The Man Without A Care

Once a king on a hunt came to a clearing in a forest where he was enchanted by the peace that reigned there. In a little hut there dwelt an old man, who did not seem to have a care in the world. Then and there the king decided to return to the forest to learn from the hermit how to find happiness for himself.

Within a few days, the king indeed returned to the forest and lived there as a pupil to the old hermit. However, the king soon discovered that it was not as easy as he had imagined; he found that the old man did not let him sit idly nor did he teach him anything at all. All the day long he had something to do in the hermitage.

After some days, the king found it hard to stay in the forest. He then spoke to the hermit, "Please teach me how to be free and happy."

The hermit said, "Wait, you are still not fit to be taught."

And so it went on for some time.

Every time the king spoke to the hermit, he was told to wait.

One day the king lost his patience. When he went to the stream to fetch water, he just left the pot on the ground and went away.

The king had taken but a few steps when he heard a voice come from the water pot. It said, "Oh, King, are you running away from your task?"

The king was very surprised. He looked back and seeing no one, he walked on again.

But he heard the voice again, "You are bent on going away?"

The king retraced his steps. The voice from the pot said "Where are you going?"

The king made reply: "I am going back to my kingdom."

"Why?" asked the pot.

"I have come to learn from the hermit how I can be without a care in the world but he won't teach me. He told me that I am not yet fit to learn. So I am going back."

Said the pot: "It is very difficult to learn anything at all. You may suffer your whole life and yet you may not learn anything. It may even cost your life. I have suffered much myself, yet I have remained ignorant."

"How was it?" asked the king.

"Well, it is a long story," said the pot, "I was living in a forest by myself. One day a man came with a spade and dug me out and took me with him to his home. There he poured water over me, trampled upon me and kneaded me into a dough. How much I suffered then!

" The man then took me to a shed where lay a potter's wheel. He made me into a ball and put me on the wheel until felt giddy. When I came out of the potter's wheel, I thought that my suffering was over. But the man beat me all over with a wooden mallet and put me inside a burning inferno. All of this required great fortitude.

"The next thing the man did was to take me to a shop and leave me there among many other pots just like myself. The other pots must have suffered just like me and I got some solace from the thought that I was not alone. I was full of pity for the other pots.

"In the potter's shop people often stopped and thumped me to see if there was a crack in me. I was surprised that an intelligent creature like man should be indifferent to the suffering of others. I began to hate all men. One day a man came, beat me a couple of times, paid for me and brought me along with him. Then, he gave me to the hermit, and from then on my suffering has come to an end.

"Know, Oh, King, wisdom is difficult to acquire. You have to have pati

How The Pheasant Got Red Eyes

"Don't go that way," said the kalij pheasant to the piura bird. "There is a snare."

"Where is it?" said the piura, "I would like to see the snare."

And he went looking for the snare until he blundered right into it.

"Serves you right," said the kalij laughing at the piura's plight, "Serves you right for not heeding me." And he laughed loud and loud until his eyes became red. These have stayed red to this day.

Flat-Nose

The leopard is called Nepte, or Flat-Nose, in the district of Sindhu-Palchok. This is how he got the name.

In the beginning the leopard was unable to climb trees. One day he persuaded a cat to show him how to climb. But once the leopard got on the limb of a tall tree, the cat quickly ran away.

The leopard was unable to get down the tree. As he made clumsy efforts to reach the ground, he fell down on his face, flattening his nose for ever. Thereupon, the leopard swore eternal vengeance against the cat, and, to this day, he is called Flat-Nose.

The Rat

There was once a rat, who thought that he must have none other than the king's daughter for his wife. So, he went to the king and proposed to wed the princess. Said the rat to the king, "You are the greatest one on earth."

The king, however, said: "Not me. The sun is mightier than I am."

So the rat went to the sun and said: "You are mightier than the king. Please give me your daughter in wedding."

"But the cloud is more powerful than me," said the sun.

The rat went to the cloud and said to him: "Please give me your daughter. You are mightier than the sun."

"I am not that powerful," said the cloud, "The wind pushes me around. He is stronger than me."

So, the rat went to the wind and said to him, "Please let me marry your daughter."

"No, I am not as strong as you think," said the wind, "Howsoever hard I blow I cannot take the grass away with me. The grass is, therefore, more powerful than me."

The rat went to the grass and asked for his daughter's hand.

But the grass said: "The rat burrows beneath me, cuts at my roots and kills me. I cannot stop him. The rat is more powerful than me."

The rat was now convinced more than ever that there was none greater on earth than a rat. So, he married a rat.

The Hunter And The Tiger

One day a man was out hunting birds in the forest when he came upon a tiger. The tiger was about to pounce upon him when the man proposed that they should not hurt each other but become friends. The tiger liked the idea and said: "All right, but you must kill my enemy the porcupine."

"Agreed," said the man, "Where is it?"

"It lives in a hole," said the tiger, "I'll show you where it is."

The tiger led the man to the porcupine's hole. He waited until the porcupine came out. Then, he shot it dead with his gun. But the tiger didn't want anyone to know that a man had helped in getting rid of its enemy. So, it said to the hunter, "Please don't tell anybody that it was you who killed the porcupine."

"That is fine with me," said the hunter. And he took the porcupine home and his wife cooked it for supper.

The next morning the hunter's wife went to fetch water. As she walked she picked her teeth with a splinter of bamboo. At the spring, she met two of her neighbours and they asked her what she had eaten.

"Oh, my husband brought home a porcupine," she said.

So, the woman talked about the porcupine until everyone in the village knew about it. Before long the tiger itself heard the story and when the hunter went to the forest again, it was waiting, furious and wanting to kill the man for spreading the report of the porcupine's death.

"But I have said nothing," protested the hunter.

"I don't care whether you did or not, but I am going to kill you for it,' said the tiger.

The man was now really frightened and the tiger saw him tremble.

"Why do you tremble?" asked the tiger.

"I am afraid," said the hunter, "the porcupine I ate the other day is trying to come out of my body."

"What?" said the tiger, "But wait..."

"But it is coming," said the hunter.

In a moment the tiger was gone.

Nyalmu, The Wild Man

Once upon a time a group of villagers on their way to the frontier town of Kuti in Tibet to exchange their grain for salt came to a cave not far from where the village of Melamchi stands today in the mountains of Helambu. As the sun was setting, the men decided to spend the night in the cave.

The men lighted a fire at the entrance to the cave. They cooked their supper and after they had eaten, they lay down to sleep. Soon they were all asleep except one man who thought it would be safer outside the cave than inside it. He went to the foot of a tree and made himself comfortable.

Before long a nyalmu, or wild man, came to the cave and seeing the men asleep, he pulled up a young pine tree and prepared to kill all of them. But, as he looked closer, he was a bit puzzled.

"There are nine loads but only eight men," he said to himself, "How can it be?"

While he was trying to fathom the mystery, the man who had stayed outside the cave took up a large rock and threw it into the fire, sending sparks flying in all directions. Afraid that the flying sparks would catch on his hairy body, the nyalmu left, leaving the men unharmed.

The Blind Man And His Brothers

Once upon a time there were seven brothers - one of them was blind, another was a cripple. As soon as their father died, five of the brothers got together and they threw out the two weak ones without giving them their share of the paternal property.

The blind man lamented, "If there is someone to guide me along the road, I"ll take him as my god."

The cripple also cried, "Oh, God, if someone will only carry me!"

Presently it dawned upon the blind man that although both of them were helpless yet they could help one another. So, the blind man carried his brother on his back and the latter guided him along the road.

Before they had gone far, the cripple saw a swing, of which only a piece of rope was left. He said to his brother: "That is a piece of good rope. Let's take it. We might have a use for it."

The blind man said, "How can I carry it?"

"Let me take it," said the cripple.

So he took the rope and on they went. Presently the cripple saw a nice piece of rock lying on the road, and he said: "Brother, that is a beautiful stone. Let's take it."

But the blind man objected: "I must carry you. How can I carry the stone too?"

"But we might have a use for it one day," said the cripple, "Let's take it along."

"Well, you can take it," said the blind man.

They had not gone far when the cripple cried out, "Ah, there is a winnowing tray. We must take it with us, Brother."

"Oh, Brother, what shall we ever do with a winnowing tray?" said the blind man, "We have no wives. Who will use it?"

"That is true," said the cripple, "Yet we might have a use for it. Let me carry it."

In the evening they came to a house. They stopped and the cripple called, "Hallo, anyone here?"

An old woman came out and said, "Hush, this is no place to stop. Go away from here."

"We are tired," said the man, "We cannot move at all, Old Mother."

The old woman told them about the ogres that lived in the hills. Every day they used to come and kill many people in the neighborhood until it was agreed to let them have one person daily. Each house in the village, therefore, took turns to send a member of the family every evening to this house. Here the ogres came for their dinner. It was the old woman's turn this evening.

"My brother is blind," said the cripple, "In the dark, I am also blind. Where else can we go in this darkness? Let us stay here, Old Mother."

"I it is my duty to warn you," said the old woman, "But do as you please."

Indeed, before long the ogres arrived. As soon as they came near the house, one of them cried aloud, "Ah, I can smell my supper."

Seeing that there was now no escape for them, the blind man cried out boldly, "Oh, yes, I am here waiting for you."

The ogres were surprised to hear the man, for those who waited for them were always so terrified that they scarcely made a sound. They hesitated at the doorway, and one of them said, "Throw out your ears to me. I'll eat them up."

The blind man was not to be daunted. He spoke in a louder voice: "I too can eat your ears. Throw them in."

"Throw me yours first," said the ogre.

"Here comes my child's ear then," said the man and he threw down the winnowing tray.

The ogres said to themselves that if a child had such a large ear, the man must be very big indeed.

Another ogre now called out, "Let me see your teeth."

"Ah, here is my servant's tooth," said the man as he threw out of the window the rock picked up earlier on the road.

The white hard stone frightened the ogres.

A third ogre now called out: "Let me see your intestine. I'll eat it up."

"Here comes my child's intestine," said the man and he flung down the coil of rope.

The ogres were now really frightened and they ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. They never returned and the blind man and his brother lived in the house happily ever after.

A Clever Daughter

A long time ago there was an old man who had four sons and one daughter. The daughter lived with her husband in a distant place while the sons and their wives lived in their father's house. But neither the sons nor their wives took good care of the old man.

Once the daughter came home for a visit and she asked her father, "Do your daughters-in-law take good care of you, Father?"
"I have become old," said her father, "Who will take care of me now? They will look after me if they can expect something from me."

Hearing of her father's plight, the daughter was sad and she said to him: "Alas, I cannot stay here for long, nor can I come often, Father. A daughter is destined to live away from her parents. Therefore, I'll tell you something and you must do accordingly."

She then gave him a golden chain and said, "You can return it to me later, but now you must wear it, and you can tell your daughters-in-law that whosoever takes care of you will get it."

Needless to say, before long the women noticed the chain and they asked the old man, "Father, what will you do with the golden chain?"

"Ah, the one who takes care of me will get it," said the old man.

Thereafter, the women began to look after him, vying with one another in the hope of getting the golden chain.

Some time after this, the old man got ill and he knew that he had not many days to live. So he hid the chain under a pile of firewood in a corner of the yard.

By the time the daughter arrived for another visit, the old man was dead, and she asked her sisters-in-law, "Did my father leave me a parting message?"

"Oh, yes," they said, "He asked us to tell you that the firewood is especially good."

Hearing this, the daughter went to the courtyard, removed the pile of firewood and recovered her golden chain.

The Handsome husband

Once there was a most beautiful princess. Her father the king was very fond of her and his only desire was to marry her to the wisest person on the earth. So he asked his ministers to find a suitable husband for his daughter. The ministers went in all the directions and at length they came back with a wise young man named Tendi. But he was not handsome and the princess dismissed him at once. She complained to her father. " This Tendi is no match for me. Please find me a better man than him." Tendi then said to the king, "I know someone wiser than me." "Then bring him here," said the king.
Tendi travelled on and on until one day he saw a man high up on a tree. He was cutting the same branch on which he was perched but he was young and handsome. Ah here is the husband for the princess, said the Tendi to himself.
Tendi then called to the man to come down the tree. He said: If you come with me, you wont have to work the rest of your life. Now, won't that make you happy?
The man was pleased and along with Tendi.When they came to the castle, Tendi said to the man "as soon as you come before the king, bend your knees and present him with a flower. But mind you, not to speak one word."
The princess was happy when she saw how handsome the Young man was. No questions were asked and she married him at once. before long, however,she realised her mistake, but she had no one but herself to blame for it.

How The Yetis Killed Themselves

Long, long ago a large number of yetis or abominable snowmen lived in the mountains of Khumbu.

All day long the yetis watched the villagers at their work and when night fell they came down the mountain. They went over the fields, in imitation of the villagers, trampling upon the plants and in the end, they undid everything that the villagers had done during the day. The villagers themselves remained behind closed doors in fear of the yetis.

One day the villagers hit upon a plan to stop the destruction by the yetis. They went to a place where the yetis could see them all very well, carrying with them jars of chhang or beer and swords made of wood. They drank the chhang and in a seemingly drunken state, they staged a mock fight among themselves with their fake swords. Then, under the full gaze of the yetis, they retired to their homes, leaving behind the jars and swords.

As soon as evening fell, some of the villagers went back quietly and refilled the jars with chhang, with rice wine added to make it very strong. They also replaced the wooden swords with real blades, bright and sharp. Then they hurried back home, bolted their doors and closed the windows.

At their usual hour of mischief, the yetis descended from their perch in the mountain, full of excitement. They soon had their first taste of the brew out of the jars and before long they were all very drunk. One step led to another, and, in a final act of imitation of the villagers, the yetis took the sharp swords and fought a deadly battle among themselves, killing every single one of their species before the night was over.

From that day to this, the villagers have lived in peace, free from the mischievous yetis.

The Pheasant And The Vixen

Once a vixen was very friendly with a pheasant and became her meet ritually, so that there was no secret between them and they shared their joys and sorrows.
One day the pheasant laid some eggs. When the vixen heard of it, she asked for the eggs to eat.
The pheasant lied and protested, "There is only one egg."
She kept the eggs hidden until they hatched. But when the vixen saw the chicks, she knew that she had been deceived and she decided that the time had come to make a meal of the pheasant herself.
Every morning the vixen asked the pheasant where she would feed herself that day.
"I'll go up the mountain," she would say.
The vixen, therefore, climbed up the mountain and waited, but the pheasant went down to the stream instead.
Some days she told the vixen, "I think I"ll go to the stream today."
So the vixen went to the stream and waited while the pheasant spent the afternoon up in the mountain.
After some time the vixen became wise. When the pheasant said she was going up the mountain, the vixen went down to the stream instead, and, so the pheasant and her chicks were found feeding by the stream bed.
The chicks escaped but the vixen seized the mother. The pheasant confessed she had deceived the vixen for a long time and so, as a punishment, she was prepared to face death. She only said, "Burry me in the sand for a while and stick some bamboo splinters upon my back."
The vixen accordingly covered the bird with sand and struck some fine bamboo splinters upon her back. But, as she was about to be killed, the pheasant suddenly flew away, blinding the vixen with the sand and throwing the splinters into her nose and mouth.

Why The Cock Crows

In the beginning there was no fire in heaven nor light on earth.
One day God sent for a cock and told him to fetch fire, but he was warned not to make a noise while he was down on the earth.
The cock flew down and asked Man for fire.
"Promise me something first," said Man.
The cock gave his word of honor three times over to do what was required of him in order to get fire.
Man then said to the cock, "Will you please crow?"
"That I cannot," said the cock, "For God had told me not to crow."
"Then you will break your promise and take no fire with you," said Man.
The cock didn't know what to do, but, in the end, he crowed loud and long. It was then just past midnight.
He crowed a second time and there was a gust of wind.
He crowed a third time and there was a faint light in the east.
He crowed a forth time and it was full daylight.

God, Man And Mouse

In the hoary past when the gods and men moved together, there was a man who had married a goddess.
One day the god, the man's father-in-law, came down to earth and asked him to go hunting together. After they had walked for a while, the god said to the man: "I'll take the dog and go down to the stream. Will you stay up here in this hill?"
The god wenr up hill and down dale, crossed streams and looked for the tracks of animals, but he found none. At last he went back to the man and asked, "Did you see any animal?"
"No," said the man, "Not a creature."
But the dog kept sniffing the ground where the man stood.
"Tell me if you have caught an animal and kept it hidden," said the god.
"Oh, only a small bird came flying this way," confessed the man.
He then removed his cap from the ground, uncovering a small bird.
The god took the bird and tore it to pieces. He made an offering of tiny pieces of bird meat to all the gods in the four quarters of heaven and then gave a piece to the man to take home.
The man found his wife at her loom. He threw down the bird meat to her saying, in disgust, "Here is your father's kill."
Hit by the tiny piece of meat, the loom broke into seven pieces. A piece of the loom fell upon her leg and the goddess was hurt.
When the god learnt how the man had behaved, he decided he would have nothing more to do with men. So, the man was invited to heaven for a last visit, and when he came, the god made him drink chhang untill he was dead drunk. The god then took his daughter away and hid her. The man was taken back to the earth.
When, many hours later, the man became sober, he found himself alone in his home; his wife was nowhere. He didn't know how he could live without her, and he lamented loud and long.
Having punished the man for his thoughlessness, the god took pity upon him. He came down to earth and said to the man, "Now you had better clear the bush and grow your food."
"But where can I get the seed? I have none," said the man.
The god sent for a mouse and said to it: "The man needs some seeds to grow his food. Will you go and bring him some from beyond the seven seas?"
"But what shall I get in return?" asked the mouse.
The god said, "Bring him the seeds first and you shall have your reward."
The mouse dug a tunnel under the seven seas and came to a bin fullof maize. And it came back with some maize. It went a second time and brought some millet for the man.
"Now, give me my reward," said the mouse.
Said the god: "You shall be the lord of the farm and the granary. You shall be the first to taste the fruits of man's labour. He may eat only after you have eaten. He will try to get rid of you and your offspring. He will lay traps and he will use poison. Yet your offspring shall multiply a hundred thousand times."

The Gift Of The Goddess

Long ago a man of Banepa was walking across the fields one night when he met a woman with a baby in her arms. Seeing him she said."Will you please carry the baby for me?"
The man took the baby without a word and walked behind the woman as she hastened on her way far into the night. Finally, She came to a large house. She took her baby and went in, telling the man to wait for her at the door.
The man did not see anyone else in the house but he heard a great deal of noise. It seemed to him that quite a number of people had gathered for a feast. He heard the sound of an animal being cut to pieces and he imagined that food was being laid out in plates. Someone exclaimed that they had laid out an extra dish and he heard the woman's voice. "Let me give that extra dish to the man who carried my baby." she said.
The woman came downstairs and gave the man a plate full of raw flesh. To his consternation, he saw human fingers and bones. "Take it home," she said, "And keep it hidden for four days."
Although much alarmed, the man took the grisly gift with him and kept it hidden in a room in his house. On the fifth day, lo and behold! the flesh and bones had become gold and precious stones.
The man then knew that he had met with none other than the goddess Chandeshwari. Full of gratitude for the gift, the man paved the path to her temple on the outskirts of Banepa.

The Bear and the Jackal

Once a bear and a jackal became meet or ritual brothers. Before long, however, it became apparent to the jackal that the bear was not brotherly at all. So, before his meet was able to harm him, he went into a field of red pepper and pretended to eat them.
The bear soon came to the field and said to the jackal, "I would also like to eat the red pepper."
"I am sorry, brother," said the jackal, "but the king has placed this field out of bounds."
The bear, however, persisted until the jackal told him: "If you want to eat the pepper, I must go up the hill and see if there is anyone around. When I give you a signal, you may eat as much as you like."
The jackal went up the hill and the bear at once began to meat the pepper. But when his tongue and mouth became hot, the bear was angry and he went after the jackal.
He found the jackal sitting by a a hornet's nest, pretending it was a drum. His hands made movements in the air.
"Let me also beat the drum." said the bear.
"No, " said the jackal, "This is government property and I must not let anyone touch it."
The bear, however, insisted until the jackal agreed to let him beat the drum. So, he said: "Let me go up the hill and look around. When I give you a signal, you can beat the drum to your heart's content."
At a signal from the jackal the bear hit the nest with both hands, creaking it wide open. All the hornets came out buzzing and stung the bear so that he lay howling in pain.
The bear was now very angry indeed; he clambered up the hill where the jackal waited for him, swinging by a vine and looking very pleased with himself.
The bear wished to get into the swing too, but the jackal would not hear of it. "sorry, Brother," he said, "You cannot do it."
The bear, however, insisted until the jackal agreed to let him try. But as soon as he got hold of the vine, the jackal pushed with all his might and sent the bear to his death at the foot of the hill.