THE VALIANT CHATTEE-MAKER.
Fairy Tale from India
LONG, long ago, in a violent storm
of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, a tiger crept for shelter close to the
wall of an old woman's hut. This old woman was very poor, and her hut was but a
tumble-down place, through the roof of which the rain came drip, drip, drip, on
more sides than one. This troubled her much, and she went running about from
side to side, dragging first one thing and then another out of the way of the
leaky places in the roof, and as she did so, she kept saying to herself, 'Oh
dear! oh dear I how tiresome this is! I 'm sure the roof will come down! If an
elephant, or a lion, or a tiger were to walk in, he wouldn't frighten me half
as much as this perpetual dripping.' And then she would begin dragging the bed
and all the other things in the room about again, to get them out of the way of
the rain. The Tiger, who was crouching down just outside, heard all that she
said, and thought to himself, 'This old woman says she would not be afraid of
an elephant, or a lion, or a tiger, but that this perpetual dripping frightens
her more than all. What can this "perpetual dripping" be? it must be
something very dreadful.' And, hearing her immediately afterwards dragging all
the things about the room again, he said to himself, 'What a terrible noise! Surely
that must be the "perpetual dripping."
At this moment a Chattee-maker,
1 who
was in search of his donkey which had strayed away, came down the road. The
night being very cold, he had, truth to say, taken a little more toddy 2than
was good for him, and seeing, by the light of a flash of lightning, a large
animal lying down close to the old woman's hut, mistook it for the donkey he
was looking for. So, running up to the Tiger, he seized hold of it by one ear,
and commenced beating, kicking, and abusing it with all his might and main.
'You wretched creature,' he cried,
'is this the way you serve me, obliging me to come out and look for you in such
pouring rain, and on such a dark night as this? Get up instantly, or I'll break
every bone in your body;' and he went on scolding and thumping the Tiger with
his utmost power, for he had worked himself up into a terrible rage. The Tiger
did not know what to make of it all, but he began to feel quite frightened, and
said to himself, 'Why, this must be the "perpetual dripping"; no
wonder the old woman said she was more afraid of it than of an elephant, a lion,
or a tiger, for it gives most dreadfully hard blows.'
The Chattee-maker, having made the
Tiger get up, got on his back, and forced him to carry him home, kicking and
beating him the whole way (for all this time he fancied he was on his donkey),
and then he tied his fore feet and his head firmly together, and fastened him
to a post in front of his house, and when he had done this he went to bed.
Next morning, when the
Chattee-maker's wife got up and looked out of the window, what did she see but
a great big Tiger tied up in front of their house, to the post to which they
usually fastened the donkey; she was very much surprised, and running to her
husband, awoke him, saying, 'Do you know what animal you fetched home last
night? '--' Yes, the donkey, to be sure,' he answered. 'Come and see,' said
she, and she showed him the great Tiger tied to the post. The Chattee-maker at
this was no less astonished than his wife, and felt himself all over to find
out if the Tiger had not wounded him. But no there he was, safe and sound, and
there was the Tiger tied to the post, just as he had fastened it up the night
before.
News of the Chattee-maker's exploit
soon spread through the village, and all the people came to see him and hear
him tell how he had caught the Tiger and tied it to the post; and this they
thought so wonderful, that they sent a deputation to the Rajah, with a letter
to tell him how a man of their village had, alone and unarmed, caught a great
Tiger, and tied it to a post.
When the Rajah read the letter he
also was much surprised, and determined to go in person and see this
astonishing sight. So he sent for his horses and carriages, his lords and
attendants, and they all set off together to look at the Chattee-maker and the
Tiger he had caught.
Now the Tiger was a very large one,
and had long been the terror of all the country round, which made the whole
matter still more extraordinary; and this being represented to the Rajah, he
determined to confer every possible honour on the valiant Chattee-maker. So he
gave him houses and lands, and as much money as would fill a well, made him
lord of his court, and conferred on him the command of ten thousand horse.
It came to pass, shortly after this,
that a neighbouring Rajab, who had long had a quarrel with this one, sent to announce
his intention of going instantly to war with him; and tidings were at the same
time brought that the Rajah who sent the challenge had gathered a great army
together on the borders, and was prepared at a moment's notice to invade the
country.
In this dilemma no one knew what to
do. The Rajah sent for all his generals, and inquired which of them would be
willing to take command of his forces and oppose the enemy. They all replied
that the country was so ill-prepared for the emergency, and the case was apparently
so hopeless, that they would rather not take the responsibility of the chief
command. The Rajah knew not whom to appoint in their stead. Then some of his
people said to him, 'You have lately given command of ten thousand horse to the
valiant Chattee-maker who caught the Tiger, why not make him
Commander-in-Chief? A man who could catch a Tiger and tie him to a post must
surely be more courageous and clever than most.'--' Very well,' said the Rajah,
'I will make him Commander-in-Chief.' So he sent for the Chattee-maker and said
to him, 'In your hands I place all the power of the kingdom; you must put our
enemies to flight.'--' So be it,' answered the Chattee-maker, 'but, before I
lead the whole army against the enemy, suffer me to go by myself and examine
their position; and, if possible, find out their numbers and strength.'
The Rajah consented, and the
Chattee-maker returned home to his wife, and said, 'They have made me
Commander-in-Chief which is a very difficult post for me to fill, because I shall
have to ride at the head of all the army, and you know I never was on a horse
in my life. But I have succeeded in gaining a little delay, as the Rajah has
given me permission to go first alone, and reconnoitre the enemy's camp. Do
you, therefore, provide a very quiet pony, for you know I cannot ride, and I
will start to-morrow morning.'
But before the Chattee-maker had
started, the Rajah sent over to him a most magnificent charger, richly
caparisoned, which he begged he would ride when going to see the enemy's camp.
The Chattee-maker was frightened almost out of his life, for the charger that
the Rajah had sent him was very powerful and spirited, and he felt sure that,
even if he ever got on it, he should very soon tumble off; however, he did not
dare to refuse it, for fear of offending the Rajah by not accepting his
present. So he sent him back a message of dutiful thanks, and said to his wife,
'I cannot go on the pony now that the Rajah has sent me this fine horse, but
how am I ever to ride it? '--' Oh, don't be frightened,' she answered, 'you 'ye
only got to get upon it, and I will tie you firmly on, so that you cannot
tumble off, and if you start at night no one will see that you are tied on.'--'
Very well,' he said. So that night his wife brought the horse that the Rajah
had sent him to the door. 'Indeed,' said the Chattee-maker, 'I can never get
into that saddle, it is so high up.'--' You must jump,' said his wife. Then he
tried to jump several times, but each time he jumped he tumbled down again. 'I always
forget when I am jumping,' said he, 'which way I ought to turn.'--' Your face
must be towards the horse's head,' she answered. 'To be sure, of course,' he
cried, and giving one great jump he jumped into the saddle, but with his face
towards the horse's tail. 'This won't do at all,' said his wife as she helped
him down again; 'try getting on without jumping.'--'I never can remember,' he
continued, 'when I have got my left foot in the stirrup, what to do with my
right foot, or where to put it.'--' That must go in the other stirrup,' she
answered; 'let me help you.' So, after many trials, in which he tumbled down
very often, for the horse was fresh and did not like standing still, the
Chattee-maker got into the saddle; but no sooner had he got there than he
cried, 'O wife, wife! tie me very firmly as quickly as possible, for I know I
shall jump down if I can.' Then she fetched some strong rope and tied his feet
firmly into the stirrups, and fastened one stirrup to the other, and put
another rope round his waist, and another round his neck, and fastened them to
the horse's body, and neck, and tail.
When the horse felt all these ropes
about him he could not imagine what queer creature had got upon his back, and
he began rearing, and kicking, and prancing, and at last set off full gallop,
as fast as he could tear, right across country. 'Wife, wife,' cried the
Chattee-maker, 'you forgot to tie my hands.'--'Never mind,' said she; 'hold on
by the mane.' So he caught hold of the horse's mane as firmly as he could. Then
away went horse, away went Chattee-maker, away, away, away, over hedges, over
ditches, over rivers, over plains, away, away, like a flash of lightning, now
this way, now that, on, on, on, gallop, gallop, gallop, until they came in
sight of the enemy's camp.
The Chattee-maker did not like his
ride at all, and when he saw where it was leading him he liked it still less,
for he thought the enemy would catch him and very likely kill him. So he
determined to make one desperate effort to be free, and stretching out his hand
as the horse shot past a young banyan-tree, seized hold of it with all his
might, hoping the resistance it offered might cause the ropes that tied him to
break. But the horse was going at his utmost speed, and the soil in which the
banyan-tree grew was loose, so that when the Chattee-maker caught hold of it
and gave it such a violent pull, it came up by the roots, and on he rode as
fast as before, with the tree in his hand.
All the soldiers in the camp saw him
coming, and having heard that an army was to be sent against them, made sure
that the Chattee-maker was one of the vanguard. 'See,' cried they, 'here comes
a man of gigantic stature on a mighty horse! He rides at full speed across the
country, tearing up the very trees in his rage! He is one of the opposing
force; the whole army must be close at hand. If they are such as he, we are all
dead men.' Then, running to their Rajah, some of them cried again, 'Here comes
the whole force of the enemy' (for the story had by this time become exaggerated);
'they are men of gigantic stature, mounted on mighty horses; as they come they
tear up the very trees in their rage; we can oppose men, but not monsters such
as these.' These were followed by others, who said, 'It is all true,' for by
this time the Chattee-maker had got pretty near the camp, 'they 're coming!
they 're coming! let us fly! let us fly! fly, fly for your lives!' And the
whole panic stricken multitude fled from the camp (those who had seen no cause
for alarm going because the others did, or because they did not care to stay by
themselves) after having obliged their Rajah to write a letter to the one whose
country he was about to invade, to say that he would not do so, and propose
terms of peace, and to sign it, and seal it with his seal. Scarcely had all the
people fled from the camp, when the horse on which the Chattee-maker was came
galloping into it, and on his back rode the Chattee-maker, almost dead from
fatigue, with the banyan-tree in his hand. Just as he reached the camp the ropes
by which he was tied broke, and he fell to the ground. The horse stood still,
too tired with its long run to go further. On recovering his senses, the
Chattee-maker discovered, to his surprise, that the whole camp, full of rich
arms, clothes, and trappings, was entirely deserted. In the principal tent,
moreover, he found a letter addressed to his Rajah, announcing the retreat of
the invading army, and proposing terms of peace.
So he took the letter, and returned
home with it as fast as he could, leading his horse all the way, for he was
afraid to mount him again. It did not take him long to reach his house by the
direct road, for whilst riding he had gone a more circuitous journey than was
necessary, and he got there just at nightfall. His wife ran out to meet him,
overjoyed at his speedy return. As soon as he saw her, he said, 'Ah, wife,
since I saw you last I've been all round the world, and had many wonderful and
terrible adventures. But never mind that now, send this letter quickly to the
Rajah by a messenger, and also the horse that he sent for me to ride. He will
then see, by the horse looking so tired, what a long ride I 'ye had, and if he
is sent on beforehand, I shall not be obliged to ride him up to the palace-door
to-morrow morning, as I otherwise should, and that would be very tiresome, for
most likely I should tumble off.' So his wife sent the horse and the letter to
the Rajah, and a message that her husband would be at the palace early next
morning, as it was then late at night And next day he went down there as he had
said he would, and when the people saw him coming, they said, 'This man is as
modest as he is brave; after having put our enemies to flight, he walks quite
simply to the door, instead of riding here in state; as any other man would.'
No comments:
Post a Comment