Santal (South Asian people) -- Folklore; Santali literature -- Translations into English; Tales -- India
Now it so happened that the king had promised to give his daughter
and half of his kingdom to the man who should slay the demon. Early
in the morning a Dome, who was passing, discovered the body of the
demon, and said within himself, "I will take it to the king and claim
the reward." So running home he broke all the furniture in his house
and beat his old woman saying, "Get out of this. I am about to bring
the king's daughter home as my bride." He then returned quickly,
and taking up the body of the demon carried it to the king, and said,
"Oh sir king, I have slain the demon." The king replied, "Very well,
we will enquire into it." So he commanded some of his servants to
examine the body, and on doing so they found that the claws had been
extracted and the tongue cut out. They reported the condition of
the body to the king, who ordered the Dome to state the weapon with
which he killed him. The Dome replied, "I hit him with a club on the
head." On the head being examined no mark whatever was seen, so in
order to arrive at the truth the king ordered all the inhabitants of
the village to be brought together to the palace. He then enquired
of them as to who killed the demon.
The old woman, in whose house Kara and Guja had passed the night,
stepped forward and said, "Oh sir king, two strangers came to my house
yesterday evening, and during the night they slew the demon." The
king said, "Where are those two men?" The old woman replied, "There
they are, the two walking together." So the king sent and brought
them back, and questioned them as to the slaying of the demon. They
pointed out the arrow-marks on the body, and produced his claws and
tongue from their bag. This evidence convinced the king that they,
and not the Dome, had slain the demon. Kara and Guja were received
with great favour by the king, and received the promised reward.
The king sentenced the Dome to be beaten and driven from the
village. After receiving his stripes, the Dome returned home, and
gathered the shreds of his property together. He also went in search
of his Dome wife and children, but they mocked him saying, "You went
to marry the king's daughter, why do you come again seeking us."
Thus Kara and Guja gained a kingdom.
THE KING AND HIS INQUISITIVE QUEEN.
There was a certain king known by the name of Huntsman, on account of
his expertness in the chase. One day when returning from the forest
where he had been hunting he found a serpent and a lizard fighting
on the path along which he was moving. As they were blocking the way
he ordered them to stand aside and allow him to pass, but they gave
no heed to what he said. King Huntsman then began to beat them with
his staff. He killed the lizard, but the serpent fled, and so escaped.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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