“Can I see India and Tibet for a while?”
Sing Sing Yangdonma would not agree but the sinpo’s daughter was very persuasive. “Please let me see India and Tibet just for a while.”
Finally she agreed, saying, “Very well but mind you, just for a while.”
The sinpo’s daughter quickly helped Sing Sing Yangdonma out of the basket and got into it herself. Sing Sing Yangdonma tied her up securely and immersed the basket into a big pot of boiling water. After the sinpo’s daughter was scalded to death Sing Sing Yangdonma took the bunch of keys which was hanging from a hook on the wall and began to open all the locked doors in the house. In one room there were many young children. In the second room there were hundreds of young adults. In the third room there were middle-aged women and in the fourth room middle-aged men. She released them all. In the last room there was a lone old woman. As the light entered the dark room the old woman shielded her eyes for she had not seen light for many years. Then she blinked her ancient eyes and stared at the girl in front of her in total disbelief. Finally she whispered, “How did you find me? Please run away before the sinpo comes. He will eat both of us. I was brought here as his bride when I was a young girl. You see, now that I am old he has thrown me into this room and forgotten about me. But one day when he has nothing better to eat he will eat me too. Here, take my skin,” said the old woman as she slipped off her skin and pulled it over her head. Then she added, “Take all the jewels you can carry from the next room. Then run away as fast as you can.” Sing Sing Yangdonma took strings and strings of coral and turquoise and put on earrings and bracelets and then she slipped the old woman’s skin over herself and ran away as fast as her feet could carry her.
The sinpo soon found out what had happened and he began to chase Sing Sing Yangdonma. She could never have run away from him because he crossed mountains in a few steps and he could straddle a valley with his legs planted on either side of the river, so when she reached a valley with some houses she recognized to be human houses she decided to try and trick the sinpo. She sat down by the road side and turned her back to the sun as old people often do to get the sun on their backs. As she sat thus she chanted, “Om Mani Padme Hung.” The sinpo soon caught up with her and he asked impatiently, “Have you seen Sing Sing Yangdonma pass this way?”
“No, I haven’t seen anyone pass this way, I have been sitting here for a long time now,” lied Sing Sing Yangdonma.
“Then get out of my way, you old woman!” grunted the sinpo as he pushed her aside. The jewelry made the sound “tsalak tsalak” and the sinpo looked at her suspiciously and asked, “What was that?”
“U... hoo u... hoo, those were my old bones creaking and cracking, krack krock,” replied Sing Sing Yangdonma matter-of-factly and pretended to rub her elbows and knees in earnest.
Sing Sing Yangdonma sat in the sun, immensely relieved that the sinpo had not recognized her. By and by three young men came along the road. They were the sons of the king of the valley. They had gone to cut bamboo and were now pulling it home. Each man had forty long bamboo poles tied in a bundle and strapped to his back and as they walked the tips of the bamboo touched the ground, making a continuous sweeping sound “shor.. shor”. As the first prince came by he shouted, “Old Woman, get out of my way!”
Sing Sing Yangdonma refused to move out of the way, saying, “If you are in a hurry step over me and if you are not in a hurry go around me.”
The first prince went right over her and the second prince did the same. The third prince felt sorry for the old woman and went off the road so that he would not go over her. As he passed by the tips of his bamboo touched her and she fell over. The jewelry made the “tsalak tsalak” sound. The third prince was so anxious that he had hurt her and he at once put his bamboo down and came to help her. As Sing Sing Yangdonma watched him go, after he had helped her, she thought: “He is surely the kindest of them all.”
Many days later Sing Sing Yangdonma was sure that the sinpo would not come after her any more. So she went to a nearby steam to bathe herself. She slipped off the old woman’s skin and washed herself in the stream. The youngest prince who happened to be near the stream saw this. He was amazed to see that the old woman was no longer an old woman but a beautiful young girl. She was so beautiful that she would have melted in the sunshine and solidified in the shade. He immediately fell in love with her and married her. They lived for many years together in happiness, peace, and prosperity.
Ap Braphu
The boy crept quietly all over the cave and was astounded at all the precious jewels and exquisite thro zangs that lay all over the place.
Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..oo.. there was a poor boy. All he had was a cow, so every day he went with the cow to the forest and let her graze there. As the animal grazed in the grassy patches under the trees he would collect firewood. One day he carelessly wandered too far from the forest clearing where the cow was grazing and when he returned to look for her she was nowhere in sight. Anxiously he searched the forest, calling the animal by her name, “Zaykarmo, Zaykarmo”. But there was no sign of the cow. She was truly lost.
The sun was already setting and darkness was fast descending so he decided to resume the search the next day. He heaved the huge load of firewood upon his back and began to retrace his steps home. Suddenly he stopped, for there, just a few paces in front of him, was the most unusual sight. Near a massive rock sat an old lady who was trembling and shivering with intense cold. She was so old that she was all shriveled up and full of wrinkles. She was blind and she had an enormous goiter. The boy hid in the bushes and watched her for he had never seen anyone like her before. After the sun had set completely the old woman whose teeth were now rattling (for one her age she had strong white teeth) put her hands on the ground to support herself and rose up very slowly. Saying “ah chu chu chu,” she turned towards the rock and said, “Ap Braphu, Go Phich (Father Cave, open the door).” Suddenly a portion of the rock moved and opened up, with a big sound drrrrr..b and the old woman hobbled inside. The boy waited for a while and then went in front of the rock and said “Ap Braphu, Go Phich,” nervously as he cast quick glances in all directions, like a fugitive being pursued, for he felt uneasy as if he was being watched. The door to the cave opened up and he too went inside. Once inside the cave he was amazed to see that it was a very comfortable home. As he wandered around the house he saw the woman. She seemed to be perpetually cold and she had already made a fire in the hearth. There she was sitting in front of the crackling fire, warming herself.
The boy crept quietly all over the cave and was astounded at all the precious jewels and exquisite thro zangs that lay all over the place. He collected as many as he could possibly carry and waited for morning. The next morning the boy watched what the old woman would do. At about sunrise the old woman went to the cave door and said “Ap Braphu, Go Phich” and the cave door opened. The old woman went out of the rock and sat there in front of it sunning herself. The poor boy quickly got out of the rock and hurried back to the village. He told his friends about his adventure in the forest. The rich boy, on hearing this and seeing all the jewels and treasures, thought, “I have to get some of those things too,” and promptly headed towards the forest. Everything was true. There was the old woman and the rock which opened up, and the treasures too. While the rich boy was in the cave the old woman sensed the presence of a human being and she began to grope and feel around in the cave muttering, “Ane, ane, let me eat the fresh meat and let me drink the hot blood.” Soon she found him and before the boy could get out of the cave she caught and killed and devoured him. This old woman was a demoness of the rocks who waited for unfortunate victims to come wandering to her for she was so old that she was no longer able to hunt for her prey.
The Tale of the Goat’s Tail
The old man had the whole goat except for the tail and all that the old woman had was the tail!
Dangbo..o..o thik naki wenda Dingbo..o..o thik naki wenda... there was an old man and an
old woman. They did not have any children and as they were old and could not work any longer, they did not have much to eat. They had eaten everything they had in their possession and now all they had was a fairly large goat.
One day the old man had an idea and said, “We have this goat but it is of no use to us while it lives. It would be best to eat it.”
At this the old woman asked, “How shall we kill the goat? We have never killed a goat before.”
The old man told her that he had a very good plan and so he explained, “We will pull the goat apart. You hold him by the tail and I will hold onto the horns and we will pull with all our strength and keep for ourselves whatever we get.” The old woman thought that this was a good idea and enthusiastically agreed.
So the old man held the goat by the horns and the old woman held onto its tail and at the count of three they pulled and pulled and pulled. Suddenly they fell on their backs with the portion of the goat they had each managed to pull. The old man had the whole goat except for the tail and all that the old woman had was the tail!
Every day the old woman sat swallowing her spit as she watched the old man eat the goat meat in different ways. He had fried meat, minced meat, roasted meat, and stewed meat. One day the old man gave her some bones. She decided to make a soup with the bones so she began to chop them up. Every time she chopped the bone the goat’s tail mimicked the noise. So as her knife made the tok tok sound against the chopping board the goat’s tail also cried “tok tok” from the shelf on which it was kept. This annoyed the woman and she warned, “If you do not stop imitating me, I’ll roast you in the ashes and eat you too.” But the goat’s tail continued to mimic her. She was so enraged that she finally got up in a huff and took the tail to the fire. At this the goat’s tail began to plead, saying, “Please spare me my life and I will repay you.” Surprised the woman asked how a tail could possibly do anything. But the goat’s tail begged her and she agreed that she would spare him for three days, during which time he would have to prove himself.
The goat’s tail went to a flour mill where a girl had just finished milling her wheat. She gathered and scraped all the flour from the mill stone and filled her leather bag. Then she sat down and tried to carry the bag but she could not even make it budge because the goat’s tail was hiding under the bag and pulling it back with all the energy he possessed. The girl was quite surprised because she usually had no problem carrying home such a bag. She then took out some flour and put it into another bag and tried again without any success. This time she took off her toigo or jacket, and tied knots at the ends of the sleeves and filled them up with more flour from the bag. Even then she could not carry the bag. Quite distressed the girl went home to call somebody to help her to carry home the bag. As soon as the girl went the goat’s tail picked up the bag and ran home with it. The old woman was delighted and agreed to let him live for a few more days.
The next day the goat’s tail went into the king’s pastures and selected a big bull. He killed it and took it home to the old woman who was now very happy with her goat’s tail. The goat’s tail took the tail of the bull and stuck half of it into the marsh to make is appear as if the whole bull had sunk into the marsh with only a bit of the tail sticking out. Then he rushed to the king’s palace and reported that the king’s servants had allowed his best bull to sink into the marsh. The king sent all his servants to pull out the bull. While the men tried to pull the tail out of the marsh the goat’s tail pushed it deeper into the marsh and eventually the whole tail disappeared into the marsh. The king had lost his best bull!
Now the king wanted to test his servants to see if they were really as irresponsible as the goat’s tail had accused them of being. It happened that the king had a norbu, a very precious wish-fulfilling jewel in his treasury, and he was so confident of the security of his palace that he challenged, “Anybody who can steal the jewel will get not only half my kingdom but also my daughter as his bride.”
The goat’s tail decided to try to steal the jewel, so he made elaborate plans. He got several leather bags, some boulders, and prepared tsendili, a slippery substance made of the cooked roots of a plant that grows wild. When he was ready he announced that he would come to steal the jewel. The king naturally made sure that everything was done to foil the theft. Everybody was on the alert as they waited for the thief. The goat’s tail waited and waited until everybody else was so tired of waiting that they had became sleepy. Then he slipped into the stable. All the horses were saddled and ready. He led the horses to the sheep shed and guided the sheep into the stables. He fed the guard dogs with juicy pieces of meat so that they did not attack him, and then he made them change their places with the cattle. After this he poured water onto the bundles of wood splinters that had been prepared for torches. As he climbed the wooden stairs he smeared each step with tsendili. He next went to the royal attendants who were sitting in wait but were now dozing off. The goat’s tail quietly tied stones to the ends of the kabne or ceremonial shawls of these men and covered their heads with the leather bags. When he was absolutely sure that everything had been taken care of he slipped through the chink in the wall, seized the jewel, and left the same way. As he walked through the courtyard he shouted at the top of his voice, “O king, the thief has stolen the norbu.” Then what followed was utter confusion and chaos as the attendants tried to get the leather bags off their heads, all the time muttering, “These leather bags, these leather bags.” Finally, when they managed to pull the leather bags off their heads they flung their kabne over their shoulders trying to put them in place properly. But as they flung their kabne the boulders tied to the ends of them struck each other and there were terrible moans and groans in the dark. They ran down the steps but they slipped, as the stairs were smeared with slippery tsendili and there was a pile of men at the bottom of the stairs. The torches were wet and it was impossible to light them. So in total darkness, “Release the dogs!” ordered the king, but instead of the ferocious barks the mooing of the cattle could be heard. “Onto the horses and after the thief!” But instead of the ready-saddled horses the bleating sheep scattered in all directions adding to the commotion. By this time the goat’s tail was in the safety of the old woman’s house, proudly showing the norbu to the old woman...
The next day the goat’s tail went to claim his reward. The king could not refuse so the goat’s tail took half the kingdom and the princess. When he reached home he called to the old woman to open the door. But the old woman simply responded saying, “Come by your usual way through the hole in the latch.”
The goat’s tail said, “Even if the horse would fit the saddle would not fit and even if the saddle would fit the bride would not fit.” At this the old woman rushed to open the door.
Once a year all the people of the village stopped working, put on their best clothes, and went to the village festival. It was the most important event for the village. The goat’s tail insisted that the princess should go to the festival and that he would stay home to look after the house. In the evening when the princess came home the goat’s tail asked her who in her opinion was the most beautiful girl at the festival and who was the handsomest man. At this the princess coyly replied saying that she, herself was the most beautiful girl but she could not tell the name of the handsomest man because he did not stop to talk with anybody. He just sat astride his beautifully decked horse and rode through the crowd while the crowd looked at him in admiration and awe and wondered, “Who can this man be?”
The next day the princess again went to the festival and when she came home in the evening the goat’s tail again asked her the same question. She gave the same answer as on the previous day. The next morning when the goat’s tail asked her to go to the festival again, she became very suspicious so she pretended to go but actually hid near the house and watched what the goat’s tail was up to. At about midday the goat’s tail shed its skin and out came the handsome man she had seen on the two previous days. Without a word she jumped out from her hidi
ng place and took up the skin of the goat’s tail. Before her husband could stop her, she threw it into the fire, saying that she would no longer be humiliated as the wife of a goat’s tail. The goat’s tail was completely devastated and he sadly explained, “Tonight I would have been free of my destiny as a goat’s tail and I would have told you everything. If you had only waited a little longer.” He then told her to collect all the ashes and sprinkle them in all the rooms of the house, then in the yard and finally in the meadows and on the hillsides. When she sprinkled the ashes in the rooms they filled up with wealth, and servants rushed around ready to take their orders. Horses and hens and roosters appeared as she sprinkled the ashes in the yard. The meadows filled up with cattle as she sprinkled the ashes there. Herds of yaks appeared on the hillsides as she sprinkled the last specks of ash. As the time had not been right everything had some small defect, so the clothes had torn seams or a missing collar. The utensils had slight dents, the animals had missing tails and ears and some of the roosters even had no combs! The man looked at his new possessions and thoughtfully stated, “We can never escape our destiny.”
The Ghost with the Water Goiter
Then he began to hit her with the iron hammer and pinch her with the iron clamps.
Dangbo..o..o Dingbo..o..o.. there was a solitary house on a hill, surrounded by ruins. Many, many years ago an entire village had been devastated by an epidemic and most of the inhabitants had either died or moved away. The vacant houses soon succumbed to the ravages of age and weather and now all that was left were bleak and crumbling ruins. Paydon and her brother lived in that solitary and desolate house. One day the brother had to go on a journey for a few days so he said, “I will not be home for some days. Don’t forget to feed the rooster well and he will be a good companion to you.” The girl fed the rooster every day but one day she forgot to feed it. That evening when it became dark the rooster dipped its wings in water and sprinkled water on the fire and put it out. So Paydon had to go and search for fire.
Folktales of Bhutan Page 10