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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[OCTOBER, 1893.
FOLKLORE IN SALSETTE.
BY GEO. FR. D'PENHA. No. 16.-The Prince and the Kambals.
(Continued from p. 250). The little birds then snid :-"We thought as much. We did see some huge bird falling upon us, and had it not been for that boy there under the tree, we, too, should have been lost to you. As soon as he saw the wild bird trying to devour us, he got up and killed it, and there lies the carcase of it. Go down, therefore, and thank him first as our deliverer. You must also try and render lim somo help, for he appears to be in great anxicty about something or other."
The grúpaksha and giripaksh'u then came down and saw that all that their children said was true. They, therefore, thanked our hero very heartily, and asked him why he looked so dejected and care-worn, and if they could help him in any way. The prince told them everything: how he had come to that land in search of kambals; how he killed the rankhas ; how he packed the rank has' daughter in a box and tied it to the chain of the ship in which he came; how the chain was drawn up, and he was left behind withont any chance of his ever getting back to his parents, which thought caused him the greatest pain and anxiety.
When the gúrúpakshi and girúpakshin heard his story they said to him :- "Is this all that you are anxious about? Order us and we will bear you in a short time to your home in safety. But before you go, take a little present from us. We will each give you a feather. When you wear the feather of the gúrúpakshá in your turban, at any age, you will look like a person a thousand years old ; again, when you wear that of the gúrúpakshin, you will look like a lad of twelve years. Now tell us where you wish to go."
Upon this our hero took heart at the opportunity offered him of once more going to see his parents, and told them where he wished to be carried. The gúrúpaksha and gúrtipakshin then both joined their wings and thus made a fine seat, and having seated the prince thereon, bore him into the air, and in a few moments put him down near the fisherman's house, and went away, after again thanking him for rescuing their children's life, and each of them gave him a feather.
The fisherman and his wife, who were nearly blind from the effects of crying day and night for the supposed loss of their child, were taken by surprise, as they heard the prince's voice suddenly fall on their ears, calling out to them as father and mother. They were now very glad to see him back, and asked him where he had been and what he had been doing for. 80 long. He told them everything from the moment he had left them to the time of speaking. They listened, with amazement, to the exploits of their son, and were proud of him. Now that their son was again with them safe, they shook off their cares and anxieties, and, recovering slowly, regained their strength. Thus they were again themselves in a short time.
A few months after this, there happened to be a great festival, and every one was supposed to cat and drink merrily for the day. The old fisherman called the prince, and, handing him some money, told him to go to the bázár and bay some meat and vegetables and fruit, and other nice things for dinner. The prince at once obeyed. Going to the bázár, he bought what was necessary, and, hiring a cooly, sent it to his house, while he himself kept roaming about the place, as he had not been there since he had left in search of the kambals, diverting himself with sweets and fruits. Rambling from one place to another, he happened to come to where the palace of the king was located. Just then be remembered the feathers given to him by the gárúpaksha and gúrúpakshin, and of their virtue. So wishing to amuse himself by passing off for an old man, he wore in his turban the feather of the gúrúpakshú, when, at once, he was transformed into an old man of a thousand years!
