Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 20, 1909.djvu/461

Rh Chhura,—"Aw, why that is just what I was looking for,"—he said, and went off again like a shot. It is ended."

On another occasion Chhura, who was a great traveller, went to a village where the people suffered from a peculiar physical defect which Chhura offered to remove from the children, all except one of whom died under his drastic treatment. When this last one was found to be still a little alive, every one cried,—"It is my child! It is my child!", "and they fought for it and pulled all its arms and legs off. Then the people became angry. "Chhura, we will kill you,"—they said. But Chhura said,—"If you kill me, I shall entice away all your gyal." Then they were afraid. An old woman who was chewing rice to feed a baby, said,—"If you kill him first, how will he be able to entice them away?" But the people said, — "You know nothing," and they snatched out of her mouth the rice she was chewing. Then they said,—"Let us catch him, and hang him up over the deep pool." So they caught him, and, having plaited a huge basket, they hung him up over a deep pool. Then presently a Poi trader came, leading a tame bison and carrying a gong over his shoulder. Then Chhura,—"Oh, Poi, come up here, it is not hot, it is not cold, it is just real comfortable, fresh air is blowing freely. If you won't come, I'll stab you dead with my knife here,"—said he, and kept on pushing his knife through the holes in the basket. Then the Poi, being afraid, took him out, and he put the Poi in, and tied him in, and cut the string he was hung by, and the Poi fell into the deep pool. Then Chhura took the Poi's tame bison and his gong, and went back to the village. The people said,—"Why, Chhura, we hung you up over the deep pool, how on earth are you coming along with a bison and a gong." Then Chhura,—"E! The string you hung me by broke, and I fell into the deep pool. It was only a matter of gathering the things. If you tie pots to your waists we shall be able to get much good property from the