October 11. Story of the Day: The Wild Cat, the Hen, and the Egg

This is a Lushai folktale found in The Lakhers by N. E. Parry.

This is ATU 210 Rooster, Hen, Duck, Pin, and Needle.

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AWTI-PONG PALONG

The Wild Cat, the Hen, and the Egg

(Indian jungle cat)

A wild cat once pretended to make friends with a hen, but all the time really he intended to eat her.

"Where will you sleep tonight?" he once asked her.

To which the hen replied, "I shall sleep in the awhchari (the hen's basket)."

But when night fell she slept in the awhdua (the place where the water-tubes are kept).

The wild cat came in the night expecting to find the hen in the awhchari, but as she was not there, he returned home again.

On meeting the hen the next day, the wild cat asked her, "Hen, where did you sleep last night?"

And the hen replied, "I slept in the awhdua."

So he asked her again, "Where will you sleep tonight?"

"I shall sleep in the awhdua, where I have laid my egg," said the hen; but actually she slept in the awhchari.

So the wild cat came again during the night, and not finding the hen in the awhdua, he returned home very angry.

He happened to meet the hen on the next day, and again asked her where she had slept, and the hen replied, "I slept in the awhchari."

So a third time he asked her, "Where will you sleep tonight?"

"I shall sleep in the awhchari" said the hen, but when evening came she slept in the awhdua.

The wild cat came in the night and, looking in the awhchari and finding it empty, he went to the awhdua and, finding the hen, he killed her and ran away with her body.

But the hen had laid ten eggs. They decided to revenge their mother's death, and tried to leave the awhdua, and in doing so they all were broken except one, who happened to be the youngest.

The little egg decided to revenge its mother alone, but on the road it met the Spirit of Cold, who asked it where it was going.

The egg replied, "I am not going anywhere in particular."

But the Spirit of Cold said, "I know that you are going to revenge your mother's death. Let me come too, as I may be able to help you."

So the Spirit of Cold went along with the egg.

A little while later they met a rat-trap, who asked them where they were going, but as they did not answer him, he said, "I know that you are going to revenge the death of the egg's mother. I will accompany you, and perhaps help you."

So the three went on together and met one after the other, a pestle, a red ant, some chaff and a dao, who all insisted on accompanying the egg.

Soon they reached the wild cat's house, but he was away in his jhum [field]. So the Spirit of Cold went to the jhum and found the cat was weeding, so he went close to him and caused him to shiver and tremble with cold.

While this was happening, the rat-trap set itself under the wild cat's house, the pestle hid above the door, the egg went on to the hearth beside the fire, and the red ant and the chaff remained on the floor near the egg. The dao climbed up onto the wall.

Presently the wild cat came home, very cold, and sat down by the fire, when suddenly the egg burst, which frightened him so much that he moved away and lay down on the chaff, but was immediately bitten by the red ant. He moved again, and started to rub himself against the wall, but there the dao cut him. He decided to leave the house, but as he went out of the door, the pestle fell on him, and he went underneath the house, but there the rat-trap caught him and held him tightly until he died.

And thus was the egg able to take revenge for the death of its mother.

July 18. Story of the Day: Munia and Dove

A Lushai folktale from The Lakhers by N. E. Parry. The Lushai people, also known as the Mizo, live in northeastern India, and also in neighboring regions in Burma and Bangladesh. You can read more about them at Wikipedia.

This is classified as ATU 2042. Chain of Accidents. It is also an aetiological story that explains a "why" the munia's crop is backwards. There are many species of munia birds, and I have not been able to find one that has a backwards crop, so perhaps someone who knows more about birds can enlighten me about that! You can read more about munia birds (Lonchura family) at Wikipedia.

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RITA NATA VACHHU 

The Munia-Bird and the Dove

(munia bird)

Long, long ago, Munia and Dove made each other beaks.

Dove, having finished Munia's beak first and made it very beautifully and ornamented it with brass, said to Munia, "Now you must make me a beak."

Munia set to work and made Dove a beak and covered it with beeswax.

Dove said, "This is a very bad beak; it is much too soft."

Munia said, "Well, if you do not like the beak, you need not have it."

At this Dove grew very angry and said, "I made you a beautiful brass beak, and now you will not take the trouble to make me a proper beak," and the two birds fell a fighting in the tree top.

In the course of the fight a small twig was broken and fell onto a jungle fowl. The jungle fowl started to run and scratched up a large ant. The ant ran off and bit a wild boar in the testicles. The wild boar rushed away and knocked over a wild plantain tree. As the plantain fell, a bat who lived in its leaves flew out and flew into an elephant's ear. The elephant became angry and stamped on a white ants' nest. The white ants came out and ate the ladder leading up to a widow's house. The widow's daughter came out to draw water and stepped on to the ladder. The ladder broke, the widow's daughter fell to the ground, and the widow in a rage shouted out, "Ladder, why did you break?"

The ladder replied, "Because the white ants ate me."

So the widow said, "White Ants, why did you eat the ladder?"

And the white ants replied, "Because the elephant stamped on us."

So the widow said, "Elephant, why did you stamp on the white ants?"

And the elephant replied, "Because the bat flew into my ear."

So the widow said, "Bat, why did you fly into the elephant's ear?"

And the bat replied, "Because the wild plantain tree I lived in fell down."

So the widow said, "Plantain, why did you fall down?"

And the plantain replied, "I was knocked down by the wild boar."

So the widow said, "Wild boar, why did you knock down the plantain?"

And the wild boar replied, "Because the ant bit me in the testicles."

So the widow said, "Ant, why did you bite the wild boar in the testicles?"

And the ant replied, "Because the jungle fowl scratched me up."

So the widow said, "Jungle fowl, why did you scratch up the ant?"

And the jungle fowl replied, "Because a twig fell onto me."

So the widow said, "Twig, why did you fall on to the jungle fowl?"

And the twig replied, "Because Munia and Dove knocked me down while fighting about the beaks they had made each other."

So the widow said, "Munia and Dove, why did you knock down the twig?"

Dove replied, "I made Munia a beautiful brass beak, and he only made me one out of beeswax, and I do not want it."

So the widow said, "Munia, you are a very wicked bird. Why did you not make Dove a proper beak ? Henceforth you shall wear your crop at the back of your neck."

And this is why Munia's crop is to this day at the back of his neck.

July 9. Story of the Day: Tortoise and Monkeys

This is a Lushai folktale from The Lakhers by N. E. Parry. The Lushai people, also known as the Mizo, live in northeastern India, and also in neighboring regions in Burma and Bangladesh. You can read more about them at Wikipedia.

I do not have a classification for this story, but I decided to include it because of the nice series of animals who show up, each larger than the next: first the small barking deer, then the larger sambar deer, and then the very large elephant.

SEILAKANGPA

The Tortoise

(Indian tortoise)

Once, long ago, Seilakangpa [tortoise] went to a strange village to buy some salt. On his return he saw many monkeys up in a big tree eating the fruit. He asked them to throw some down to him, which they did. Having eaten it, he called out, "Throw me down some more."

But the monkeys refused to throw down any more and said, "Climb up the tree and fetch some more if you want it."

Seilakangpa said, "I cannot climb trees."

So the monkeys said, "If you like, we will carry you up."

And, as the tortoise agreed, they carried him up and put him in a forked branch. But when they had eaten as much fruit as they wanted, the monkeys left the tree without helping the tortoise down again, and went and carried off all his salt.

He dared not jump, and, being afraid that he would die, he began to weep bitterly, and tears streamed from his eyes, and his nose began to run so fast that a small stream was formed near the foot of the tree.

Presently a barking deer came by and, drinking from the stream, said, "How very nice the water from this stream is."

The tortoise from up the tree immediately called out, "This is not a stream at all: it is my tears."

He told the deer why he was weeping, and the deer said, "Jump down onto my back."

The tortoise replied, "Your back is only four fingers in width; I am afraid to jump."

Presently a sambhur stag came by, and also exclaimed at the excellent quality of the water.

The tortoise again said, "It is not a stream, but my tears," and told the sambhur why he was weeping.

The sambhur said, "Jump down onto my back."

But the tortoise replied, "Your back is only two hands-width across; I am afraid to jump."

However, soon an elephant passed by. He drank from the water and said, "What a very nice spring this is."

"It is not a spring," said the tortoise, "it is my tears," and told the elephant why he was weeping.

On learning what had happened, the elephant said, "My back is as broad as a sieve. Jump on me; it will be quite safe."

So the tortoise jumped, and landed sideways on the elephant's spine, which at once broke, so that the elephant died.

The tortoise ate as much as he could of the elephant's meat, and presently he went near the monkeys' village to defecate. A little later the monkeys came out to go to their fields, and, thinking the dung was meat, ate it all up.

The tortoise then said, "A little while ago you left me in a tree, and now you have eaten my dung."

The monkeys were very angry on hearing this, and ate some chaaw [parkia tree beans], and then all went and defecated near the house of the tortoise, after which they all hid in a basket.

The tortoise came out, and, finding the dung, searched for the monkeys, and found them all hiding in the basket. So after tying them up in the basket he threw them over a precipice, where they all died except one female monkey, who was pregnant, and who was able to catch hold of a creeper hanging over the precipice.

This monkey had many young ones, and it is said that all monkeys are descendants of this survivor.