Part 10
“Very well, what you say is quite true; and if you will inform me what you wish me to do, I will undertake to carry out my share of the bargain.”
“Well, then,” answered the Mouse, “all we wish you to do is to provide us by to-morrow evening with one hundred thousand sticks, each about a foot long, [8] and to have them laid in rows on the bank of the river. If you will undertake to do this, we on our side will undertake to stave off the threatened invasion and to put the opposing army into a state of confusion and panic. And if we succeed in carrying out all we promise, we will ask you for the future to safeguard us against the two principal dangers which threaten the existence of the Mice who live in your country.”
“I will gladly do what I can,” replied the King, “to safeguard you against these dangers if you will tell me how to proceed.”
“The two dangers to which I refer,” continued the Mouse, “are flood and Cats. You see the majority of our burrows are in the low-lying land near the river, and whenever the river rises a little it overflows this level country and floods our nests. What we would suggest to you is that you should build a strong dam all down the river bank so as to ensure that the water cannot overflow into our nests. And as to the Cats they are always the persecutors of Mice, and we ask you to banish them altogether from your kingdom.”
“Very well,” replied the King, “if you can succeed in averting the danger which now threatens us, I will undertake to do all that you ask of me in this respect.”
On hearing this, the King of the Mice salaamed profoundly to the King, and returned as fast as he could to his own subjects.
On the following evening he marshalled all the full-grown Mice of his kingdom, and about dusk, he led down a large army numbering several hundreds of thousands to the edge of the river, where he found the sticks all laid out as had been arranged with the King. In accordance with instructions they had received, the Mice at once proceeded to launch these sticks on the river, and they themselves embarked upon them two or three at a time; and so, pushing off from the bank, they sailed across the river and soon landed on the opposite side.
It was now quite dark, and the enemy’s soldiers were all asleep in their camp, some lying in tents and some in the open air, with their arms beside them ready for any alarm. The Mice on a word of command from their King, scattered themselves without delay through the sleeping camp, and each one began to do as much destruction as he possibly could in the shortest possible space of time. Some nibbled at the bowstrings and the slings of the soldiers’ muskets; others gnawed the slow-match and fuses; whilst others bit off the clothes and pigtails of the sleeping men. In fact, they attacked fiercely anything upon which their teeth could make an impression, and tents, stores, grain, and provisions of all kinds were soon reduced to shreds or scattered in confusion in every direction; and after a couple of hours’ work they all collected upon the river bank, and, embarking again on their sticks, they sailed quietly over to their own shore without having been detected by the enemy, or even having caused any alarm.
Next morning at daybreak, a great outcry arose from the enemy’s camp. Each man as he rose from his sleep found himself in a woeful plight—his clothes in rags, his pigtail cut off, his bow without a string, his rifle without a sling, and with no fuse or slow-match to fire it, and no provisions for breakfast. Each one began to accuse the other of theft and treachery, and before many minutes had passed the whole camp was in a state of wild confusion, comrade quarrelling with comrade, or accusing their officers of dishonesty and ill-faith.
In the midst of this uproar the sound of bugles was heard on the opposite bank, and a few shots were fired; and terrified at the thought of being taken unawares, the whole army took to flight, and in a few minutes not a man was to be seen.
When the King of the country of the Mice saw what had happened he was greatly elated, and, sending for the King of the Mice, he thanked him very sincerely for his good offices. And, in accordance with the bargain they had made, he at once had a strong embankment constructed all down his own side of the river to guard against floods, and he issued an edict forbidding all persons, on pain of death, to keep a cat of any kind henceforth within the frontiers of his country, and so the Mice lived securely and happily ever afterwards.
And in order to insure against any more attempts at invasion from the side of the neighbouring kingdom, the King sent a herald across the river to the ruler of that country, to say that, on this occasion, he had only considered it worth while to employ his Mice to defeat his enemies; but that if he was again threatened, he was ready to employ first all the domestic animals of the country; and if they did not succeed, he would have to have recourse to the wild beasts; and in the event of their failing, he was prepared to come himself with his warriors in order to produce the desired results.
When the ruler of the other country heard this message he considered it wiser at once to make a treaty of peace, as he could not hope to defeat the warriors and wild beasts of a country whose Mice had shown such skill and courage. So the two countries remained on friendly terms for many years after; and the Mice, secured against flood and Cats, lived happily and safely, and received every year from the King of the country a barnful of grain as a free gift in thankful recognition of the services which they had rendered in time of need.
STORY No. XX.
THE STORY OF THE TORTOISE AND THE MONKEY.
There was once an old Tortoise who lived with his wife and family in a large lake, on the borders of which grew an extensive jungle; and in the forest there were many wild beasts, more especially Monkeys, who swarmed in great numbers all along the shores of the lake.
It happened one day that the Tortoise came out of the lake and went for a stroll amongst the trees which grew near the water. After walking for some distance he became hungry, and looking up into a cocoanut-tree, near which he found himself, he thought how much he should like to get one of the cocoanuts which were growing near the top. He made several awkward attempts to climb the tree, but the stem was so straight and so smooth that he was quite unable to succeed; and he was just about to give up the attempt in despair when he espied a large Monkey sitting among the branches. The Monkey, who had been watching the Tortoise’s attempts to climb the tree with some curiosity, felt rather sorry at his failure, and noticing that the Tortoise was a fine, well-grown fellow with a very handsome shell, he thought he would do him a kindness, so breaking off one or two of the cocoanuts, he threw them down to the Tortoise, who gratefully ate the fruit.
The two animals now entered into conversation with one another, and soon striking up quite a friendship, the Monkey led away the Tortoise into the jungle, and showed him a comfortable cave where he could spend the night. The Tortoise was so interested with all he saw and so pleased with his friend the Monkey, that he remained for several days in the forest, moving about during the day and sleeping with the Monkey in the cave every night.
Meanwhile Mrs. Tortoise was becoming rather anxious concerning her husband’s prolonged absence. He had never been away from home for so long before, so finally she despatched one of the young Tortoises to find out where his father was and how he was getting on. The young Tortoise accordingly swam to land, and after hunting about for some time in the forest he came across his father near the cave.
“Good-morning, Father,” said he, “Mother has sent me to find out where you are and how you are getting on.”
“Oh, I am all right, my boy,” replied Father Tortoise; “tell Mother she need not trouble about me. My friend, Brother Monkey, and I are just having a good time in the forest, and I will be home in a few days. Now run off to your Mother.”
So the young Tortoise went back to his mother and told her what had happened. Mrs. Tortoise was not at all pleased at her husband’s conduct.
“It is quite time,” thought she, “that he should return to his wife and family, instead of amusing himself with a vulgar Monkey in the forest.”
So she sent the boy back again to his father, with a message to say that Mrs. Tortoise was very ill, and that her physician had told her that the only thing to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. So he must return at once to his home and bring a Monkey along with him.
The young Tortoise accordingly proceeded to hunt out his father again, and as soon as he met him he gave him Mrs. Tortoise’s message. On hearing the news of his wife’s illness, Mr. Tortoise became much alarmed, and reproached himself for having stayed away for so long; and in order to secure the necessary medicine for his wife he informed his friend the Monkey that he was obliged to return home at once on urgent business, and he invited the Monkey to come and spend a few days at his house. The Monkey accepted his friend’s invitation, and the two set off together to the shores of the lake.
When the Monkey understood that it would be necessary for him to enter the lake, he became rather alarmed, and remarked to the Tortoise that never having been in the water, he was afraid it would be difficult for him to reach the Tortoise’s home.
“Never fear about that, Brother Monkey,” said the Tortoise; “I can arrange that quite simply. If you will mount upon my back, I will swim with you wherever we want to go.”
So the Monkey mounted upon the Tortoise’s back, and the Tortoise set out to swim to his house.
As they went across the lake the Tortoise began telling the Monkey about his wife’s illness, and in doing so he foolishly let out that the only medicine to cure her was a Monkey’s heart. On hearing this the Monkey became very much alarmed, and saw that he was being led into a trap.
“Dear me, Brother Tortoise,” said he, “I am very much grieved to hear of your wife’s illness, but if she is as bad as all that I do not think that one Monkey’s heart will be enough. I should think that three or four at least would be required in order to effect a cure. If you like, I can easily get several other Monkeys from amongst my friends to accompany us to your home.”
The Tortoise thought that this was a good idea, and agreed to carry the Monkey back to the shore and await him there while he went off to fetch some other Monkeys. So he turned round and swam back through the lake till he reached the edge, where he waddled out on to the beach.
As soon as he found himself on dry land the Monkey skipped off the Tortoise’s back as fast as he could, and climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find in a twinkling. On reaching the top of the tree he began reviling the Tortoise, and calling out every bad name he could think of.
“You are a nice sort of friend,” said he, “to ask me to pay a visit to your home in order to kill me and use my heart as medicine for your ugly wife. Do you call that a proper return for all my attention to you, and for showing you all over the jungle? However, I have been too clever for you this time, and you will have to do without my heart for many a long day to come. And as to the hearts of those other Monkeys that I promised to you—well, you can just wait till you find them for yourself.” [9]
The Tortoise, on hearing these words, fell into a violent passion, and made several efforts to climb the tree in order to punish the Monkey, but being quite unable to climb at all, he soon gave up his attempt and determined to get even with the Monkey in some other way. So he hid himself in the water until evening, and as soon as it was dusk he came out on the land and proceeded very quietly to the cave where he and the Monkey had lived together, and concealed himself in the darkest corner of it waiting till the Monkey should come in.
The Monkey, however, was a good deal too clever to be caught in a simple trap like this. When his usual bedtime arrived, he came to the mouth of the cave and, looking in, he called out in a loud voice:
“Oh, great cave! great cave!”
The Tortoise lay low in his dark corner and gave no sign of life.
After a few moments’ silence the Monkey again called out:
“Oh, great cave! great cave!”
Still the Tortoise lay low and gave no sign.
“Curious thing,” said the Monkey to himself in an audible tone of voice, “very curious! There used always to be an echo in this cave, but I can’t hear the slightest echo to-night. There must be something wrong,” and saying this he again called out:
“Oh, great cave! great cave!”
The foolish Tortoise, thinking that if he simulated an echo the Monkey would enter the cave as usual, hereupon gave answer from his dark corner:
“Oh, great cave! great cave!”
On hearing this the Monkey chuckled to himself at the simplicity of the Tortoise, and went off to sleep in some other part of the forest.
STORY No. XXI.
THE STORY OF ROOM BACHA AND BAKI.
Once upon a time, in the country of Room, there lived a King called Bacha, who, having married a young Princess from a neighbouring kingdom, lived with her for a short time very happily. But it happened that both the King and Queen were of a very argumentative turn of mind, and were constantly disputing with one another about all sorts of trifles, and as neither would ever give way to the other, it generally ended in their quarrelling. The King, who was a proud and head-strong man, was not at all pleased that his wife should venture to maintain her opinion against his, and gradually became very much incensed against her.
One night, as the two were sitting together after dinner, a fox began to bark in the palace grounds outside.
“Ah!” said the King, “do you hear that tiger roaring?”
“My dear,” replied the Queen, “that is not a tiger, it is a fox.”
“Certainly not!” said the King. “Do you think I don’t know a tiger when I hear him? There can be no question but that it is a tiger.”
The Queen again contradicted him, and a heated argument ensued, in which neither convinced the other. At length, the King said that he could not stand this argument any longer, but would submit the question for decision to his council on the following day. If the council agreed that he was in the wrong, he should be sent adrift on a log of wood on the great river that flowed past the palace; but if the Queen should be found to be in the wrong, she should suffer this fate.
So next day the King summoned a council, composed of all his wisest ministers and men of science. When they were all seated in the council chamber, he addressed them as follows:
“Last night,” said he, “some beast began to bark outside the palace. I maintained that it was a tiger; the Queen affirmed that it was a fox. I desire to submit the question to you for decision. If you decide that it was a fox, I agree to be sent adrift upon a log of wood on the great river which flows past my palace; but if you think that the animal was a tiger, then the Queen is to suffer this penalty.”
So saying, the King withdrew, leaving his ministers to decide the question. The counsellors, after weighing the matter for some time, summoned to their presence several peasants living in the neighbourhood, and these being all agreed that no tiger ever came within many miles of the palace, whereas foxes prowled there nightly, it was clear to the council that the King was in the wrong. Before any decision was given, however, the oldest counsellor rose and addressed the meeting as follows:
“It appears to me,” said he, “that the King is undoubtedly in the wrong in this matter; but I wish to point out to you that if we announce our decision to that effect, the consequence will be that we shall be left without our King, and with only a Queen to reign over us. This, as you know, is a most undesirable state of affairs. I propose, therefore, that in spite of our real opinion in the matter we should make a public announcement to the effect that the King was right in his argument.”
The others agreed to these words of wisdom, and the counsellors proceeded in a body to the King’s throne-room and informed him publicly that after due deliberation they had come to the conclusion that he was undoubtedly in the right. The King was greatly pleased at hearing his opinion confirmed, and at once gave orders that the Queen should be sent adrift on the river astride a log of wood. So the poor Queen was taken down to the river bank, and placing herself astride of a log of wood, she floated off down the great river.
After floating along for several hours the current at length carried her to the opposite bank, many miles away from her own country, and as soon as she arrived in shallow water she waded ashore and looked about her. As far as she could see, the whole country appeared to be one great plain, covered with high grass, through which it was almost impossible for anyone to force their way; but after hunting about for a time, she discerned a small opening in the grass, which led her to a narrow winding path, along which she walked for some considerable distance. After going some way she came suddenly upon an open clearing in the grass, in the middle of which a very old man, with a white beard reaching almost to his waist, was seated before a small fire cooking himself some food.
“Good-morning, sir,” said the Queen, when she saw him; “can you give me a morsel of food, for I am very hungry.”
“Certainly, Madam,” replied the old man; “you are welcome to all I have,” and so saying, he handed over to her the whole of his provisions.
When the Queen had made a good meal, the old man addressed her as follows:
“You must know,” said he, “that I am a magician, living in this prairie, and you must carefully follow the directions which I shall now give you. You must first follow the path, which will lead you to the top of a small hill, and when you arrive there a son will be born to you. This boy is not an ordinary human child, but is the incarnation of a very holy Lama, with miraculous qualities, and he will from his birth be able to walk and talk. His name is Baki, and you must follow him wherever he leads.”
The Queen thanked the old man for his advice, and following the narrow path, it soon led her to the top of a small hill; and here she was delivered of a child, who, as the magician had predicted, was of a miraculous nature, and was at once able to walk and talk. The boy without any hesitation went forward along the path, followed by his mother, and after travelling for some distance they emerged from the great grass jungle into an open cultivated country.
Now it happened that on that day the three sons of the King of that country were out hunting together, and as they rode along looking out for game they suddenly came upon the Queen and her son. Having heard her story, they mounted her and the boy upon a horse and carried them off to the King’s palace. The King at once took them under his protection, and gave orders that the boy should be brought up with his own sons, and he and his mother lodged in apartments in the palace.
Baki grew rapidly in beauty and stature, and soon became an expert in all sports and games. One day he and the King’s three sons were out hunting together, when by chance they suddenly came upon a beautiful snow-white doe, who jumped up before them and galloped off towards the mountains. The four young men at once started off in pursuit; but the horses upon which the King’s sons were riding gradually tired, and one after another they dropped out of the hunt, leaving Baki to continue alone. As the chase continued the poor doe began to show signs of exhaustion, and Baki, who was close upon her heels, was feeling confident that he would soon catch her. All at once the deer galloped straight up to what appeared to be a precipitous rock, and touching the rock with her muzzle, it flew asunder, revealing the entrance to a great cave within; and as she crossed the threshold of the cave her skin fell from her, and she appeared in the form of a beautiful young woman. Baki, who was of a very courageous disposition, did not hesitate for a moment, but, leaping from his horse, he followed the lady into the cave, and scarcely had he entered when the rock doors closed behind him with a loud crash. Following the form of the lady along a narrow passage, he emerged presently into a great lofty apartment, hollowed out in the centre of the rock, luxuriously furnished and brilliantly lighted, and with a row of great glass pillars running down the centre.
The girl meanwhile had seated herself upon a couch in one corner of the room, and addressing the young man, she asked him who he was, and what he meant by thus thrusting himself upon the privacy of a lady. The young Prince apologised, and explained the circumstances of the case as best he could, whereupon the girl addressed him as follows: