English
" Qushtdbah is a rich soup composed of mince-meat, &c. Sufjan dapdn panahdiiwih ^^ Sdri chhih gumuti ahi ndwih.** The needle says to the piece of thread " We are all in the same boat " (7.e., where you go I go, for we are fastened together). AH the people appear to know this saying, but no one could tell me its origin. It is very strange to meet with such a peculiar expres- sion in this country, and to find that it has the same meaning which it has in England, viz., Both treated alike ; both placed in the same conditions. The reference in England is, as is well-known, to the boat launched when a ship is a-wreck. Suwun tah gewun tagih prat kansih, magar suwun chhuh suwunui tah gewuriy chhuh gewanuL Everybody can sew and sing, but let him sing who can sing (properly), and him sew who can sew (nicely). Suyih suet mandul chhalun. To wash the back with a nettle. The harm of keeping bad company. Syud sadah chhuh shdhzddah. A plain, simple man is a prince. 209 Tubah Tusal nah mandaehhdn nah chhuh mdndackhanah flitoi'n, Tabah Tdsal is not ashamed nor does he put any one to shame. A shameloss person. Tdbah Tdsal was i. Pandit, who, contsary to all role and cnstom, hired himself out for weddings and other entertainments. He was a good singer and jester, and used to accompany his songs with a-clap- ping of hands. He struck them together in such a peculiar way that it is said the sound could be heard one mile off (?) Uo would visit all sects and sexes, and would sit by the hour in all society, never feeling any qualms of conscience, or noticing any wickedness in others. T&bah waa surnamed T4sal from the word tus, whioh means clapping of hands. Tal tali taUv khandn ptidshdh gar as lut har^n. Apparently digging a very deep well ; but, really, robbing the king's house. A traitor. A GosAj'n once visited a king and said that he had a matter for him. " Would his Majesty listen to it, and give his servant one hundred rupls for it ?" The king consented ; and this proverb was told him, which ho was to repeat aloud every night throe times in succession before going to sleep. Now it happened that this king, like most other kings, had his enemies — and enemies, too, in his own household. One of his ministers hated him intensely, and was ready to do and bear anything, so that he might bring about the king'8 death. Amongst other plans ho had a subterranean pas- sage made from his house to the king's, and one night, when the work was almost completed and but a foot more remained to be dug, he himself went along this passage, which communicated directly with the king's bed-chamber, with the intention, if possible, of removing the little earth that remained, and getting close enough to murder the king in his bed. On such a dreadful errand, and in such a dark dangerous place, we cannot imagine this wicked minister's feelings when he heard the king with a loud and distinct voice say, three times in succession, the words which the Go86,in had taught him. " I am discovered, " said he, and hastened back. This saying has also been turned into a riddle, of which the answer is a rat. 27 210 Talah, dadi talah pati pefak daz tdl ; Tu Bi'r Sdhibo rudci ivctl. Below the sole of the foot is burnt, above the crown of the head is burnt ; O Great God, let it rain. A favourite prayer for rain. Yd Bdr Sdhiho.— Great God. {Bar, participle of hdridan.) Talah, talah palah bah shel. Down, down, twelve hundred rocks down. A Stoic — hard, deep, and mysterious. TcUnwas dah lurih tah jangah wizeh nah ah tih. (Usually) ten sticks in the roof, but not even one there ^ in time of fighting. Abundance of servants, rupis, &c., but not one at hand when especially wanted. Tamil' chhuh h'r-i-amir. Building is the work of nobles. The wealthy build houses and poor men buy them. Tanuras nohhah Imndal. A little earthen pot beside the oven. A little man in the company of the great. Kundal is the inner earthenware part of the kangri. Tas chhuh nah gdtid wazir. He has not got a wise minister (i.e., a good wife to advise and help him). A certain king was one day sitting with his wife in the verandah of the palace, when -a poor miserable -looking and almost nude pea- sant passed by, carrying a big load of wood for sale in the city. " My dear," said the king to his wife, " how sad it is to see a man in that wretched condition, and in this cold weather too. What a sor- rowful existence he must eke out from the pittance which he receives from his wood every day ! " *• He has not got a wise minister," re- plied the queen. The king did not understand this remark ; he thought that, perhaps, it was meant as a sort of side-hint for himself ; hence it would have been a reflection upon his own chosen ministers, and so upon the arrangement of his country. He brooded over these words, until he became in a furious rage, and going to his wife ordered her to prepare to leave the palace at once and be that poor wood-seller's servant. The queen obeyed, though with a sorrowful heart. However, she did not despair, but determined that through her wise counsel and management this poor man should prosper and become great, and then she had a conviction that by some means or other she would again be united to the king her husband, and that both would derive pcofit from, and be happier for, this temporaiy separation. 211 On arrivinpf at the wood-seller's hut she made her sal&ms, and explained the reason of her visit. " I have come to serve you," she said, " but let me sometimes advise you, and you will be the better for my counsel." The wood-cutter was so surprised at the humble demeanour of the queen, that ho fell upon his knees and stammered out something to this effect : '* That although the king had given her to him to be his servant, yet he felt himself to be her slave, and that whatever she commanded, that he would try to perform." The days pa8se<l pleasantly enough ; now and again, not suddenly but as if quite naturally, little changes were made in the house; this room was regularly cleaned and things began to be arranged in their right placet; and one day when the wood-seller's wife was sitting idle, she advised her in a kindly manner to spin ; another time she prevailed upon the man to eat his dinner in the city instead of coming homo to eat it, because oftentimes, when by evening he had not Hold all his load of wooti, he had been tempted to take little or nothing for it, in order that he might bo rid of his load and get home to his longed-for dinner ; and again on another occasion she was able to say something abouc saving a quarter of his earnings. In these and other different ways the presence of the queen-servant worked quite a revolution in the house. The man became rich and was much respected, and the woman his wife was his true help-meet. Many years had elapsed since the queen had been separated from the king, yet she had not forgotten him or decreased in affection for liim. She was always planning, in order to bring about her return to her husband. One day she heard that he, attended by several of the courtiers, would go to shoot in a certain jungle, so she went and told the wood-cutter her master (now a man of property), to take a small vessel of water and some broad with him, and follow the king's company into the jungle, and when the chase was over, at which time the king would very likely be hot and thirsty, he wan to gofor^vnrd humbly and present his bread and little vessel of water for the king's acceptance. No doubt the king would receive of the offering, and would make some present in return. Should he ask what he would have, he was to say — *' I have wealth in abundance. I do not wish for any more money. I only desire that the king will grant me an interview in the palace." The man agreed to cany out the queen's wishes. He went to the jungle and finding oppor- tunity he respectfully presented the little water and bread, which he then happened to have, to the hungry and thirsty king. The king gladly received the gift, and asked what he could do for the man. "Ask what you will, " he said, "and I will grant it you." The man answered, "I want not anything from your Majesty, but that you will grant me a few private interviews within the palace." The king was surprised at this strange request, but nevertheless promised that it should be so.