English
Shethah wuhur hiv tah shitah iruhur Jcdwah-put. Sixty years a crow and eight years a young crow (i.tf,, in the matter of wisdom and experience). Foolish father, wise son. The Kashmiris tell a story of an old female crow, who was once giving advice to her young onee. She warned them especially to l>eware of man. Ho did not care for their forwardness, nor was he charmed by their " caw-caw "; but on the contrary, he would certain- ly kill them, if he had the chance. " Now, listen ," said the old crow. " When you see a man bending his body down to the ground, and putting forth a hand, take heed; because the man is about to pick up a stone wherewith to strike and maim you." "Very well, very well," said the young crows, and there was a general *' caw-caw'* of approval. But one of the young ones, who was sharper than the rest, did not quite agree. '' Suppose," enquired he, '* that the man 196 has already a stone under Ms arm, what shall we do in that case ?" Cf. •' Folktales from the Upper Panjdb." Eev. C. Swynnerton, J. B. A. S.J 1884. Sheyav pirav hhuiah chhuli be-pirui jdn. Better to follow no saint than (to try) to follow six saints. A man cannot serve many masters. SJieyih manih ndh slidhdsJi, wupasas nah laz. No praise if one cooks six maunds of food, and no shame if there is nothing cooked A too lenient, indifferent, father or master. If the child, or the servant does well, he has no praise for him ; and if the child or the servant neglects or spoils his work, he has not a word of blame for him. Shikasfah, ndv Shad f Broken-hearted yet called Gladness ! Shin dishit yih gagur karih ti chhvh rupeyih disliit hardn. What the rat will do when it sees the snow, that you are doing when you see rupis. The Kashmiri says that rats can tell from the quantity and cha- racter of the snow upon the mountains whether the winter will be a very severe one or not. Should it augur badly, then each rat will gather for himself as much as six sers of rice-grain. Shi nah peto ! bayih yito ! Fall, O snow ! Come, O brother ! Yearning for the absent one's return. A bird called Shinah-pipin was going away much to the sorrow of his brother- Shinah-pipin, who asked him with tears in his eyes, when he intended to come back again. " When the snow falls I shall be here again," he replied. Time passed, the snow fell heavily, but no Shinah-pipin came back. Shinah shart. A snow concern (or arrangement). No practical jokes, please. This is not Shfnah shart (or " April fool's day.") The Kashmiris are very glad to see the snow ; and they have a custom which allows them to play jokes upon one another with impunity on that day, when the snow first falls. Sometimes they will take a piece of the new snow and wrapping it up in paper givff it to a friend as if tobacco, or snuff, &c. 197 Should this friend take and open it, then he is veiy mnoh laughed at, and has to pay a forfeit. Amongst the educated it is customary to write the following Persian couplet upon paper, and give it to their friend as if it were an important letter or parw4n% Ac. Barfi nau aftdd sad mubdrak hdd^ An chi shart ant ziid hdyad ddd ? The new snow has fallen, a hundred congratulations to you. "What is the agreement — ( but a trifle ! ) — so you must pay up quickly. Should the friend read only one word of this, he ia caught and has to pay a trifling forfeit. A Pandit has just remarked that the animals, too, are rejoiced to 8i>o the snow, but especially the dogs. On being asked " Why ?'* li(' said, *' Because all tlio dotjs look upon the snow falling as their iimtomal undo coming from Hoayen to visit them," On farther cniiuii-y :ix t(j where ho hoard this, ho replied that. " All childron in Kusliniir woro so taught, lie did not know anv reason for thus thiuking." Shir-i-mfitlar chhui. A mother's milk to you. A proper arintngomont, &c. Shtrahpurih pirah yenlwol dv. The wedcling-compnny of samts from Shirapur has come. The arrival of any great man. Shirapur is a little village about two miles from Isl&mib&d, and abounds in Muhammodan saints, who marry their daughters in grand style. HorscM and music, and sometimes as many as a hundred singers, attend the wedding-company. Shislarah sueti ehhuh shistar phaldn. Iron is cut by iron. Set a thiof to catch a thief. Persian. — Ki dhan ba dhan towdh Icard ntirm, Shtytu shiyn tah Miyas Miyd. Shias with Shias and Miyiis with Miyds. Caste with caste ; like with like. Shiyd — Mi'jd, (Shfa and Miy^) the one is a Muhammedan and the other a Hindu sect. Shodah tanz halali hir, yutdn dazvik, Tutdn karuh nah pdnahwdni hat. Until the head of the Shodah is burnt, They will not speak to one another. Five friends chanced to meet, and all having leisure they decided to go to the bazar and purchase a hir, and have a groat feast in the 198 house of one of the party, each of whom subscribed four dnSs. The hir was bought, but while they were returning to the house it was remembered that there was not any butter. On this one of the five proposed, by way of having some fun, that the first of them, who should break the silence by speaking, should go for the butter. Now it was no light matter to have to retrace one's steps back ta the butter-shop, as the way was long and the day was very hot. So they all five kept strict silence. Pots were cleaned, the fire was prepared and the hir laid thereon ; now and then somebody cough- ed and another groaned, and one even was so filled with a sense of the ridiculous as to laugh aloud, but never a tongue uttered a word, although the fire was fast going out, and the hir was getting burnt, owing to there being no fat or butter wherewith to grease the pot. Thus matters proceeded until at last a policeman passed by, and attracted by the smell of cooking, he looked in at the window and saw these five men perfectly silent and sitting around a burnt hir. Not knowing the arrangement he supposed that either these people were mad, or else they must be thieves ; and so he enquired how they came there ? and how did they obtain the hir ? Not a word was uttered in reply. " Why are you squatting around the burnt hir in that stupid fashion ?" shouted the polir-eman. Still no reply. Then the policeman full of rage that these wretched men should have thus mocked at his authority took them all off straight to the Police Inspector's office. On arrival the Inspector asked them the reason of their strange behaviour, but he also got no reply. This rather tried the patience and temper of this man of authority, who was generally feared and flattered and bribed. He ordered one of the five Shodahs to be immediately flogged. The poor Shodah bore it bravely and never a sound he uttered ; but when the lashes fell thick and fast, and whipped the already whipped and wounded places, so that the blood appeared, he could endure no longer, and so shouted, " Oh, oh, why do you beat me ? Enough, enough. Oh, is it not enough that the hir has been spoilt ? " His four associates now cried out, " Go to the bazar and fetch the butter. Go." The Police Inspector was still more surprised and atmoyed when he heard of this further contempt of the court, and ordered a thorough investigation of the whole matter. Everything was now, of course^ fully and clearly explained, and great was the amusement of every body, not excepting the Police Inspector. Cf. *' Story of the Twenty- five Idiots" in " The Orientalist," Yol. I., p. 136. Hir is the head of any animal used for food. Sliolvh tail punalisund. Happiness and more (children) to you. A Kashmiri blessing. When the piece of flaming birch- wood is being passed around the head of the child and company present, the midwife repeats the 199 above words. Cf. cnstom " sutuk" in note to " LdnhTmh garth sutuk.** There ia a division of opinion regarding the meaning of these words, oven among the highest class of Brdhmans. The balance of favour seems to be for the above rendering, deriving Sholch from the Persian and pu/nahsund from the Sanskrit to": " again," and sund from ^pH", " may these be." Slirdkih tah mdzas clihud wddl What answer will the meat give to the knife ? The tyrant will not receive any reply. Shukrt zdt-i'-jydAaht nah dyam yad nah luffum phdkah. Thanks, O holy one, neither was my stomach filled, nor had I to fast. '* Give me neither poverty nor richee ; feed me with food con- venient for me."— Prov. zxz. 8.