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48
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
"Then you get intothe hollow of it, and be hanged to you," replied the Raja angrily. The Kayasth got the Raja to write down what he had said, and then took it to the Raja's Manager and said: "The Raja means that I am to dispossess you and take your place."
It was not till long after, when the Manager came in rags before the Raja, that the trick was discovered.
[ JANUARY, 1926
98. The dishonesty of the Shroff.
(Told by Parmanand, Brahman of Jataul, Saharanpur District.)
A man once deposited a sum of money with a Shroff, and when he went to ask for it, the Shroff denied having received it. So he went to the Kâzi. The Kâzi summoned the Shroff and said:"I am getting old and the work is too heavy for me. I am thinking of appointing you to be my Assistant."
Then the owner of the money went to the Shroff and said:
"If you do not pay me, I will lay a suit before the Kâzi."
The Shroff when he heard this, feared that he would lose his appointment: so he restored his deposit. When he went to the Kâzi to see about the place, the Kâzi said :
"My health has much improved, and I do not want an Assistant just at present."
94. The dishonest Kâzi,
(Told by Aziz Khan, Rajput of Saharanpur.)
There was once a rich merchant who had a clever wife; and one day she said to him :"This world is always changing. You may come some day to poverty. It would be wise to deposit some of your treasure with an honest man."
So the banker changed a lakh of rupees into gold coins and deposited them with the Kazi of the city. Time passed and the merchant lost his money by speculation; but when he went to recover his deposit, the Kâzi denied the receipt of it and abused him.
The merchant went and complained to the Nawab Alivardi Khân. The Nawab asked if he had any witnesses, and when the merchant admitted that no one was present when the deposit was made, the Nawab sent for the Kâzi and said:
"You know that the Emperor sometimes makes sudden demands on his officers. I wish to deposit with you nine lakhs of rupees that I may have them on the evil day."
The Kâzi was pleased, and as he was preparing a vault to receive the treasure of the Nawab, the merchant came again and demanded his money. The Kâzi feared that if he refused to pay, the merchant would complain to the Nawab, who would withhold his treasure. So he paid the money; and then the Nawab turned him out of the city.
95. The pride of the Jackal,
(Told by Kundan Sinh, Jât, and recorded by Ayub Hasan of Manglaur, Saharanpur
District.)
One day a jackal and his wife were out at night foraging, and he found a piece of paper with some writing on it. He took it to his wife and said: "Here is a Firman of the Emperor Akbar, making me headman (Choudari) of all the jackals."
"All right," said she, "but you should also carry a badge in proof of your dignity." "You are right," he replied, "so tie a stick to my tail."
So the poet writes :
She did so, and just then up came a dog and chased them. The female jackal escaped into a drain, but as her mate followed her, his tail stuck in the opening, and the dog caught him and tore him to pieces.
Baro na hajê gunan binu birad bardi pâi;
Jo nahin mati yah hiya dharai shrig sam turat nashây.
"Do not listen to flatterers and claim importance which you do not deserve. He who does not mind this advice will share the fate of the jackal,"
