FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALES FROM BURMA--21 Old Burmese Folk and Fairy tales

by Anon E. Mouse

  Folklore & Fairy Tales from

  Burma

  (myanmar)

  Compiled and Edited by

  Lynette Spencer

  Illustrated by

  Chris, Harry, Peter and Shwe Mar Win

  Folk and Fairy Tales of Burma

  Copyright © 2014 Lynette Spencer

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner in any media, or transmitted by any means whatsoever, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, or mechanical ( including photocopy, file or video recording, internet web sites, blogs, wikis, or any other information storage and retrieval system) without the prior written permission of the publisher or author.

  Published in England

  by

  Abela Publishing Ltd.

  Sandhurst, Berkshire, England

  2017

  ISBN 13: 978-8-822809-75-9

  Email:

  books@AbelaPublishing.com

  Website:

  www.AbelaPublishing.com/burma.html

  DEDICATION

  In memory of my father,

  Dudley Spencer (1922-2014)

  who shared many precious recollections

  about his beloved Maymyo and Burma.

  And to my mother,

  Daw Mya Mya Spencer,

  who often recalls treasured memories about her hometown, Toungoo, Burmese culture and her time as a classical dancer (‘Minthamee’).

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Our thanks to

  Chris, Harry, Peter and Shwe Mar Win

  who provided the illustrations.

  Our thanks also go to

  Anna lisa, Janet, Larwai, Nway Nway, Boke Boke, Jessica, Zin Zin Moe, Little Anne , Sandar, Emma (Ohnmar), Bo Tay (Shin Tejaniya), Thiri, Yu Yu Nwe, Kiera, Zin Zin Htike, Alexandra, Sandar Lin, Ryan, Julie (Thantar Moe), Aye Aye Aung and Lorraine

  for retelling the stories.

  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  PART ONE

  MAGIC-LORE AND CREATURES

  THE LION AND THE MOUSE

  THE CROW IS AS PROUD AS THE PEACOCK

  THE WHITE SWAN

  THE THREE SISTERS

  THE WONDERFUL COCKEREL

  TWO OTTERS AND A FISH

  MA PU KYWE AND THE SMALL SNAIL

  THE CLEVER OX

  PART TWO

  MAGICAL TALES OF PRINCES AND PRINCESSES, AND ROYAL LIFE

  SHIN MWE LON and MIN NANDA

  A GREEDY KING

  A TRADITIONAL PHYSICIAN CALLED JIVAKA

  PART THREE

  BUDDHIST TALES

  IN THE LIFE OF A QUAIL

  DURING A PAST LIFE OF BUDDHA - A LESSON

  PART FOUR

  TALES OF BURMESE TRADITIONAL WAYS

  THE FARMER AND HIS SONS

  A SAD FATE

  ‘FRIENDS’

  A DISRESPECTFUL DAUGHTER

  PART FIVE

  CURIOUS TALES

  AN INTELLIGENT BOY

  THE MIRROR

  THE BLIND BOY

  ….AND FINALLY, A UNIVERSAL FOLKTALE

  THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE

  HOW THIS BOOK HELPS

  INTRODUCTION

  These 21 colourful Burmese tales have been retold in English by teachers from Mandalay. To accompany the stories are creative illustrations by their young pupils Chris, Harry, Peter and Shwe Mar Win.

  The stories have deeper meanings hidden in what may appear to be simple tales and their morals are often to be found in other cultures’ folklore. Such universal themes include traditional family values and respect still very much to the fore in a country that to a great extent has stood still in time.

  With special thanks to Nway Nway and Bo Tay in the compilation of this collection of tales, and also to Diana Millington for introducing me to Phaung Daw Oo Monastic Education High School as a visiting tutor. The inspired school founders, Ven. U Nayaka and Ven. U Jotika, have helped underprivileged children to benefit from a high standard of education.

  PART ONE

  MAGIC-LORE

  and

  CREATURES

  THE LION AND THE MOUSE

  Once upon a time there was a mouse which went out to find some food. It ran carelessly through some tall grass and accidentally fell upon a sleeping lion. The angry lion awoke and caught hold of the mouse, refusing to let it go.

  The mouse said, ‘Please let me go, Mr Lion, I promise to help you one day if you do.’

  The lion laughed loudly, wondering how a little mouse could help a big creature. ‘Very well,’ the lion replied, ‘I will let you go, but you must take more care.’

  The mouse was very grateful to the lion and while looking again for food the following day, it saw the lion under a tree. It was trapped in a net of strong ropes and could not move.

  The mouse said, ‘I will help you.’ With his sharp teeth, it bit through the ropes, one by one, and soon the lion was free. The lion was delighted and in turn, was grateful to the little mouse.

  THE CROW IS AS PROUD

  AS THE PEACOCK

  There was once a boastful crow who wanted to be as beautiful as a peacock. It found some peacock feathers and placed them on its body and then went in search of some real peacocks.

  However, the peacocks knew the truth. ‘You are not a member of the peacock family, you’re a crow,’ they said disdainfully.

  The angry peacocks then started to peck at the crow and plucked off the crow’s real feathers as well as the colourful peacock plumage causing the crow a lot of pain.

  Even all the crows rejected the boastful crow and said, ‘You are too proud. Go away and don’t come back!’ They banished it to a far-off place, and thus, it was hated by both the crows and the peacocks.

  The dejected crow remembered its mistake forever more.

  THE WHITE SWAN

  Once upon a time there was a very poor man. He managed to buy a beautiful swan with very soft feathers. Amazingly, the swan laid one golden egg every day and the man was able to sell these and gain a lot of money. However, he became greedy and wanted more.

  The cruel man killed the swan thinking he would find many golden eggs inside the body. To his dismay, he found none and lost both a beautiful swan and its golden eggs.

  THE THREE SISTERS

  In far bygone days, there was a widow who had three daughters. The girls lived in a tiny house in the forest.

  A tiger was also in the forest and watched out for the girls, hoping to hunt them down.

  One day, the mother said to the girls, ‘I’ll go out to look for food. Don’t go out and don’t let anyone in.’ Then she set off.

  The tiger saw the mother leave. An hour later, the tiger went to the house and knocked on the door. One of the girls, Ma Gyi, went to the door and asked,

  ‘Who is it?’

  ‘This is me, your mother,’ replied the tiger.

  ‘May I see your eyes? Why are your eyes so red?’ enquired Ma Gyi.

  ‘I was worried about you and cried on the way home,’ answered the tiger.

  ‘May I see your hands? Why are your hands so big and dirty?’

  The tiger replied, ‘I helped with planting on a farm and so my hands became dirty.’

  The girls unwisely opened the door and then ran away and climbed a tree while the tiger chased them.

  The tiger asked, ‘How can I climb up?’

  Ma Gyi gave a tricky response, ‘Pour oil onto the tree.’

  The tiger went back to the house, brought some oil and poured it onto the tree. However, it could not climb up the tree as it w
as so slippery.

  Then Ma Gyi’s sister, Ma Nge shouted, ‘Chop the tree down with an axe.’

  The tiger got an axe and started to chop the tree down. The girls were very fearful and cried out to the Lord of the Sky to save them.

  The Lord of the Sky sent down a basket and a rope and the girls went up into the sky. The tiger made the same request and climbed into another basket going up into the sky. However, the rope was old and finally broke and the tiger fell to the ground and died.

  The girls became as fairies of the Sun, Moon and Stars.

  THE WONDERFUL COCKEREL

  A long time ago, there were two brothers; one was poor and had to live in the forest, and the other was rich and lived comfortably in town.

  One day, the poor brother found a golden feather under a tree. To his amazement when looking up he saw a cock smiling at him from the branches above.

  He took the golden feather to his wealthy brother who said, ‘It’s beautiful, but is of little value. I’ll give you a silver coin for it.’

  The trusting poor brother had never had such a precious item before and unknowingly thought that a silver coin was a good price for the feather.

  The following day, the poor brother went again to the tree and found yet another golden feather. His dishonest brother once again bought the feather for a silver coin and this continued for many days.

  One day as the poor brother stooped down to pick up the golden feather, the cock crowed and said,’ If anyone eats my heart, he will find two golden eggs every morning under his pillow.’

  The poor brother told his brother about this who said, ‘If you bring me the dead cock, I’ll give you one thousand silver coins.’

  ‘I don’t want your silver coins, but I want you to adopt my two sons so that they can enjoy a comfortable life like you,’ he replied.

  The brother promised to adopt the sons in return for the dead cock.

  Early next morning, he went to the tree and shot the cock with his bow and arrow. He took his sons and the bird to his brother. However, the boys were made to act as servants and cook the cock for dinner. In order to please their uncle, the boys obeyed, but to their surprise, the heart of the cock jumped out of the cooking pot on to the floor.

  ‘On dear, we cannot serve it to uncle as it’s dirty and we’ll have to throw it away! On the other hand, we’re so hungry, let’s share and eat it.’

  When their uncle sat down for dinner, he looked in the dish for the cock’s heart but could not find it. He became angry and banished the boys from his house with harsh blows. The boys returned home to their father in tears.

  The following day, however, magically, each found a golden egg on awakening under the pillow. Their father sold them to an honest merchant who gave them a fair price for the precious eggs. The family then became even richer than the rich brother.

  TWO OTTERS AND A FISH

  Once upon a time, an otter caught a fish but struggled to take it to shore as it was so big. It asked another otter for help and both of them killed the prey.

  However, they argued when they tried to divide up the fish as both wanted the middle part of the body. Finally, they had to ask a fox to settle their dispute.

  The fox proceeded to cut the fish into three pieces, giving the head to one otter, the tail to the other, and keeping the middle part saying it was the judge’s fee.

  We should always remember that when people quarrel, there are usually others who are eager to profit from such situations.

  MA PU KYWE AND THE SMALL SNAIL

  There was once a girl named Ma Pu Kywe who was not making progress in her class. One day, her teacher told her to study a poem by heart. She was promised a prize from the teacher if she could recite it fluently. Her classmates, of course, also wanted the prize.

  Ma Pu Kywe studied hard at home and found it diffcult to learn the poem at first. She became upset but then noticed a snail climbing up a fence with difficulty. It looked as though it would not succeed. In the end, however, it climbed up successfully and this observation encouraged the girl to try harder.

  The following day at school, Ma Pu Kywe recited the poem perfectly whereas her classmates made mistakes. As a result, she won the prize.

  From this story, we learn that we have to try hard like this student to succeed.

  THE CLEVER OX

  There was once a man who owned an ox named Nandiwitharia. He was a kind man and loved the ox as it was so hardworking.

  One day the ox recognised that the master fed it well and kept it in a good place and thought, ‘That’s why I need to be grateful to my master.’ It told the master to seek the rich man in town and tell him, ‘ My ox is very strong, it can pull a hundred carts with sand and pebbles. I bet 1,000 kyats that this is possible.’

  He placed the bet and poured a sweet-smelling fragrance over the ox. He said, ‘Dishonest ox, go and carry out your task.’

  Nandiwitharia, however, did not pull the carts because the master had called it dishonest. The ox became angry as it considered itself to be honest.

  The master asked, ‘What happened?’

  The ox replied, ‘What did I do wrong when working for you. Why did you call me dishonest? You can bet 2,000 kyats this time but speak kindly to me.’

  The master carried out his suggestion and the ox pulled the loads with ease. So the master won the money and the ox got a prize.

  Showing appreciation encourages cooperation and achievement.

  PART TWO

  MAGICAL TALES OF

  PRINCES AND PRINCESSES,

  AND

  ROYAL LIFE

  SHIN MWE LON

  and MIN NANDA

  Many years ago there lived a king in a place called Okkalapa situated on the banks of a river. He had one son called Prince Nanda whom he loved very much. This prince had a clever parrot and a crocodile.

  On the other side of the river lived a princess in a palace. Her name was Shin Mwe Lon. Her mother had passed away during her birth. The superstitious king thought

  that the princess brought bad luck and therefore, would not let her near his palace.

  One day, the prince heard about the princess from his parrot and fell in love with her as he got to know more about her. The two young people began to exchange messages using the parrot who could fly to each of them and repeat their words.

  Each night, the prince visited the princess by riding on the back of his crocodile, Nga Moe Yake. The prince could not visit during the daytime as the king’s astrologer had warned that the prince would die in the water; the king did not allow his son to go near water.

  The crocodile had a rival called Ma Latt To. One day, the two crocodiles had a fight while the prince was returning from the princess’ palace. At that time, Nga Moe Yake was very worried about its master, so he told him to hide in its mouth. However, being very weary after the fight, it forgot about its master. By the time it remembered, the prince was very poorly and soon passed away. When the princess learned of the news, she died of a broken heart.

  Soon afterwards, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky as the mist from each side of the river met representing the two young people.

  From this story we learn that we should not be superstitious. If the king had not prevented his son from going near water, his son would have lived a longer and happier life.

  A GREEDY KING

  Once upon a time, there was a king who had a beautiful daughter whom he dearly loved. This king could be kind but was also very greedy.

  One day while on an outing he came across a young person who was hungry and lost. He offered food and clothes, and then returned to his palace.

  At night, while sitting by the window, an old man appeared and said, ‘Dear king, you are so kind. Do you recall helping someone with food and clothes? This was my grandchild. In return I will give you the chance to wish for anything you’d like.’

  The king replied, ‘If I touch anything with my hand, it will become gold.’

  ‘Well,’ said
the old man, ‘may your wish be granted.’ Then the old man went away.

  The next morning, while walking in the garden, the king touched some leaves and branches and suddenly they turned into gold. When hungry, he picked up an apple and this too became gold. As his daughter approached him, he greeted her and held her and she immediately turned into a gold statuette.

  As the king was crying, the old man reappeared and asked, ‘Now what do you wish for most?’

  ‘I want my dearest daughter back, nothing else,’ replied the king.

  The old man smiled and said, ‘Now you can control your greedy mind.’

  He removed the first wish and when the king touched his daughter again, she became human once more. They then lived happily ever after.

  A TRADITIONAL PHYSICIAN CALLED JIVAKA

  There was once a woman named Thalavati who was very beautiful. She had a son and a daughter out of wedlock.

  When her son was born, she put him in a bamboo basket and abandoned him. Fortunately, on that day Prince Abaya was on his way to see his father, King Bimbisara. He noticed some crows hovering and when the servants went to investigate, they found the baby. The prince decided to adopt the baby and named him Jivaka (meaning that the baby was found alive).

  When Jivaka was older, he decided to learn a special skill as he was amongst those of royal lineage. He chose to study medicine.

  Without seeking permission, Jivaka secretly attended university and gained great knowledge from a very learned professor. In order to deepen his knowledge, the professor instructed him to get a hoe and to find a tree or plant with no medicinal properties within 12 miles of the city. Jivaka searched high and low but could not find even one.

  Jivaka returned to the professor and told him he could not find any such plant.

  ‘You already know about medicine extremely well and can make it your profession for life, Jivaka,’ he replied.

  After paying his respects and expressing gratitude to his professor, while homeward bound, he cured some sick people who could not be made well by anyone else. Jivaka became famous and was known as the Royal Physician Jivaka.