Santal (South Asian people) -- Folklore; Santali literature -- Translations into English; Tales -- India
It now being dark, Jhore descended from his perch, and taking up the
food which had been cooked for his funeral feast, left the house
by another door. Passing on to the high way, he kept calling out,
"Travellers by the road, or dwellers in the jungle, if you require
food, come here." Some thieves hearing him, said, "Come, let us go and
ask some." So going to him they said, "Give us some too, Jhore." But
he replied, "It is for me alone." On their asking a second time,
he give it to them. After they had eaten it all, they said to him,
"Come, let us go a thieving." So they went to a house, and while the
thieves were searching for money, Jhore went and picked up small pieces
of pottery, and tied them up in his cloth. When they met afterwards,
seeing Jhore's bundle of what appeared like rupees, they said,
"You were not with us, where did you get the money?" Opening his
parcel, he shewed them the pieces of pottery, seeing which they said,
"We will not have you as our comrade." He replied, "Then return the
food which you ate." As they could not comply, they agreed to take
him with them. Jhore then said, "Where shall we go now?" They replied,
"To steal cloth." So they went to a house, and while the robbers were
searching for cloth, Jhore began to pull the clothes from off the
sleeping inmates. This awoke them, and starting up, they began to call
loudly for help. The thieves made off, and Jhore with them. Seeing
Jhore had spoiled their game, they said to him, "We will not allow
you to go with us again." He said, "Then give me back the food you
ate." Not being able to do so, they said, "Well, we will allow you
to accompany us this once." Jhore then said, "What shall we steal
now?" The thieves answered, "We shall now go to steal horses." So
they went to a stable, and each of the thieves helped himself to a
horse; but Jhore going behind the house, found a large tiger which he
saddled and mounted. The thieves also mounted each on the horse he
had stolen. As they rode along, Jhore's tiger sometimes went first,
and sometimes the thieves' horses. When the thieves were in front,
Jhore's tiger bit and scratched their horses, so they said to him,
"You ride first, we shall follow." But Jhore said, "No, my horse is a
Hindu horse, he cannot run in front, your horses are Santal horses,
they run well and straight, so you ride ahead." When day began to
dawn, Jhore's tiger evinced a tendency to leave the road and take to
the jungle, but Jhore holding him in, exclaimed, "Ha! ha! my Hindu
steed, ha! ha! my Hindu steed." When it was fully light, the tiger
ran into the jungle, and Jhore got caught in the branch of a tree,
and continued dangling there for some days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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