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No. 52

The Wimali Story

She

Ta certain city there are a man and a woman, it is said. That woman was about to have a child. cooked cakes to eat. While she was eating, a crow came, and stayed there looking on. of cake, at least," it thought. it even a bit of the cakes.

"She will throw me a piece

The woman did not give

Afterwards the crow went to the house of the Rakshasa, and breaking off a mango fruit came to that house, and ate it in front of the woman who ate the cakes. While the crow was eating, the woman thought, "It will throw down a piece of it, at least." The crow did not give her any of it ; it ate the whole and flew away.

After the man of the house came, the woman said, “ The crow brought a mango fruit, and turned it round and round, and ate the whole of it. [Somehow or other you must get me a mango.]"

After that, the man went to the house of the Rākshasa, and having ascended the mango tree, tried to pluck a mango fruit. As he was plucking it the Rakshasa came home. Seeing the man in the tree, he asked, "Who is that in the tree?"

“Anē! I am in the tree," said the man.

"What are you plucking mangoes for?" he asked. "For our house-girl to eat. [She is about to have a child, and has asked for one," he said.

"Well then, pluck one and descend," the Rakshasa said. So the man plucked one, and came down. After he had descended the Rakshasa said, "Should she bear a son he is for thee; should she bear a daughter, she is for me."

The man said "Ha," and taking the mango fruit went home.

News afterwards reached the Rakshasa that she had borne a girl. On account of it the Rakshasa went to the house [and took the girl]. As he was returning carrying the girl, he saw two boys going to school, and said, "Boys, boys, say a name for my daughter."

The boys saying, "Wimali, Wimali " one), ran away.

(pure or beautiful

So the Rakshasa took the girl to his house, and shared it with her.

Afterwards, when he had gone to eat human flesh, the Rakshasa heard the sound of tom-toms saying, “ Wimali,” [and thought they were calling the girl]. So he came home, and asked Wimali, "Have you been out?"

"No, I have not been out. I have just got up," Wimali said.

Next day he went again to eat human flesh. After he had gone he heard the sound of tom-toms saying, "Wimali." The Rakshasa came home, and asked Wimali again, "Have you been out?'

"No, I have just put on my cloth," Wimali said.

The Rakshasa having gone to eat human flesh on the following day, again heard the sound of tom-toms saying, "Wimali." He came home and asked Wimali, "Have you been out?"

"No, I have only just combed my hair," Wimalī said. After that, news reached the King that a girl called Wimali was at the Rakshasa's house. Having learnt this, the King came to take away Wimali. When he arrived there [the Rakshasa was out, so] he formed a figure of Wimali out of rice flour, and after placing that figure in the Rakshasa's house, took Wimali to the city.

The Rakshasa came to the house and [finding that she was not there] said, " Wimali will not stay at home." Then he tried to eat her figure, and ate a great part of the flour figure. After he had eaten this [his mouth was choked with the flour, so] he said, "May a mouth be created on the top of my head." When he had said this [the mouth was created, and] the Rakshasa's head being split in two by it, he died.

Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.

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No. 53

The Pots of Oil

MAN having gone to the Lower Twelve Pattus (the name of a district) to seek for coconuts, and having collected fifty or sixty coconuts at a shed [where he was lodging, found that] because of their great weight he was unable to bring them; and so he expressed [the oil from] them.

Having expressed it, on the morning of the following day he asked for two large pots, and filling them with the oil he tied them as a pingo (carrying-stick) load (one below each end of the stick), and set off with them.

During the time while he was coming on his way to his village, he met a man in the road, and having given him betel, etc., to eat, said, “Anē! Friend, you must assist me a little. Take this pingo load somewhat far, and hand it over to me. I will give you four tuttu" (three halfpence). [The man agreed to help him, and took the load.]

Then the man, as he was going along the road, thought, "With the funds provided by these four tuttu I shall buy a hen chicken. Having taken it home, after it has become large and laid twelve eggs I shall [set them under it and] get twelve chickens. After the twelve chickens have become big, I shall sell them for sixpence apiece. With that money I shall get a he-goat and a she-goat, and that she-goat will bear two kids.

"When the kids have become large I can sell them for five rupees apiece, and having given the ten rupees I shall get a buffalo cow. While I am rearing the buffalo cow she will bear a calf. At that time I shall go to ask about a lucky hour (fixed by astrology) for taking the [first] milk,

"After I have got to know the lucky hour and gone to take the milk, the buffalo cow, becoming afraid, will kick at me." Saying this, he jumped aside in order to avoid it.

As he was coming on the path, at this time he had reached a foot-bridge formed of a single tree trunk (ēdanḍa), and while going along at the middle of it he made the jump [to escape the cow's kick]. As he jumped, he fell off the tree trunk, taking the load of oil with him [and the two pots were smashed].

At his fall, the owner of the oil asked, " Having come so far taking care of this oil, why did you throw it down and break the pots at this foot-bridge, friend?"

The man said, "With the funds provided by the four tuttu I thought of buying a chicken. This happened owing to that.”

Afterwards the owner of the oil, saying, "Never mind the spilling of the oil; you must go with me," invited the man to accompany him, and they went together. Having arrived at the village, because he was a capable man [the owner of the oil] gave him his daughter [in marriage].

Not a very long time afterwards, the men of the village said that they must go to Puttalam to load salt and sundried fish, and bring them back [bartering part of them on the way home]. The man said, "Father-in-law, I also must go to Puttalam." So the father-in-law made ready a cart load of goods, and giving them to him told him to go with the other men, and said, "[When disposing of the goods] the things which they count you also count and give; the goods which they give 'simply' (that is, without counting), you also give 'simply.''

"1

Afterwards the men who went from the village, while coming back from Puttalam, from place to place gave the goods they were bringing, and took [in exchange] the things they wanted. The man having observed which goods

1 The word used, nikan, "no-act," is employed in several senses; when a thing is given nikan, it usually means "without payment." To come or go nikan, is to come or go without any special reason or business, and also to go empty-handed, as in a former tale.

they counted, counted and gave the same goods, without [taking] money. The goods which the other men gave without counting, that man also gave without counting. Thus, in that manner he gave all the goods loaded into the cart, until at last only the cart and the yoke of bulls remained

over.

Afterwards the men who went in the party gave goods, and each one got a horse. This man gave the cart and yoke of bulls and got a horse.

While they were coming bringing the horses, the men of the party gave goods, and each one got a goat of foreign breed. So this man gave his horse, and got a goat.

While they were bringing the goats, the men of the party, saying, “We must each one get a dog with a partycoloured body," gave goods, and got one apiece. So this man gave the foreign goat that he was bringing, and got one.

Having come to a shop where they were selling foreign pots, the men of the party gave goods, and each one got a foreign water-pot. This man giving the parti-coloured dog, also got one.

Afterwards having come very close to their village, each of the men of the party, saying, "I will give four tuttu and get shaved," got shaved. So this man gave that foreign water-pot, and got himself shaved.

In the end the man returned home without either cart, or yoke of bulls, or goods.

Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province. Some Eastern variants have been mentioned above in the story of the kitul seeds, No. 26.

In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 102, there is a story by Mr. A. E. R. Corea, in which a man who was going in search of work gathered some leaves on the road-side, which are eaten as a vegetable. In another district where there were no vegetables he exchanged them for fishes, a leaf for a fish. Going on, he bartered these for digging hoes, and these again for oxen, with which he set off on his return home. Having nothing to eat, he continued to give two oxen for two rice cakes, until at last he arrived at his house empty-handed. In the Panchatantra (Dubois), a Brāhmaṇa who had been at two feasts on the same day, carried away from the second some pots of ghi—or liquid butter-milk, and flour, and began to consider how he would acquire wealth by means of them. He would sell them,