Indian Antiquary Vol 20

Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 37

JANUARY, 1891.]
FOLKLORE IN SALSETTE; No 5.
suhavivåguttamêsu61) aņuvaraya (anao Aparamparâņubaddha asubhanam subhâņu (BC,A omits) cheva kamnmâna bhâsiya bahuvihå(v. omitted in A)vivagâ vivâgasuyammi bhagavaya jina varepa samvêgakaraṇatthA62), anne (anna A) vi ya êvamâiyâ (adiyê BC) bahu vihå vittharêņam atthâ (attha A) parůvanaya aghavijjamti (jjai BC).
(To be continued.)
FOLKLORE IN SALSETTE.
BY GEO. FR. D'PENHA.
No. 5. - The Poor Boy and the Fox. There once lived together an old woman and her son, who dragged along a very wretched existence, often contenting themselves with one meal a day. They continued in this state for a very long time, till one day a cultivator, a neighbour of theirs, taking pity on them, called the old woman's son, who was then getting a big lad, and gave him a few melon seeds. He then shewed him a plot of ground belonging to him, and told him to sow them there, and to take care of the plants, till they produced melons which, when sold, would belp him to live in a little better style.
The boy took the seeds with gratitude, and lost no time in digging up the ground allotted to him, and in sowing the seeds. A few days afterwards, little plants began to shoot up, and be watered them, manured them, and took every possible care of them. In due time they grew big, and flowered, and yielded an abundance of melons ; but to the great disappointment of the poor boy, when he went in the morning to gather them for sale not one could be found. He was at a loss to understand what had become of them, so he went to his neighbour, who had given him the seeds, and told him all about it, and asked for his advice. The neighbour, who was a cultivator of great experience, at once came to the conclusion either that some one was in the habit of stealing the melons, or that some animals were eating them. But the difficulty was to find the delinquent! So he gave the boy some wax, and told him to mould it into the figure of a man, and set it up in the middle of his field as a scare-crow. The boy took the wax, and made a nice little figure of it, and took it the same evening and set it up in his fields.
That night a fox, who had come every night and enten the melons, came there as usual. But when he saw the wax figure, he thought somebody was watching, and to make himself sure that it was really a human being, went up to the figure and said to it: - "Who are you P" But did ever a figure speak? The fox asked him over and over again, bat, of course with no success. At last he got annoyed at the supposed person not answering him and said :" How often shall I ask you? Are you deaf that you can't hear, or are you dumb that you don't speak P"
But for all this no reply came forth. Again the fox said :-"Take care now; if you don't speak, I will give you a blow that will make you cry."
Still no reply, and so the fox gave one strong blow, but his paw stuck in the wax and he could not extricate it. Upon this the fox said :-"Let go my paw."
Still he could get no reply, nor was his paw set free. Upon this the fox said: "What ! You won't let go my paw? Do you want another blow P This time I will give you a blow that will knock you down! So you had better let go my paw."
a ð y BQ, bubhavipAks uttam) ylebar td fubhavipakottamas tahu, jlylahu iti gamyaté, iha che 'yan Bhashthyarthé saptaml; te kubhavip&kAdhyayana vichy&nArn sadhanAm Ayushkidivisesh Ah Subhavipak Rahyayanshu AkhyAyarhta iti prakitan, atha pratyakaro frutaskandhayôr abhidh ye puno(guna P)papavipAkarpe pratipAdya tayor va yaugapadyena td Aha': anuparata achinna yê paramparAnuba(tiadh Ab, kép vipAkA iti yogah.
• sai végahetavo bhav Ah, of. Leumann, Aup. Glossary under samulyana.