Twenty-Two Goblins

Part 1

Produced by "Batsy" Bybell. HTML version by Al Haines.

TWENTY-TWO GOBLINS

Translated from the Sanskrit by Arthur William Ryder

CONTENTS

Introduction

Goblin-story

1. The Prince's Elopement. Whose fault was the resulting death of his parents-in-law?

2. The Three Lovers who brought the Dead Girl to Life. Whose wife should she be?

3. The Parrot and the Thrush. Which are worse, men or women?

4. King Shudraka and Hero's Family. Which of the five deserves the most honour?

5. The Brave Man, the Wise Man, and the Clever Man. To which should the girl be given?

6. The Girl who transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother. Which combination of head and body is her husband?

7. The Mutual Services of King Fierce-lion and Prince Good. Which is the more deserving?

8. The Specialist in Food, the Specialist in Women, and the Specialist in Cotton. Which is the cleverest?

9. The Four Scientific Suitors. To which should the girl be given?

10. The Three Delicate Wives of King Virtue-banner. Which is the most delicate?

11. The King who won a Fairy as his Wife. Why did his counsellor's heart break?

12. The Brahman who died because Poison from a Snake in the Claws of a Hawk fell into a Dish of Food given him by a Charitable Woman. Who is to blame for his death?

13. The Girl who showed Great Devotion to the Thief. Did he weep or laugh?

14. The Man who changed into a Woman at Will. Was his wife his or the other man's?

15. The Fairy Prince Cloud-chariot and the Serpent Shell-crest. Which is the more self-sacrificing?

16. The King who died for Love of his General's Wife; the General follows him in Death. Which is the more worthy?

17. The Youth who went through the Proper Ceremonies. Why did he fail to win the magic spell?

18. The Boy whom his Parents, the King, and the Giant conspired to Kill. Why did he laugh at the moment of death?

19. The Man, his Wife, and her Lover, who all died for Love. Which was the most foolish?

20. The Four Brothers who brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to blame when he kills them all?

21. The Old Hermit who exchanged his Body for that of the Dead Boy. Why did he weep and dance?

22. The Father and Son who married Daughter and Mother. What relation were their children?

Part 2

Conclusion

TWENTY-TWO GOBLINS

INTRODUCTION

On the bank of the Godavari River is a kingdom called the Abiding Kingdom. There lived the son of King Victory, the famous King Triple-victory, mighty as the king of the gods. As this king sat in judgment, a monk called Patience brought him every day one piece of fruit as an expression of homage. And the king took it and gave it each day to the treasurer who stood near. Thus twelve years passed.

Now one day the monk came to court, gave the king a piece of fruit as usual, and went away. But on this day the king gave the fruit to a pet baby monkey that had escaped from his keepers, and happened to wander in. And as the monkey ate the fruit, he split it open, and a priceless, magnificent gem came out.

When the king saw this, he took it and asked the treasurer: "Where have you been keeping the fruits which the monk brought? I gave them to you." When the treasurer heard this, he was frightened and said: "Your Majesty, I have thrown them all through the window. If your Majesty desires, I will look for them now." And when the king had dismissed him, he went, but returned in a moment, and said again: "Your Majesty, they were all smashed in the treasury, and in them I see heaps of dazzling gems."

When he heard this, the king was delighted, and gave the jewels to the treasurer. And when the monk came the next day, he asked him: "Monk, why do you keep honouring me in such an expensive way? Unless I know the reason, I will not take your fruit."

Then the monk took the king aside and said: "O hero, there is a business in which I need help. So I ask for your help in it, because you are a brave man." And the king promised his assistance.

Then the monk was pleased, and said again: "O King, on the last night of the waning moon, you must go to the great cemetery at nightfall, and come to me under the fig-tree." Then the king said "Certainly," and Patience, the monk, went home well pleased.

So when the night came, the mighty king remembered his promise to the monk, and at dusk he wrapped his head in a black veil, took his sword in his hand, and went to the great cemetery without being seen. When he got there, he looked about, and saw the monk standing under the fig-tree and making a magic circle. So he went up and said: "Monk, here I am. Tell me what I am to do for you."

And when the monk saw the king, he was delighted and said: "O King, if you wish to do me a favour, go south from here some distance all alone, and you will see a sissoo tree and a dead body hanging from it. Be so kind as to bring that here."

When the brave king heard this, he agreed, and, true to his promise, turned south and started. And as he walked with difficulty along the cemetery road, he came upon the sissoo tree at some distance, and saw a body hanging on it. So he climbed the tree, cut the rope, and let it fall to the ground. And as it fell, it unexpectedly cried aloud, as if alive. Then the king climbed down, and thinking it was alive, he mercifully rubbed its limbs. Then the body gave a loud laugh.

So the king knew that a goblin lived in it, and said without fear: "What are you laughing about? Come, let us be off." But then he did not see the goblin on the ground any longer. And when he looked up, there he was, hanging in the tree as before. So the king climbed the tree again, and carefully carried the body down. A brave man's heart is harder than a diamond, and nothing makes it tremble.

Then he put the body with the goblin in it on his shoulder, and started off in silence. And as he walked along, the goblin in the body said: "O King, to amuse the journey, I will tell you a story. Listen."

FIRST GOBLIN

The Prince's Elopement. Whose fault was the resulting death of his parents-in-law?

There is a city called Benares where Shiva lives. It is loved by pious people like the soil of Mount Kailasa. The river of heaven shines there like a pearl necklace. And in the city lived a king called Valour who burned up all his enemies by his valour, as a fire burns a forest. He had a son named Thunderbolt who broke the pride of the love-god by his beauty, and the pride of men by his bravery. This prince had a clever friend, the son of a counsellor.

One day the prince was enjoying himself with his friend hunting, and went a long distance. And so he came to a great forest. There he saw a beautiful lake, and being tired, he drank from it with his friend the counsellor's son, washed his hands and feet, and sat down under a tree on the bank.

And then he saw a beautiful maiden who had come there with her servants to bathe. She seemed to fill the lake with the stream of her beauty, and seemed to make lilies grow there with her eyes, and seemed to shame the lotuses with a face more lovely than the moon. She captured the prince's heart the moment that he saw her. And the prince took her eyes captive.

The girl had a strange feeling when she saw him, but was too modest to say a word. So she gave a hint of the feeling in her heart. She put a lotus on her ear, laid a lily on her head after she had made the edge look like a row of teeth, and placed her hand on her heart. But the prince did not understand her signs, only the clever counsellor's son understood them all.

A moment later the girl went away, led by her servants. She went home and sat on the sofa and stayed there. But her thoughts were with the prince.

The prince went slowly back to his city, and was terribly lonely without her, and grew thinner every day. Then his friend the son of the counsellor took him aside and told him that she was not hard to find. But he had lost all courage and said: "My friend, I don't know her name, nor her home, nor her family. How can I find her? Why do you vainly try to comfort me?"

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