out the mysterious cook. The elder brother hid himself in the house while the other man went out alone in search of roots and fruits. The elder brother kept close watch all day long but he left the house only for a short time when he heard the cry of a hawker of salt and tobacco. When he came back he found the dinner quite ready and the mystery remained unsolved. Next day the younger brother remained in the house to watch and the elder one went into the jungles. He hid himself in a heap of firewood and saw a nymph of surpassing beauty come forth from the Gurndai flower. When she came near the heap of firewood in order to take some faggots the man seized her by the hand and made her promise to marry his elder brother. Thenceforth she remained as the elder brother's wife and she did all the cooking and household work. After some time she was enceinte and in due course she gave birth to a son who was exceedingly well-favoured. One day when she went to fetch water the father was dancing the baby on his knees to the accompaniment of a song which ran :

"From the lovely Guṛndải flower art thou sprung

My darling child.

Thy body is redolent still

Of the sweet flower's blcom.

"Till now have I lived as

His wife heard the song and said :— an outcaste, apart from my kind; but to day my people claim me back and I can no longer live with you." So saying she immediately entered the Gurndai flower and vanished. The tree from which the flower had been plucked now began to bear many flowers. The husband with his brother and son went to the tree and called out loudly to the nymph but in vain.

29. THE STORY OF TWO JACKALS, A TIGER AND A MONKEY.

Once upon a time there lived in a certain jungle a happy couple of jackals. They had no lair; the female who was an expectant mother asked her husband, when her accouchement drew near, to prepare one for the safety of her young ones. "I shall attend to it to-morrow, my dear ", said the husband, "but in the meantime you must give me plenty of food and drink so

that I may pick up strength for the task." His wife gave him all that he wanted; but he pottered about the whole day and came home in the evening and said:-"Look here, my dear, I have gone far and near in search of a suitable site and have at last succeeded in finding one. I will start the work to-morrow." His wife was very glad and she gave him plenty of food and drink and he left home next morning to start the work. He passed that day also in mere frivolity and returned in the evening and informed his wife that he had excavated the foundations but that the earth had yet to be removed. By such ingenious reports he beguiled his wife and obtained from her large quantities of food and drink from day to day. At last his wife delivered a litter of young jackals and she requested her husband to take them over to the lair. The jackal took her along with the young ones to a cave and told her that that was the lair which had taken him so long a time to construct. His wife saw it and said "Well, you have built a commodious mansion for us; but what if a tiger were to come in and oust us?" "Don't trouble yourself," said her husband, "I have got wit enough stored in seven barrels to render us immune against danger of any kind." He added:-"How much of wit do you possess my dear?" She said that nature had endowed her with only a small quantity. "Oh! no matter; I have quite enough; let us live here," he said. So they took up their abode in that cave. They had not been there long when a big tiger was seen coming towards the cave. The male took fright at the sight of the tiger and ran to his wife and informed her that a tiger was coming. She asked him to bring one of his seven barrels of wisdom into requisition. He replied that he had lost all the seven barrels through fear at the sight of the huge feline. Said his wife :"Do what you can, so that we might be saved." Said the husband: "I am going out. Beat the children soundly so that they may raise a loud out-cry." After he departed his wife sat down at the door and said: "You greedy urchins, I have just fed you on the liver of seven tigers and still your hunger has not been appeased. Keep quiet and have patience. Another

one is coming. I shall kill it for you and let you dine on it. Don't cry out so loudly for it will be scared away by the noise." The tiger heard these words and was overcome with fear. He dropped his tail on the ground and slunk away in a state of alarm. A monkey saw him in this abject mood and stopped him. "It is marvellous indeed (said the monkey) that so noble a beast should turn away so ignominously from a mere jackal." Said the tiger:-" It is no jackal but a very dangerous customer who has installed himself in my cave. I dare not face him." Said the monkey:-"The voice you heard was the voice of a female jackal. If you have any misgivings on that score let us go together to the cave and as a proof of my good faith I am willing to have my tail fastened on to yours". So they tied their tails together and proceeded towards the cave. Seeing them the jackal's wife shouted :-"You lazy monkey, I ordered you to bring in seven tigers but you are fetching me only one. You are an absolute noodle; I shall dismiss you from my service. " When he heard this the tiger thought that the monkey was only a secret agent in the service of the strange occupant of the cave and that he had been shamefully betrayed. The tiger ran for his life over boulders of stone, across deep crevices and through thorny bushes. Happily for the monkey the knot worked loose before the tiger had gone far and he managed to escape with only a few bruises. As a result of this unfortunate incident the two friends became sworn enemies, and mutually vowed vengeance against each other. The tiger went out in search of the monkey. The monkey was found pounding the seeds of the Soso apple (Marking nut)* in a certain place. "Well, what are you doing, monkey dear?" asked the tiger; and the reply was: "You had dragged me over the rocks and through thorny bushes and I am preparing an ointment to heal my bruises. " The tiger:-" Will you please give me some so that I may also apply the remedy to my wounds for I too have received injuries." The monkey:-" You

* It is said that the juice extracted from this fruit causes irritation and roduces sores.

may take as much of it as you like for I have got enough and to spare. Saying this the monkey left the place and the tiger rubbed the oil of the marking nuts over his body. The oil produced a burning sensation and the tiger roared in agony, Said the tiger:-"This is the second time that the wily old monkey has attempted to kill me. I must make a clean job of him this time." He searched again for the monkey and found him on a tree where there was a bee-hive. "What are you doing, old monkey?" asked the tiger. The monkey replied:-" I am repairing my drum (Mandal) for there will be a dance at the king's palace and I shall have to attend the function as a musician. " As a kind of scenic make-believe the monkey uttered a sound (dātur medangtur) in imitation of mandal music and at the same time gave a mimetic reproduction of a drummer's performance. The tiger:-"Will you please let me just play a bit on your drum?” The monkey: "No; you will break it." The tiger :-" No, no, Mr. Monkey, I will use the utmost care and I will not break your drum." The monkey:" Very well, let me step aside for a moment and then you will play on it at your pleasure.” The monkey then hid himself in the tree and the tiger climbed up and mistaking the bee-hive for a drum uttered "dātur medangtur" and struck the hive so that all the bees fell upon him and stung him and the tiger ran away suffering terrible agony. Now the tiger said to himself: "The monkey has thrice tried to take my life. I shall surely have my revenge this time." He went again in search of the monkey. This time he found his enemy seated on a dry tree under which there was a heap of dry leaves. "What are you doing, monkey dear?" asked the tiger. "I am exposing my wounds to the beneficent rays of the sun up here and they are healing up fast under this treatment. The tiger:-"Will you please let me go and sit there se that my wounds may be cured also." The monkey complied with his request and climbed down and the tiger went up and perched himself on the tree. When he was seated the monkey rubbed two pieces of dry twigs and started a fire. The dry leaves were soon ablaze and the fire involved the tree and the poor tiger was burnt to death.

30. THE DEVOTION OF A FISHERMAN'S WIFE. There lived in a certain village a married couple. The husband went every day into the jungles and caught fish and crabs in the hillstreams. To avoid drenching his loincloth which was the only wearing apparel he possessed he used to keep it on the river-bank while engaged in fishing. While he was thus engaged one morning his hand was caught in a hole by a crab and while he was struggling to extricate it a huge tiger who was the king of the forest arrived there with his retinue consisting of a number of smaller tigers. The king beheld a pair of berries dangling from a stem and ordered one of his followers to go and examine them and to report if they were ripe. The follower carried out his command and reported that the berries would be ripe by the following morning. The king then departed with his cortege. As the fisherman was very late in returning home owing to this untoward event his wife grew anxious about his safety in a place known to be infested with wild animals and she went into the jungle to look for him. He met her on his way home and told her that his end was near for the great tiger would come again next morning when he would be fishing in the river and would for a certainty devour him. "Be not anxious, my dear," said the devoted wife," for I will find means for your deliverance". Next morning she volunteered to go into the jungle and catch fish in the river and prevailed upon her husband to stay at home. While she was catching fish in nature's garb there came the king of tigers with his myrmidons. Lashing his tail in fury the king of the forest turned on his followers and said :--" You have made a fool of me. The fruits were ripe but you did not let me taste them yesterday. Now they are gone and nothing remains but the stem. The king in his rage killed all his followers and went away from the place so that the fisherman's wife returned home in safety.*

*

Another version has a different ending. The woman on being interrogated said that the berries, being overripe had dropped into the river and had been carried down stream by the current, and thereupon the king and his followers went in search of them along the course of the river and thus enabled the woman to get away.