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.