The Story of Foolish Sachuli

There once lived a poor old widow woman named Hungni, who had a little
idiot son called Sachuli. She used to beg every day. One day when the
son had grown up, he said to his mother. "What makes women laugh?" "If
you throw a tiny stone at them," answered she, "they will laugh." So
one day Sachuli went and sat by a well, and three women came to it to
fill their water-jars. "Now," said Sachuli "I will make one of these
women laugh." Two of the women filled their water-jars and went away
home, and he threw no stones at them; but as the last, who also had on
the most jewels, passed him, he threw a great big stone at her, and
she fell down dead, with her mouth set as if she were smiling. "Oh,
look! look! how she is laughing!" said Sachuli, and he ran off to call
his mother.

"Come, come, mother," said he, "and see how I have made this woman
laugh."

His mother came, and when she saw the woman lying dead, she was much
frightened, for the dead woman belonged to a great and very rich
family, and she wore jewels worth a thousand rupees. Hungni took off
all her jewels, and threw her body into the well.

After some days the dead woman's father and mother and all her people
sent round a crier with a drum to try and find her. "Whoever brings
back a young woman who wears a great many gold necklaces and bracelets
and rings shall get a great deal of money," cried the crier. Sachuli
heard him. "I know where she is," said he. "My mother took off all her
jewels, and threw her into the well."

The crier said, "Can you go down into the well and bring her up?"

"If you will tie a rope round my waist and let me down the well, I
shall be able to bring her up."

So they set off towards the well, which was near Hungni's house; and
when she saw them coming, she guessed what they came for, and she ran
out and killed a sheep, threw it into the well, and took out the dead
woman and hid her.

The crier got some men to come with him, and they let Sachuli down the
well. "Has she got eyes?" said Sachuli. "Of course, every one has
eyes," answered the men. "Has she a nose?" asked Sachuli. "Yes, she
has a nose," said the men. "Has she got a mouth?" asked Sachuli.
"Yes," said the men. "Has she a long face?"

"What does he mean?" said the men, who were getting cross. "No one has
a long face; perhaps she has, though. Yes, she has a long face," cried
the men.

"Has she a tail?"

"A tail! Why no one has a tail. Perhaps, though, she has long hair. No
doubt that is what he calls a tail. Yes, she has a tail."

"Has she ears?"

"Of course, every one has ears."

"Has she four feet?"

"Four feet!" said the men. "Why, no one has four feet. Perhaps you
call her hands feet. Yes, she has four feet. Bring her up quickly."

Then Sachuli brought up the sheep.

The men were very angry when they saw the sheep, and they beat
Sachuli, and called him a very stupid fellow and a great liar, and
they went away feeling very cross.

Sachuli went home to his mother, who, as soon as she saw him coming,
ran out and put the woman's body back in the well, and when he got
home she beat him. "Mother," said he, "give me some bread, and I will
go away and die." His mother cooked him some bread, and he went away.

He walked on, and on, and on, a long way.

Now, some Raja's ten camels had been travelling along the road on
which Sachuli went, each carrying sacks of gold mohurs and rupees, and
one of these camels broke loose from the string and strayed away, and
the camel-drivers could not find it again. But Sachuli met it, and
caught it and took it home.

"See, mother! see what a quantity of money I have brought you!" cried
Sachuli. Hungni rushed out, and was delighted to see so much money.
She took off the sacks at once and sent the camel away. Then she hid
the rupees and the gold with the jewels she had taken from the dead
woman. And, as she was a cunning woman, she went and bought a great
many comfits and scattered them all about her house, when Sachuli was
out of the way. "Oh, look! look!" cried Sachuli, "at all these
comfits." "God has rained them from heaven," said his mother. Sachuli
began to pick them up and eat them, and he told all the people in the
village how God had rained down comfits from heaven on his mother's
house. "What nonsense!" cried they. "Yes, he has," said Sachuli, "and
I have been eating them." "No comfits have fallen on our houses," said
they. "Yes, yes," cried he, "the day my mother got all those rupees,
God rained comfits on our house." "What lies!" cried the people; "as
if it ever rained comfits. Why did not the comfits rain down on our
houses? Why did they fall only on your house? And what's all this
about rupees?" And then they came to see if there were any rupees or
comfits in Hungni's house, and they found none at all, for Hungni had
hidden the rupees and thrown away the comfits. "There," said they to
Sachuli, "where are your rupees? where are your comfits? What a liar
you are! as if it ever rained comfits. How can you tell such stories?"
And they beat him. "But it did rain comfits," said Sachuli, "for I ate
them. It rained comfits the day my mother got the rupees."

Now the Raja who had lost his camel sent round the crier with his drum
to find his camel and his money-bags. "Whoever has found a camel
carrying money-bags and brings it and the money back to the Raja, will
get a great many rupees," cried the crier. "Oh!" says Sachuli, "I know
where the money is. One day I went out and I found a stray camel, and
he had sacks of rupees on his back, and I took him home to my mother,
and she took the sacks off his back and sent the camel away." So the
crier went to find the rupees, and the people in the bazar went with
him. But Hungni had hidden the rupees so carefully that, though they
hunted all over her house, they could find none, and they beat
Sachuli, and told him he was a liar. "I am not telling lies," said
Sachuli. "My mother took the rupees the day it rained comfits on our
house." So they beat him again, and they went away. Then Hungni beat
Sachuli, and said, "What a bad boy you are! trying to get me beaten
and put into prison, telling every one about the rupees. Go away; I
don't want you any more, such a bad boy as you are! go away and die."
He said, "Very well, mother; give me some bread, and I'll go."

Sachuli set off and took an axe with him. "How shall I kill myself?"
said he. So he climbed up a tree and sat out on a long branch, and
began cutting off the branch between himself and the tree on which he
was sitting. "What are you doing up there?" said a man who came by.
"You'll die if you cut that branch off." "What do you say?" cries
Sachuli, jumping down on the man, and seizing his hand. "When shall I
die?" "How can I tell? Let me go." "I won't let you go till you tell
me when I shall die." And at last the man said, "When you find a
scarlet thread on your jacket, then you will die."

Sachuli went off to the bazar, and sat down by some tailors, and one
of the tailors, in throwing away their shreds of cloth, threw a
scarlet thread on Sachuli's coat. "Oh," said Sachuli, when he saw the
thread, "now I shall die!" "How do you know that?" said the tailors.
"A man told me that when I found a scarlet thread on my jacket, I
should die," said Sachuli; and the tailors all laughed at him and made
fun of him, but he went off into the jungle and dug his grave with his
axe, and lay down in it. In the night a sepoy came by with a large jar
of ghee on his head. "How heavy this jar is," said the sepoy. "Is
there no cooly that will come and carry my ghee home for me? I would
give him four pice for his trouble." Up jumped Sachuli out of his
grave. "I'll carry it for you," said he. "Who are you?" said the
sepoy, much frightened. "Oh, I am a man who is dead," said Sachuli,
"and I am tired of lying here. I can't lie here any more." "Well,"
said the sepoy, very much frightened, "you may carry my ghee." So
Sachuli put the jar on his head, and he went on, with the sepoy
following. "Now," said Sachuli, "with these four pice I will buy a
hen, and I will sell the hen and her eggs, and with the money I get
for them I will buy a goat; and then I will sell the goat and her milk
and her hide and buy a cow, and I will sell her milk; and then I will
marry a wife, and then I shall have some children, and they will say
to me, 'Father, will you have some rice?' and I will say, 'No, I won't
have any rice.'" And as he said, "No, I won't have any rice," he shook
his head, and down came the jar of ghee, and the jar was smashed, and
the ghee spilled. "Oh, dear! what have you done?" cried the sepoy.
"Why did you shake your head?" "Because my children asked me to have
some rice, and I did not want any, so I shook my head," said Sachuli.
"Oh," said the sepoy, "he is an utter idiot." And the sepoy went home,
and Sachuli went back to his mother. "Why have you come back?" said
she. "I have been dead twelve years," said Sachuli. "What lies you
tell!" said she. "You have only been away a few days. Be off! I don't
want any liars here."

Sachuli asked her to give him two flour-cakes, which she did, and he
went off to the jungle, and it was night. Five fairies lived in this
jungle, and as Sachuli went along, he broke his flour-cakes into five
pieces, and said, "Now I'll eat one, then the second, then the third,
then the fourth, and then the fifth." And the fairies heard him and
were afraid, and said to each other, "What shall we do? Here is this
man, and he is going to eat us all up. What shall we do to save
ourselves? We will give him something." So they went out all five, and
said to Sachuli, "If only you won't eat us, we will give you a
present." Now Sachuli did not know there were fairies in this jungle.
"What will you give me?" said Sachuli. "We will give you a
cooking-pot. When you want anything to eat, all you have to do is to
ask the pot for it, and you will get it." Sachuli took the pot and
went off to the bazar. He stopped at a cook-shop, and asked for some
pilau. "Pilau? There's no pilau here," said the shopman. "Well," said
Sachuli, "I have a cooking-pot here, and I have only to ask it for any
dish I want, and I get it at once." "What nonsense!" said the man.
"Just see," said Sachuli; and he said to the cooking-pot, "I want some
pilau," and immediately the pot was full of pilau, and all the people
in the shop set to work to help him to eat it up, it was so good.
"Oh," thought the cook, "I must have that pot," so he gave Sachuli a
sleepy drink. Then Sachuli went to sleep, and while he slept the cook
stole the fairy cooking-pot, and put a common cooking-pot in its
place. Sachuli went home with the cook's pot, and said, "Mother, I
have brought home a cooking-pot. If you ask it for any food you want,
you will get it." "Nonsense," said Hungni; "what lies you are
telling!" "It is quite true, mother; only see," and he asked the pot
for different dishes, but none came. Hungni was furious. "Go away,"
she said. "Why do you come back to me? I want no liars here." "Give me
five flour-cakes and I will go," said her son. So she baked the bread
for him, and he set off for the jungle where he had met the five
fairies, and as he went along he said, "I will eat one, and I will eat
two, and I will eat three, and I will eat four, and I will eat five."
The five fairies heard him, and were terrified. "Here is this bad man
again," said they, "and he will eat us all five. Oh, what shall we do?
Let us give him a present." So they went to Sachuli, and said, "Here
is a box for you. Whenever you want any clothes you have only to tell
this box, and it will give them to you; take it, and don't eat us." So
he took the box and went to the bazar, and he stopped at the cook-shop
again, and asked the cook for a red silk dress, and a pair of long
black silk trousers, and a blue silk turban, and a pair of red shoes,
and the cook laughed and asked how he should have such beautiful
things. "Well," said Sachuli, "here is a box; when I ask it for the
dress and trousers, and turban and shoes, I shall get them." So the
cook laughed at him. "Just see," said Sachuli, and he said, "Box, give
me a red silk dress and a pair of long black silk trousers, and a blue
silk turban, and red shoes," and there they were at once. And the cook
was delighted, and said to himself, "I will have that box," and he
gave Sachuli a good dinner and a sleepy drink, and Sachuli fell fast
asleep. While he slept the cook came and stole the fairy box, and put
a common box in its place. In the morning Sachuli went home to his
mother and said, "Mother, I've brought you a box. You have only to ask
it for any clothes you may want, and you will get them." "Nonsense,"
said his mother, "don't tell me such lies." "Only see, mother; I am
telling you truth," said he. He asked the box for coats and all sorts
of things--no; he got nothing. His mother was very angry, and said,
"You liar! you naughty boy! Go away and don't come back any more." And
she broke the box to pieces, and threw the bits away. "Well, mother,
bake me some flour-cakes." So she baked him the cakes and gave them to
him, and sent him away. He went off to the fairies' jungle, and as he
went he said, "Now I'll eat one, then two, then three, then four, then
five." The five fairies were very frightened. "Here is this man come
back to eat us all five. Let us give him a present." So they went to
him and gave him a rope and stick, and said, "Only say to this rope,
'Bind that man,' and he will be tied up at once; and to this stick,
'Beat that man,' and the stick will beat him." Sachuli was very glad
to get these things, for he guessed what had happened to his
cooking-pot and box. So he went to the bazar, and at the cook-shop he
said, "Rope, bind all these men that are here!" and the cook and every
one in the shop were tied up instantly. Then Sachuli said, "Stick,
beat these men!" and the stick began to beat them. "Oh, stop, stop
beating us, and untie, and I'll give you your pot and your box!" cried
the cook. "No, I won't stop beating you, and I won't untie you till I
have my pot and my box." And the cook gave them both to him, and he
untied the rope. Then Sachuli went home, and when his mother saw him,
she was very angry, but he showed her the box and the cooking-pot, and
she saw he had told her the truth. So she sent for the doctor, and he
declared Sachuli was wise and not silly, and he and Hungni found a
wife for Sachuli, and made a grand wedding for him, and they lived
happily ever after.