Santal (South Asian people) -- Folklore; Santali literature -- Translations into English; Tales -- India
In the evening they said to their mother, "Let our sister wash her
clothes, dress her hair, and put on all her ornaments to-morrow when
she brings us our breakfast to the tank." They did not, however,
enlighten their mother as to why they desired their sister to be so
careful with her toilet.
The following day the mother addressed her daughter as follows,
"Oh! my daughter, your brothers yesterday said to me, let the
daughter, when she brings us our breakfast come with clean clothes,
her hair dressed and all her ornaments on. So as it is nearly time,
go and dress, and put on all your ornaments, and take your brothers'
breakfast to where they are working." She complied with her mother's
order, and set out for the tank, dressed in her best with all her
ornaments on, carrying boiled rice in a new basket.
When she arrived at the tank her brothers said to her, "Oh! daughter,
set down the basket under yonder tree." She did so, and the brothers
came to where she was. They then said to her, "Go bring us water from
the tank to drink." She took her water-pot under her arm, and went
into the tank, but did not at once find water. Presently, however, she
saw the sheen of water in the centre, and went to fill her pitcher,
but she could not do so, as the water rose so rapidly. The tank was
soon full to the brim, and the girl was drowned.
The brothers having seen their sister perish, went home. Their
mother enquired, "Oh! my sons, where is the daughter?" They replied,
"We have given her to the tank. A certain jugi gosae said to us,
'Unless you offer up your sister you will never get water'." On
hearing this she loudly wailed the loss of her daughter. Her sons
strove to mitigate her grief by saying, "Look mother, we undertook
the excavation of the tank to perpetuate our name, and to gain the
fruit of a meritorious work. And unless there be water in the tank
for men and cattle to drink, where is the perpetuation of our name? By
our offering up the daughter the tank is full to overflowing. So the
cattle can now quench their thirst, and travellers, when they encamp
near by and drink the water, will say, 'The excavators of this tank
deserve the thanks of all. We, and others who pass by are recipients
of their bounty. Their merit is indeed great'." In this way with many
such like arguments they sought to allay their mother's grief.
Right in the centre of the tank, where the girl was drowned, there
sprang up an Upel flower the purple, sheen of which filled the beholder
with delight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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