Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/300

 282 Collectanea.

Then they gave him some fish which he cooked for himself, and when it was ready he laid it in a dish. But no sooner had he laid it down than it disappeared. The fact was that the Bhuts, unseen by him, ate it as soon as it was cooked.

At this his alarm increased, and he began to think how he could manage to escape from this uncanny house. Finally, he deter- mined to appeal to his wife, though he knew that she had become a Bhut herself. As he entered the room in which she sat she instantly vanished, and soon after he saw her sitting in another corner. He approached her again, and she again disappeared. At last, when he appealed to her for mercy, she said : " My dear husband, as you see, we are all Bhuts, and our bodies are being eaten away inside by worms. But in spirit we are Bhuts, and we intend to kill you to-night." When he asked how they had be- come Bhuts, she answered : " Our father died, and there was no one to perform his funeral rites ; so he became a Bhut, and he killed us one by one. This he did because he had to serve the Bhuts who were senior to him, and when he killed one of us that one took his place in servitude. And so each one, as he became a Bhut, killed another of us, till there was none of us left. Then we began to kill our neighbours, until the remnant, finding out who we were, abandoned the village. We cannot follow them now as we are unable to leave our own district, and we have to depend on any stranger like yourself who happens to visit the village."

When he heard the story, the Babu was beside himself with fear, and implored her to point out some way in which their bondage might be put an end to, and he might save his life. She answered : " Your only chance of safety is to go at once and perform our Sraddha (funeral rites) at Gaya, and then we can go to heaven. But you must marry me again when I am reborn in the family of my father's brother. When we pass out of the state of Bhuts the Pipal (sacred fig) tree which stands in the courtyard of the house will fall down of its own accord. Now take a lota (brass cup) of water and go out. While you hold it in your hand none of us can touch you, and you can make your escape. Good- bye, my former husband."

He took her advice, filled a lota with water and rushed out of the house. The Bhuts called on him to stop, but he paid no heed, and ran until he was well out of their district. He passed