Indian Antiquary Vol 20

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

Page 38

30
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JANUARY, 1891.
But for all his entreaties and threats, the supposed human being would not answer him nor would he let go his paw. And then the fox, enraged beyond measure, gave another blow with his other paw, with the result that this paw also adhered to the wax, and all his attempts to extricate either paw were useless; and so in his rage he said: - "Look here now, just you let go my paws, or I shall get wild and give you such a kick on your stomach that it will burst and all your entrails will come out."
But what is the use of threatening a wax figure? The fox gave one strong kick, only to find his leg also stuck fast in the figure. He was now mad with rage, and sometimes with entreaties and sometimes with threats he asked to be let go, but all to no avail. At last he said : -"I ask you for the last time to let me go away quietly, for if I am provoked further, I will give you another kick and that will be certain to kill you."
In this way he begged and threatened, and threatened and begged, but it was all useless. He wriggled and struggled too, but all for nothing, and at last, losing his temper, gave a second kick with the same resolt as before, and got stuck to the figure with all four país like a man tied up. Still he did not despair of setting himself free, and said :-"Well, well, you have caught all my paws; but won't you let them go ? If you don't, I shall know what to do: I will give you a bite and eat you up."
The figure gave him no answer, nor would be set him free. The fox therefore said :"Look here, I will not go on asking you for ever, and if you don't let me go at once, I will bite you without fail. Now do let me go!"
But seeing that all his entreaties were of no avail, he opened his month as wide as he possibly could, and gave a huge bite at the figure, so that his teeth dug deep into the wax and stuok fast in it. He struggled for a very long time, but all his attempts proved futile, and in this position he remained all night, thinking upon his fate the next day.
The following day when the poor boy came as usual to see to his melons, he saw the fox stuck in the figure, and said : - "Oh-ho! you thief, so it's you that have been taking my melons every day, and stealing my daily bread! You are nicely caught. How will you get a way now? I'll teach you to rob my melons !"
Thus saying, he prepared to kill the fox, who sobbed and cried, and begged hard to let him free, but all in vain. The boy seemed determined to kill him, and at last the fox said :"Only set me free, and I will pay you back a hundred-fold. I will even get you married to the king's daughter, and then you can enjoy yourself all your life." In the end, after much entreaty, the boy let the fox free, on condition that he would not steal nor eat any more of his melons, and that he would get him married to the king's daughter. The fox agreed, and never afterwards touched the melons.
He had now a very difficult task to perform, in getting his benefactor married to the king's daughter, and he at once set about it. But one day as he was taking the road leading to the king's palace, he saw a goldsmith making a small bench of gold, which only required a finishing touch. So he went to the other side of the goldsmith's house, where his child was playing alone, the mother having gone to fetch water, and took it up and threw it down on the ground, which made it cry, and then he ran up to the goidsmith and said :"Is your gold worth more than your child, that you should not go and see after it when it is half dead with the fall it has had ? Shame upon you!"
The goldsmith, who was very busy at the time, did not see the fox till he spoke to him, nor had he heard his child cry till he was told about it. So he ran off, to take up the child and to soothe it. In the meanwhile our hero, the fox, quietly took up the bench, and made for the king's palace. As soon as he reached it, he told the guards to inform the king at once
1 Among Hindús, or rather in Marathi, this bench is known as på; the Salsette Christians call it pirasi.