Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/237

Rh unseen he follows his wife, and finds she goes up to Indra's heaven. Finding Indra's drummer asleep, die prince takes his place, and drums so well that Indra gives him a shawl, a ring, and a diamond necklace. Next day he told his wife he had been up to Indra's palace with a fairy. She resolved to tell Indra of this fairy. The prince builds a palace exactly like Indra's; there he hangs up his presents. When his wife sees it, she feels sure he is visited by a fairy. By this time the six months' time was up, and she came to live with her husband. Some fairy told Indra that a prince was aping him, and living with one of his fairies. Indra sent demons to destroy palace and wife. The prince, by attending on a holy man, got from him a magic wand and powder, by which he became invisible and recovers his wife. [This has the elements of an excellent tale, but it is badly put together here. Indra's presents ought to have some virtue, and re-act upon the plot. The wife says she will tell Indra, and somebody else does; this I should say is a mistake; probably in the original version she told Indra, and then, the six months being up, her mischief recoiled on herself. Perhaps the husband should recover by aid of the three presents of Raja Indra.]

197. How the Fool prospered despite himself. (A new tale on an old theme.)

198. The Jealous Step-Brothers.—["This is another and a good version from the Himalayas of the 'Little Fairy' Cycle. See Clouston: Popular Tales, vol. ii., p. 229 seqq."—]

199. The Iron Age, when lying prospers. A tale with a grim humour. (Mirzapur.)

202 "To this day a careful housewife will never spread the whole dinner at once in the dish of her son or husband, but will give it to him by degrees, lest the influence of the Evil Eye cause it to disagree with him."

203. Of the good old times, when one need not plough and sow.

205. The Soldier and his Virtuous Wife.—"Chastity Test" by a flower. The refers to Folklore Congress Report, p. 89.

206. A Grateful Bird; imprisoned princess, who plays at dice with her suitor for her hand; how they escaped; how they were separated through breaking a taboo; and how at length they were again united.

252 and 253, one version of a not uncommon type, where a