, follows the roll of cotton.

She came to a betel plot which a lame man had made. To this girl who was following the roll of cotton the lame man says,

“Ane ! Pour water on this betel plot and go, please,”

he said. Afterwards, having poured it she went on.

“The betel has been plucked,”

she said.

As she was going [she came to a place where] a dog was tied.

“Ane ! Younger sister, tie me in the shade and go, please,”

he said.

“While you are going home to-morrow there will be a haunch of a bull tied up [for you],”

he said. So having tied the dog in the shade she went on.

Then the roll of cotton having gone on, stopped in a cane-brake. At that time a King came there. That girl was tying hooked sticks in order to get the roll of cotton.

So the King said,

“I will bring the roll of cotton. Go thou to the royal palace and cook,”

he said.

The girl went and cooked. The King got the roll of cotton. The King having gone, gave the roll of cotton to the girl.

After he had given it, both of them ate the cooked rice. After they had eaten it the King called the girl to the house.

Having called her, he said to the girl,

“Please take from these boxes any box thou wantest,”

he said.

Then the girl, having looked at them, took a small sandalwood box.

Afterwards the King said,

“This will provide a livelihood for the persons who are rearing thee, also,”

he said.

Taking the box, she came near the dog that was tied up. There the dog had tied up the haunch of a bull. Having taken the haunch of the bull from there, she came near the lame man. Having got betel from there, she came near her mother at the girl’s house.

Having come there she opened that box. Having opened it, after she looked [in it she found that] the box was full of silver and gold ; the box had been filled. Then that other elder sister and the elder sister’s daughter saw these articles [and heard how the girl obtained them].

On the following day that mother and daughter took to spinning cotton. Afterward's, from the mother’s hand by force a roll of cotton was carried away [by the wind]; having been carried away she beat the daughter, and told her to bring the roll of cotton. So this daughter, weeping and weeping, goes after the roll of cotton.

She goes near the lame man who is making the betel plot. Then the lame man said,

“Please pour water [on these plants].”

Having said,

“I will not,”

she went by the place where the dog was. The dog said,

“Ane ! Elder sister, tie me in the shade and go. As you go [home] I will place a haunch of a bull for you,”

he said. Having said she would not she went away.

The roll of cotton having gone into the very cane-brake, that also stopped there. Then this girl was tying hooked sticks in order to get the roll of cotton. Then the King [came there, and] said,

“I will bring the roll of cotton. Go thou to the palace and cook,”

he said.

The girl having gone, without any deficiency cooked rice and vegetables. The King having taken the roll of cotton [there], both of them went to eat the rice. Having gone and looked [at it in order] to eat it, they could not eat it ; it had the taste of water.

Having called the girl he said,

“From these please take for thyself any box thou wantest,”

he said.

This one having searched and searched, took in her arms a great chest. Afterwards the King said,

“Go thou; please open the box at the place where thy mother and father are,”

he said.

The girl, after it became night, having summoned every one,^[1] opened the box. All [the things] in the box were cobras and polangas. The cobras and polangas having bitten the people of the village, destroyed them. They made all the village desolate.

Rodiya. North-western Province.

 

Note:

In Wide-Awake Stories (Steel and Temple), p. 178 —Folk Tales of the Punjab, p. 167—there is an account of the good luck of a kind girl and the bad luck of an unkind girl, but the incidents are unlike those of the Sinhalese story.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Seramantama.