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AUGUST, 1881.]
FOLKLORE IN THE PANJAB.
231
likely to be killed. My life lies in something the insect's neck, the life of the jinn went out quite safe." "I am glad of that," said the entirely. deceitfal Princess, “tell me in what it lies, that Prince Lionheart returned to the Princess, I may help you to preserve it." But the jinn | who was overjoyed to hear of her tyrant's death, refused. At last, when the Princess coaxed and and said "Let us return to my father's kingwheedled, and he began to get sleepy, he answer- dom." "Not so," said the Princess, "first let us ed, "I shall never be killed except by a prince rest awhile and see what riches the palace called Lionheart, and then only if he can find contains." So they stayed, and one day the the solitary tree, not far from here, where a Princess said, “I will bathe in the river, and dog and a horse keep sentinel, and can climb wash my beautiful hair." So she bathed in the tree, and kill the Mainál that sits singing the river and combed her beautiful hair, every in a golden cage, and then cut open its crop, thread of which shone like gold. Now the and kill the bumble bee that is inside. But he Princess was proud of her golden hair, and when will need to have a lion's heart or be very wise one or two long strands came out in the comb, before he can reach the tree, and overcome she said "I will not throw them into the river its guardians." "How can they be overcome ?" to sink in the nasty mad." So she made a cup asked the Princess.
from a pipal leaf, - laid the golden hairs in it, "In this way," said the jinn, who was dread- and let it float down the stream. fully sleepy and tired of being cross-questioned : It chanced that the river flowed past a big "In front of the horse lies a heap of bones, and city. The young king of that city was sailing in front of the dog a bundle of grass. Let him on the river in a boat when he saw something take a long bamboo and push the bones to the sparkling like gold in the water, so be said to dog and the grass to the horse and they will his boatmen-"Fetch me that glittering leaf.” let him pass."
When he saw the golden hairs, he thought he The Prince overheard all this, and set off at had never seen anything half so beautiful, and once to find the solitary tree, which he did said "I will never rest day or night till I find without any difficulty. The dog and the horse the owner." were savage and fierce, but became mild and So he sent for the wise women" to find out peaceable when the bundles were changed. He where the owner of the beautiful hair lived. climbed up the tree, seized the maind, and began Said one old woman, "If she is on earth I will to twist its neck. Just then the jinn, who was find her." Said the second, "If she is in heaven sleeping in the palace, became aware of what I will tear open the sky and bring her." But was happening, and flew through the air to do the third said, “Wah, if you tear open the sky battle. The Prince saw him coming, and hastily I'll put a patch in it so that no one will be able cut open the mainú's crop; there he found the to tell the new piece from the old." bumble bee, and just as the jinn was alighting The king thought the last old woman much on the tree, the Prince tore off the insect's wings. the cleverest, so he bid her go and seek for the Instantly the jinn fell to the ground with a owner of the golden glittering hair. crash; but he ran on determined to kill his So the old woman set off up the river, in a enemy. Then the Prince twisted off the insect's grand boat, and by and by came to the palace legs, and lo! nothing remained of the jinn but of the jinn. She got out of the boat, sat down the trunk, and when Prince Lionheart twisted on the steps, and wept.
19 liyo Maina (Sanak. faf Kisné) the gracula religiosa, a kind of starling well-known in India as a singing bird which can be taught to speak. It is sacred and never killed by Hindus.-R.C.T.
13 , 3 , dona, a cup made of leaves. See next tale, where a nearly exactly similar incident occurs. The dona is used in the Panjab by the very poor as a receptacle for eatables.-R. C.T.
14 Kutnt, soothsayer, wise woman : there is no suspicion of witchcraft about kutnfs, and they are seldom employed for any purpose except that in the context. Phapho kutnt is used in common parlance for "a clever jade."-F. A. S.
IS Kutni is properly. procures in Panj. and Hindt
from Sansk. E kutt, to grind, pound, abuse, whence Sansk. Eft kuttant and great kutlin a procurers. The word for witch or wise woman in the Panjab is usually
is #661 phaphe kuint (see above in former tales's phaphe probably represents Hindi phapre, a procuross, and Panj.. . phaphro, deceit, whence de phaphre hattha, deceiver. The terms are always used in & bad sense and might be fairly translated, according to context, hag, harridan, witch, but the bearars of the name do not seem to have sapernatural powers.-R.C.T.
