Monkey goes in front. The King and the Princess and the Prince come after. That Monkey goes [in the trees] jumping and jumping, and changing branches. The thousand people went footing and footing the road.

While going thus they met with a city. Then the King quietly told the Monkey to halt; it stopped. Then the King asked the Monkey, "Whose is that city that is visible?"

The Monkey says, "This city is our Mr. Janel Siññā's. It has been rented out to his work-people." Afterwards the King went on, keeping that also in his mind.

The Monkey again went in front. Then again they met with a city. Again the King having called the Monkey asked, "Whose is that city?"

Then the Monkey says, "It is our Mr. Janel Siññā's. It has been rented out to his workpeople. In that way are the cities belonging to our Mr. Janel Siññā [given out]."

Again the Monkey went off in front. Having gone thus, he went to the house of a Rākshasa, and having made the house ready in a second, when he stepped aside the King and the Prince and Princess went in.

The King made the thousand workpeople stay there, and having handed over the Princess, next day went back to his city.

Afterwards the Monkey asked at the hand of the Prince, "For the help that you gave me I also am assisting you. What favour besides will you give me ?

Then the Prince says, " When you have died I shall weep abundantly, and having made a coffin, and put you in the coffin, I will bury you."

Then the Monkey said, "So much indeed is the assistance I want."

One day the Monkey lay down, trickishly saying that he was getting fever. The Prince did not even go in that direction. Next day and the next day he stayed there; on those days he did not go.

On the third day the Monkey cunningly shutting his eyes remained as though he had died. The Prince said to a man, "Look if that Monkey is dead."

The man having gone near the Monkey, when he looked it was dead [in appearance]; he said at the hand of the Prince that it was dead. The Prince said, "Having put a creeper round its neck, drag it in the direction of that jungle, and having thrown it there come back."

When the man tried to put the creeper on the Monkey's neck the Monkey got up. "Don't put the creeper on my

neck," he said.

Having gone near the Prince he said, "After I was dead [apparently], you were taking me without having put me in a coffin. Why do you [arrange to] drag me, having put a creeper on my neck? Don't take even so much trouble." Having said this, the Monkey went off to the midst of the forest, and died.

Tom-Tom Beater. North-western Province.

Of course, this is an Eastern form of Puss-in-Boots.

In Folk-Tales of Bengal (Day), p. 226 ff., there is an account of a clever match-making Jackal which induced a King to marry his daughter to a weaver.

Na certain country there are a man and a woman, it is said. There is a girl (daughter) of those two persons. The girl was asked [in marriage] for a Gamarāla of another country who had much wealth in money. The girl having been summoned, and having gone to the Gamarāla, and been with him for a long time, he went to chop jungle [for making a chena]. There he met with a fawn, and having returned home said to the girl, "Bolan, there was a fawn in the chena."

The girl said, "Anē! After you have gone to-morrow bring it." On the following day the Gamarāla brought it. When the girl had reared it for a long time, a longing came to her, and she lay down. Afterwards the Gamarāla asked the Deer, "What, Deer, is thy elder sister's illness?"

Then the Deer said, "Our elder sister has a longing." The Gamarāla said, "What can she eat for it?" The Deer replied, “Our elder sister can eat the stars in the sky."

Afterwards the Gamarāla, having gone to seek the stars, and to seek for the corner of the sky [where it joined the earth, so as to ascend to them], searched until he became aged, but was unable to find the corner; and the Gamarāla died.

Then the girl, having sold the Gamarāla's village, took the money that was obtained there, and the wealth that he possessed [and left]. While the girl and the Deer were going on their way they met with a King. He asked the Deer, “Where, Deer, are ye going?"

1 Called also, "The Deer and the Girl and Nikini.”

The Deer said, "Our elder sister on account of thirst is going to seek a little water."

Then the King said, "Wilt thou give thy elder sister to me [in marriage]?"

The Deer said "Hā"; so having placed the Deer and the Deer's elder sister on the back of the King's elephant, they went to the palace.

When a long time had passed, a longing came again to the girl, and she lay down.

The King asked the Deer, "What is thy elder sister's illness? "

The Deer said, "Our elder sister has a longing."
The King asked, "What can she eat for it?"

The Deer said, "Should you bring for our elder sister the sand which is at the bottom of the ocean, if she slept upon it she would be well."

Afterwards, when the King was going to the bottom of the sea to take the sand, he was soaked with the water, and died.

After this, when the Deer and the Deer's elder sister, taking all the King's things, and cooking a bundle of rice, were on their way again, they met with a man. The man asked the Deer, "Where, Deer, are ye going?"

The Deer said "We are going to seek a man for our elder sister."

The man said, "If so, give thy elder sister to me."

The Deer said ".Ha," and the Deer and the Deer's elder sister went to the man's house.

When they had been there a long time, a longing came to the woman, and she lay down. The man asked, “What, Deer, is thy elder sister's illness?

The Deer said, "Our elder sister has a longing."

The man asked, "What can she eat for it?"

The Deer said, "Our elder sister must eat Nikini. Should she not eat it, it will not only be very difficult for her [to recover]; her life will be lost." Now the sort called Nikini" is not in any place whatever in the world. That ignorant man, not knowing of its non-existence, on account of the love that he bore for his wife went away on a search for Nikini.

Afterwards, when the foolish man was on his way to seek for Nikini, a man was ploughing. The man who was ploughing asked, "Where are you going?"

This man said, "I am going to seek for a little Nikini." Then the man said to this man, "If so, come here [and help me to plough]."

Those two having ploughed during the whole of that day, went in the evening to the house of the man who had been ploughing. Both of them having eaten cooked rice, the man who went to seek for Nikini asked that man, "Aně! Now then, tell me the place where there is Nikini." The man said, "Ane! I don't know. Go you away." After that, when he had slept there that night, that man gave him a little cooked rice. Having eaten a little, while he was going on his way to seek for Nikini, a man was chopping earthen ridges in a rice field. The man asked, "Where are you going?"

This man said, "I am going to seek for a little Nikini." Then that man said, "If so, come here [and help me]."

After those two persons had chopped the ridges during the whole day, they went in the evening to the man's house. While they were [there], having eaten cooked rice this man who went to seek for Nikini said, “Anē! Tell me the site where there is Nikini."

The man said, "Anē! I don't know. Go and ask at the hand of another person.'

When this man had slept there that day night, on the next day that man gave him a little cooked rice. Having eaten it he set off to go and seek Nikini. Then a man was sowing a rice field. The man asked him, " Where are you going?"

This man said, "I am going to seek for a little Nikini.” The man asked, "What for?"

This man replied, "A longing has come to our housemistress, so she told me to go and bring a little Nikini."

The man said, "If so, come here and sow."

For the whole of that day those two sowed. In the evening they came to the man's house, and both of them