Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 4 1886.djvu/294

 286 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF FOLK-LORE.

would point out. The husband paid Rs.500 for it, and broaght it as ordered, despite its weight. The jar contained a young man, who remained with the wife all night. In the morning, while it was still dark, the husband carried the jar away, but on the way he slipped and tipped the young man out, breaking the jar, whereon he got a beating. Meanwhile his wife was cured to his great delight, and he left her in peace afterwards, and never knew what had happened to him.

Story No. 2. — A man had a very bad wife, who had a dyer for her paramour. The dyer one day sent her a message by his servant, a young man. Seeing him to be a fine young fellow, she seduced him. They were still together when the dyer, suspecting something owing to the delay, came after him with a drawn sword. Meanwhile the husband turned up, whereon the woman told the dyer to rush out like a madman. When her husband came up, he inquired what it all meant, and she said that a madman had followed a young man into her house, and that she had hidden him from him. The husband was overjoyed at his wife's supposed courage, and gave the youth the run of his house.

Story No. 3. — A man had written a book on the tricks (charitr) of women. One day he was travelling in a city when an artful woman saw the book, and determined to play him a real trick. She invited him to her house, where they passed the night together. In the morning her husband came to her, whereon she locked up her friend in a box, but left all his clothes lying about. She then said to her husband that they belonged to a man who had been with her the night and was now locked up in the box. But when her husband was going to unlock it she laughed at him for a credulous fool, so he desisted. She next told her maid to give the clothing back to " the man from whom they were borrowed." She then pretended that she wanted a doctor, and, when her husband went to fetch him, she undid the box, and let her friend out, asking him if any such trick was in his book. Whereon he was so ashamed that he threw it into a river.