The Sa'-Zada Tales

by Burt L. Standish

  TENTH NIGHT

  THE STORY OF BIG TUSK, THE WILD BOAR

  'Twas the tenth night of what might be called the Sa'-zada convention,and Black Panther was making the iron bars of his cage jingle in theirsockets with his full-voiced roar. Shoulders spread, and head low tothe floor, his white fangs showing, he called "Waugh, waugh! Waw-houk!Come, Comrades. Ganesh, One-tusked Lord of the Jungles, Muskwa andMooswa; you, Sher Abi, eater of Water-men; even little Magh; come allof you and listen to the lies of a Swine." Then he laughed: "Che-hough,che-hough! the lying tales of Jungli Soor."

  "Ugh, ugh!" grunted Grey Boar, angrily, as he slipped up the graveledwalk to the front of Leopard's cage. "In my land there is a saying ofthe Men-kind, that 'A lie can hide like a Panther; if it be a bad lie,that it is as difficult to come face to face with as Black Panther.'"

  By this time the animals had all gathered, and Sa'-zada opening TheBook, spoke:

  "This is Wild Boar's night. I am sure he will tell us somethinginteresting."

  "A lie is often amusing," declared Magh.

  "That may be so," retorted Boar, "for even Sa'-zada has said that youare the funniest Animal in the Park."

  "But why should we listen to Soor's squeaky tales?" snarled Bagh; "whenhe gets excited his voice puts me on edge."

  "Well," interrupted Sa'-zada, "these meetings are so that each animalmay have a chance to tell us what good there is in him."

  "Then why should Soor waste our time?" queried Magh. "Even he will knowno good of himself."

  "I don't know about that," answered Sa'-zada. "I think every animal isfor some good purpose, and we can tell better after we have heardBoar's story."

  "Here are two of us, O Sa'-zada," said Grey Boar. "I, who am fromBurma, know of the way of my kind in that land, and Big Tusk, who isalso here, being my Comrade, is from Nagpore, in India, and can tellyou how we are persecuted in the North. If I am all bad, can anyone saywhy it is? I am not an eater of Bhainsa, Men's Buffalo, like Bagh andPardus; neither am I, nor any of my Kind, known as Man-killers. Even inHathi's family have there been Man-killers--the Rogue Hathi."

  "But it is said in the Jungles that you sometimes kill _Bakri_, theMen's Sheep," declared Magh.

  "All a lie!" answered Grey Boar. "We are not animals of the Kill;neither do we wreck the villages of the Men, as does Hathi, nor drivethe rice-growers from their lands--lest they be eaten--as do Bagh andPardus."

  "But you eat their jowari and rice," asserted Panther.

  "A little of it at times, perhaps, but only a little. Our food is ofthe Jungles, and how are we to know just what has been grown by theMen, and what has grown of itself? And in my land, which was Aracan inBurma, but for me and my people the Men could not live."

  "In what manner, O Benefactor of the Oppressed?" asked Magh, mockingly.

  "Because of Python, and Cobra, and Karait, and Deboia, and the othersmall Dealers of Death," answered Grey Boar, sturdily. "We roam theJungles, and when these Snakes, that are surely evil, rise in ourpaths, we trample them, and tear them with our tusks----"

  "And eat them, I know, cha-hau, cha-hau!" laughed Hyena, smacking hiswatering lips.

  "Yes," affirmed Grey Boar. "Are not we, alone, of all Animals for thiswork? When Cobra strikes, and fetches home, does not even Hathi, orArna, or mighty Raj Bagh, die quickly? But not so with us. I can turnmy cheek, thus, to King Cobra, (and he held his big grizzled headsideways), and when I feel the soft pat of his cold nose against my fatjaw, I seize him by the neck, and in a minute one of the worst enemiesof Man is dead."

  "What says King Cobra, then--Cobra and the others--crawlingdestroyers?" asked Magh, maliciously.

  "This is Boar's story," interrupted Mooswa, seeing that Sa'-zada lookedangry at the interruption.

  "As I was saying," continued Grey Boar, "Cobra and his cousins killmore of the Men-kind, many times over, than all the other JungleDwellers put together. Think of that, Comrades--even when we aresearching the Jungles on every side for these evil Poisoners; so if itwere not for us, what would become of the Men? Yet in a hot time oflittle Jungle food, if we but eat a small share from their fields, theMen revile us. Also, there is cause for fear at times in this laborthat is ours. Once I remember I had a tight squeeze----"

  "Going through a fence into a jowari field, I suppose," prompted Magh.

  "I did not have my tail cut off for stealing cocoa-nuts," sneered GreyBoar. "The tight squeeze was from Python; and do you know that to thisday I am half a head longer than I was before our slim Friend twistedabout my body. But I got his head in my strong jaws just as I was neardead."

  "Perhaps you would not have managed it if he had not squeezed you outlong," said Pardus.

  "What I say," continued Boar, "is, that we are not the Evil Kind thatis in the mouth of everyone. Cobra crawls into the houses of the Men,and for fear of their evil Gods they feed him; and one day in anger hestrikes to Kill. That is surely wrong. But we live in houses of our ownmake."

  "Certainly that is a lie," interrupted Magh. "Thou art a wanderer inthe Jungle, a dweller in caves, even as Pard the Panther."

  "You are wrong, Little One," declared Hathi, "for I have seen Boar'shouse. It's a sort of grass hauda."

  "Yes," affirmed Wild Boar; "it is all of my own making, and of grass,to be sure. For days and days at a time, I do nothing but cut thestrong elephant grass, and the big ferns, and the sweet bowlchie, andpile it up into a house. Then I burrow under it, and the rain beats itdown over my back, and soon I have a nice, clean, waterproof nest. I amnot a homeless vagabond like Magh and her wandering tribe----"

  "And that's just it," broke in Big Tusk, the Nagpore Boar. "We, who arequiet and orderly in our manner of life, living in houses of our ownbuilding, as Grey Boar has said, are hunted and killed by theWhite-faced ones as a matter of sport. What think you of that,Sa'-zada--killed just for our tusks--for a pair of teeth?"

  "It is likewise so with me, my narrow-faced Brother," whispered Hathi."Many of my kind are slain for their tusks; I, who have lived amongstthe Men, know that."

  Continued Big Tusk: "Yes, this is so; I have been in many a run in thecorries of Nagpore. You see, I learned the game from my Mother when Iwas but a 'Squeaker,' for be it to the credit of the White ones, theykill not the Sows with their sharp spears."

  "Was that pig-sticking?" asked Sa'-zada.

  "It was," declared Big Tusk; "and my Mother, who was in charge of aSounder of at least thirty Pigs, knew all about this game. We'd befeeding in the sweet bowlchie grass, or in a _thur khet_, when suddenlyI'd hear her say, 'Waugh! Ung-h-gh!' which meant, 'Danger! lie low.'Then, watching, we'd see those of the Black-kind here, and there, andall over, with flags in their hands to drive the Pigs certain ways, andto show the Sahibs which way we went. Mother would always make us liestill until the very last minute; but almost always, sooner or later,the Sahibs would come galloping on their horses right in amongst us.'Ugh-ugh-ugh-ugh!' Mother would call to us, and this meant, 'Run forit, but keep to cover'; and away we'd go, from _sun khet_ to _dol_field, and then into _shur_ grass, from Sirsee Bund to Hirdee Bund, orinto the tall, thick bowlchie. Now the trouble was this way: Mother wasso big and strong that the Sahibs on their ponies always gallopedafter, thinking her a Boar. Even the Black Men with the flags wouldcry, '_Hong! Hong! Burra dant wallah!_' which means in their speech, 'ABoar of big tusks.' Many a time I've heard Mother chuckle over the runshe'd given the Horsemen, for we'd lie up in the grass, and listen tothe White-faced ones, the Sahibs, curse the Black Men most heartily fortheir foolishness in calling Mother a big-tusked Boar. It was all doneto save the Tuskers, for while the Sahibs were chasing Mother, many anold chap has saved having a spear thrust through him by clearing off tosome other _bund_."

  "You did have a good schooling," remarked Gidar, the Jackal. "But didthe Sahibs never spear any of your young Brothers?"

  "No; as I have said, it was only a big-tusked one they cared for. Butto me it seemed such a cruel thing, even when I was young; killing uswith the sharp spears--for, mor
e than once I've heard the scream of aBoar as he was stabbed to death."

  "But what were you doing in the _dol_ grass, you and your big Mother?"asked Bagh. "Were not you eating the grain of the poor villagers? Iremember in my time, when I was a free Lord of the Jungles, that a poorold _ryot_ (farmer) had a little field--a new field it was--just in theedge of the Jungle. I also remember it was _raji_ he grew in it, and heprayed to me as though I were one of his Hindoo Gods, asking me to keepclose watch over his field, and to kill all the Pigs, and the Chital,and Black Buck that might come there to destroy his _raji_. Even, togive me a liking for the place, that I might mark it down in my line ofhunt, he tied an old Cow there for my first Kill. I was the making ofthat Man," declared Bagh, sitting down and smoothing his big coarsemustache with his velvet paw--"the making of him, for he had a splendidcrop of _raji_, and I, why I must have killed a dozen Pigs in and abouthis field."

  "Oh, dear me!" cried Magh. "Sugared peanuts! Every Jungle Dweller isgrowing into a benefactor of the Men; even Pig is a much abused,innocent chap; and here's Bagh a protector of the poor _ryot_."

  "But what were you doing in the _dol_ field, Grunter?" queried Cobra;"that's what Bagh wants to know."

  "Looking for Snakes," answered Boar, sulkily. "But what if we did eat atrifle of the grain; was that excuse for the Sahibs killing us? Withtheir Horses did they not beat down and destroy more than we did? Andhave not the people of the land, the Black-kind, taken more from us inthe way of food than we ever did from their fields? Many a time havethey been saved from starvation by the meat of my tribe. And yet,through it all, we get nothing but a bad name, and that just because westick up for our rights. Bagh talks about keeping us from the Man'sfield; that is just like him--it is either a false tale or he ate'Squeakers'--little Pigs that couldn't protect themselves. Would hetackle Me? Not a bit of it! If he did I'd soon put different coloredstripes on his jacket--red stripes. He's a big, sneaking coward, that'swhat Bagh is. Why, I've seen him sitting with his back against a rock,afraid to move, while six Jungle Dogs snapped at his very nose--waitingfor him to get up that they might fight him from all sides. Ugh, ugh! afine Lord of the Jungle! a sneak, to eat little Pigs!

  "But I did more than keep a _raji_ field for a poor villager; I savedhis life, and from Bagh, too. I don't know that he had ever given me toeat willingly, or even made _pooja_ to me, but I was coming up out ofhis _thur_ field one evening, and he was fair in my path, with one ofthose foolish ringed sticks in his hand. 'Ugh!' I said, meaning, 'Getout of the way,' but he only stood there.

  "This made me cross, and I thought he was disputing the road with me,for I am not like Bagh, the Lord of the Jungle, who slinks to one side.Then I spoke again to the man, 'Ugh, ugh, wungh!' meaning that I wasabout to charge. All the time I was coming closer to him on the path.Then I saw what it was; my friend, Stripes the Tiger, was crouched justbeyond the Man, lashing the grass with his long, silly tail.

  "Now as I had made up my mind to charge something that was in my path,and as the sight of Bagh in his evil temper drew my anger toward him, Idrove full at his yellow throat. Just one rip of my tusks, and with ahowl like a starved Jackal he cleared for the Jungle. He meant to eatthat Man, you see."

  "Now we are getting at the truth of the matter," cried Magh, gleefully."When these Jungle thieves fall out, we get to know them fairly well."

  "But tell us more of this hunting of your kind with the spears, Obrother of the Big Tusks," pleaded Hathi. "It does seem an unjustthing."

  "Well," continued the Seoni Boar, "as I have said, while in my Mother'skeeping, she taught me much of the ways of the Boar Hunters. Many a runfrom the Spear Men I've been in. But while I was small, and had nottusks, of course I was allowed to go, even when they came full upon thetop of us; but in a few years my tusks grew, and each run became harderand more difficult to get away from. Besides, early in the Cold Time,at the time the Men call Christmas, we Boars all went off by ourselves,and left the Sows and Squeakers in peace; and, while I think of it,I've no doubt it was at this time that Bagh killed so many of my peoplein the _raji_ fields. Had there been a big Tusker or two there, Tigerwould have been busy looking for Chital or Sambhur.

  "Well, through being away from my Mother this way, and mixing with theother Boars, I got to be quite capable of taking care of myself; and,as I lived year after year, finally the Black Men, Ugh! also theWhite-faced ones, gave to me the name of the Seoni Boar. So, with themore knowledge I gained with my years of being, the more I required it,for the closer they hunted me.

  "IT WAS AT THIS TIME THAT BAGH KILLED SO MANY OF MYPEOPLE."]

  "Strange how it is that every Jungle Dweller's hand is against the Pig.I declare here, before all you Comrades, that more than once I havebeen lying dog-oh, close hid in the _bowlchie_, when a screech-voicedPeacock has commenced to cry, 'Aih-ou, aih-ou!' as plain as you like,'Here he is, here he is!' and down on my heels would come the Spear Menon their rushing Ponies. But I soon learned to take to theScrub-Jungle, knowing that the ponies would not follow me. But eventhere in the Jungle I've been hunted by the Black-kind; and then it wasthe same way, enemies afoot, and enemies overhead. Langur, afool-cousin of Magh's there, many a time has betrayed my hiding-placeto the hunt Man. 'Che-che-che, wow, wow!' over my head the sillythieves would chatter and well the Huntsmen would know that I had gonethat way.

  "Once when I was started out of the Seoni Bund, and was making withfull speed through the _dol khet_, a meddlesome white Dog came chasingafter me, snapping at my heels, and crying, 'Bah, ki-yi, bah, ki-yi!'Well I knew that as long as that noise kept up, I might as well berunning out in the open in full view, so I checked my pace a little,and the Dog, with more pluck than good sense, laid me by the ear. Withone rip of my tusk sideways, I cast him open from end to end. But suchmatters take some time, and check one when the run is close, andbefore I could take to cover again, a Pony was fair on top of me.

  "I jinked, as only a Boar who has been in many a run knows how. My jinkwas so sudden that the rider, seeking to spear me under his Pony'sneck, came a full cropper in the black cotton-earth. Ugh-huh-huh! itmakes me laugh now when I think of it. Of course I hadn't time to laughthen, for I had no sooner jinked clear of his spear than I saw comingup on the other side, the longest one of the Men-kind that was ever inthe Jungle, and what with his spear he seemed like a tree. At once Iremembered what my Mother had told me to do if ever a Spear-hunter gotfull on top of me. 'Into the horse's legs,' the old Dame had said;'that's your only hope.' I must say that I charged Bagh that other timewith greater joy than I slashed into that long Sahib's Pony.

  "Of course, the Hunter thought I was going to run for it, so when Ijinked short about and ripped his Pony's foreleg the full length of mynose, he was taken quite off his guard.

  "It seemed as though part of the Jungle had fallen on me, for Pony andHuntman came down like ripe fruit off the Mowha tree. I got one rip atthe Man's leg, and thought I'd made a fine cut, but I learnedafterward, after they'd caught me, of course, that it was his boot-legI had ripped----"

  "'INTO THE HORSE'S LEGS,' THE OLD DAME HAD SAID."]

  "Oh, Sa'-zada, I believe the Seoni Boar is the best liar we've struckyet," said Magh.

  "Not so," declared the Keeper, "this tale of the pig-sticking is a truetale, for it is written in The Book."

  "I only tell that which is true," declared Big Tusk, the Seoni Boar."And before I had got to the Scrub-Jungle, I had a spear driven into myshoulder from another Sahib, but I put my teeth through the giver'sfoot as I knocked his pony over from the side. It was a rare fight thatday, but I got away at last."

  "How were you caught?" queried Magh.

  "Oh, that was long afterwards, and happened because of Bagh's evilways. The Huntman had spread a big net in the Jungle to take Bagh, whohad slain a Woman; and in the drive, not knowing of this evil thing, Icame full into the net, and got so tangled up that I could not move.When the White Hunter saw that it was I, the Seoni Boar, he said, 'Letus take him alive, for he has given us mighty
sport and fought well.'So they made a cage and I was forced into it from the net."

  "Is that all?" asked Magh.

  "Yes," replied Boar.

  "Well," continued the Orang-Outang, "from your own account you appearto be a very fine fellow. I can't understand why all the JungleDwellers, even the Men-kind, connect your name with everything that'sevil. I doubt if one of them could speak as well for himself, were heallowed to tell his own story."

  "As I have said before," commented Sa'-zada, "it's hardly fair to givean animal a bad name without knowing all about him, and Boar's storieshave all been true, I know. But it's late now, so each one away to hiscage or corral, and sleep."

  Eleventh Night

  The Stories of Oohoo, the Wolf, and Sher Abi, the Crocodile