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283
OCTOBER, 1893.]
FOLKLORE IN SALSETTE, No. 16.
"The prince consented to take her with him and to marry her, but the difficulty was how to carry her, to his house. He then hit upon the following plan. He put her into a box and carried her to where the ship was waiting. He then tied the box to the chain, but misfortune of misfortunes! as soon as the khalásís felt the weight of the box, they pulled the chain up, as instructed, and our prince, to his confusion and distress, was left behind, with little or no chance of his ever seeing his home and parents, who, he thought, must now die of grief.
"He now retraced his steps, and wandered about in the gardens, subsisting on the various fruits, which the gardens yielded in abundance. He lived in this way for many days. One day he felt himself quite fatigued; so he laid down to rest under a pimpul-tree.
"Now it happened that two birds, a male and a female, called gurupaksha and gurupakshin, had made their nest in that tree, and were in the habit of breeding there, but to their great sorrow, some wild animal or bird used to come and eat up their young ones. On the day that the prince came under the tree the gurupakshin gave birth to two little ones, after which she and the guripaksha went in search of food. In their absence a huge wild bird came and was about to eat up the little ones, when our hero, seeing its cruel intention, rose up to their help, and killed their enemy. Some time afterwards the gurupaksha and gúrupakshin returned, carrying some food in their beaks, and found, for once, their little ones alive, and proceeded to feed them, upon which the young birds said: 'Before you feed us, tell us if you had other issue besides ourselves, or are we your first-born? The parent-birds answered: Dear little ones, we had many children born before you, but some cruel bird deprived us of them all. We are certainly astonished to find you alive; and still we cannot say for certain, how long you will be spared to us. Upon this the young ones said: We thought as much. We did see some huge bird falling upon us, and had it not been for that lad there under the tree, we, too, should have been lost to you. As soon as he saw the cruel bird trying to make a meal of us, he got up and killed it, and there lies its carcase. Go down, therefore, and first of all thank him as our deliverer. You must also try and render him any assistance that may be within your power, for he appears to be in great anxiety about something or other.'
"When the gurupaksha and gurupakshin heard these words, they flew down immediately, and found that what their children told them was only too true. They, therefore, thanked the prince with all their heart, and then asked him what was his trouble, that he looked so dejected and care-worn, and if they could be of any service to him in any way. The prince then told them everything: how he had come to that land in search of kambals; how he killed the rankhas; how he packed the rankhas' daughter in a box and tied it to the chain of the ship in which he came; how the chain with the box was hauled up; and how he was left behind with little or no chance of his ever getting back to his parents, which thought caused him the greatest pain and anxiety. Upon this the gurupaksha and gurupakshin said to him: 'Is this all you are so 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 girupaksha in your turban, at any age, you will look like a person a thousand years old; again, when you wear the feather of the gûrûpakshin, you will look like a lad of twelve years. Now tell us where you wish to go.'
"Upon this the prince took heart at the opportunity offered him of once more seeing his parents, and told them where he wished to be carried. The girupaksha and gurupakshin then joined their wings together, and thus made a fine seat, and having seated the prince thereon, bore him in the air, and in a few moments more put him down near the fisherman's house, and went away after again thanking him for rescuing their children, 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 at the loss of their supposed child, were taken by surprise, as they suddenly heard the prince's voice calling to them as father and mother. They were, of course, very glad to see
