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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
JULY, 1924
When he saw him the Kori shouted out "Offhand " and all the birds flew away. Then the fowler fell upon him and said, "When you meet anyone, you should say May two fall into one'-that is to say, may two birds fall into the snare at once."
He went on and saw two men carrying a corpse, and when he saw them, he spoke as the fowler told him ; but they beat him and said, “You should always say 'If a thing has happened, who can cure it ; but may it never occur again.'"
He came to a place where the Raja had just had a son, and when he said what had been told him, they beat him and said, " You should always say, May such a thing never occur again."
He came to a village where an Ahîr was milking his cow, which recently bad not given any milk; but that day she was a little better and was giving a little. When he said, "May such a thing never occur again," the Ahîr gave him a beating. -
So he said to himself, "Whatever I say brings me into trouble, so I had better go home"; and go home he did and stayed there.
[This noodle story is told all the world over-See Clouston, Book of Noodles, 128.-W. CROOKE. The Koris of the U.P. are supposed to be an offshoot of the Kols. In customs they approximate to the Chamars and others of like social grade-EDT
17. The Raja and the sharpers. (Told by Ramlal Kayasth of Mirzapur and recorded by Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube. )
A Raja was once on a journey and came to a tank, where a Dhobi was washing clothes. The Raja shot a paddy.bird on the tank, and the Dhobi shouted out :-"What do you mean by killing my mother? You must come to the king and I will get redress."
So they went on, and on the way they met a one-eyed man. He said to the Raja," My father once pledged my eye with you for a rupee. Here is the money, give me back my eye, or come to the king and I will get redress."
They went further and met a barber. "Shave me," said the Raja, "and I will satisfy you for your trouble." When he had done shaving him, the barber said, "Nothing but your kingdom will satisfy me. If you will not give it, come to the king, and I will get redress."
When they came to the king, the Raja sent a letter to the queen, asking her to help him out of his trouble. She wrote back, "When the Dhobi says you killed his mother, just say,
And what about my father the fish, that your mother was eating when I killed her ?' When the one-eyed man asks for his eye, say, I have a heap of eyes and I cannot match yours, unless you take out your remaining eye and let me measure it.' And when the barber asks you for your kingdom, say, 'You can have it when my son is married.'” Now the Raja had no son. In this way he escaped the wiles of the three sharpers.
18. The potter and his friends.
(Told by Ramdayal, schoolmaster, Gonda. ) A certain potter had three brothers. One of them was a very powerful man, and his brothers were on the look out to kill him. The wife of one of the brothers was one day cooking, and her husband told her to put poison in the dish for his brother. When the latter came in to eat, the woman repented and began to weep. When asked the reason, she told him to throw some of the food to a dog. When the dog immediately died, he knew that his brothers had made a plot against him. So he thought he had best go abroad to earn his living.
