‘Here, Moti, are fifty silver pieces which are the savings2 of years; take them and go and make your living or your fortune if you can.’
Then Moti started off one early spring morning with his thick staff over his shoulder, singing gaily3 to himself as he walked along.
In one way and another he got along very well until a hot evening when he came to a certain city where he entered the travellers’ ‘serai’ or inn to pass the night. Now a serai, you must know, is generally just a large square enclosed by a high wall with an open colonnade4 along the inside all round to accommodate both men and beasts, and with perhaps a few rooms in towers at the corners for those who are too rich or too proud to care about sleeping by their own camels and horses. Moti, of course, was a country lad and had lived with cattle all his life, and he wasn’t rich and he wasn’t proud, so he just borrowed a bed from the innkeeper, set it down beside an old buffalo5 who reminded him of home, and in five minutes was fast asleep.
In the middle of the night he woke, feeling that he had been disturbed, and putting his hand under his pillow found to his horror that his bag of money had been stolen. He jumped up quietly and began to prowl around to see whether anyone seemed to be awake, but, though he managed to arouse a few men and beasts by falling over them, he walked in the shadow of the archways round the whole serai without coming across a likely thief. He was just about to give it up when he overheard two men whispering, and one laughed softly, and peering behind a pillar, he saw two Afghan horsedealers counting out his bag of money! Then Moti went back to bed!
In the morning Moti followed the two Afghans outside the city to the horsemarket in which they horses were offered for sale. Choosing the best-looking horse amongst them he went up to it and said:
‘Is this horse for sale? may I try it?’ and, the merchants assenting6, he scrambled7 up on its back, dug in his heels, and off they flew. Now Moti had never been on a horse in his life, and had so much ado to hold on with both hands as well as with both legs that the animal went just where it liked, and very soon broke into a break-neck gallop8 and made straight back to the serai where it had spent the last few nights.
‘This will do very well,’ thought Moti as they whirled in at the entrance. As soon as the horse had arrived at its table it stopped of its own accord and Moti immediately rolled off; but he jumped up at once, tied the beast up, and called for some breakfast. Presently the Afghans appeared, out of breath and furious, and claimed the horse.
‘What do you mean?’ cried Moti, with his mouth full of rice, ‘it’s my horse; I paid you fifty pieces of silver for it—quite a bargain, I’m sure!’
‘Leave off,’ shouted Moti, seizing his staff; ‘if you don’t let my horse alone I’ll crack your skulls11! you thieves! I know you! Last night you took my money, so to-day I took your horse; that’s fair enough!’
Now the Afghans began to look a little uncomfortable, but Moti seemed so determined12 to keep the horse that they resolved to appeal to the law, so they went off and laid a complaint before the king that Moti had stolen one of their horses and would not give it up nor pay for it.
Presently a soldier came to summon Moti to the king; and, when he arrived and made his obeisance13, the king began to question him as to why he had galloped14 off with the horse in this fashion. But Moti declared that he had got the animal in exchange for fifty pieces of silver, whilst the horse merchants vowed15 that the money they had on them was what they had received for the sale of other horses; and in one way and another the dispute got so confusing that the king (who really thought that Moti had stolen the horse) said at last, ‘Well, I tell you what I will do. I will lock something into this box before me, and if he guesses what it is, the horse is his, and if he doesn’t then it is yours.’
To this Moti agreed, and the king arose and went out alone by a little door at the back of the Court, and presently came back clasping something closely wrapped up in a cloth under his robe, slipped it into the little box, locked the box, and set it up where all might see.
‘Now,’ said the king to Moti, ‘guess!’
It happened that when the king had opened the door behind him, Moti noticed that there was a garden outside: without waiting for the king’s return he began to think what could be got out of the garden small enough to be shut in the box. ‘Is it likely to be a fruit or a flower? No, not a flower this time, for he clasped it too tight. Then it must be a fruit or a stone. Yet not a stone, because he wouldn’t wrap a dirty stone in his nice clean cloth. Then it is a fruit! And a fruit without much scent16, or else he would be afraid that I might smell it. Now what fruit without much scent is in season just now? When I know that I shall have guessed the riddle17!’
As has been said before, Moti was a country lad, and was accustomed to work in his father’s garden. He knew all the common fruits, so he thought he ought to be able to guess right; but so as not to let it seem too easy, he gazed up at the ceiling with a puzzled expression, and looked down at the floor with an air or wisdom and his fingers pressed against his forehead, and then he said, slowly, with his eyes on the king,—
‘It is freshly plucked! It is round and it is red! It is a pomegranate!’
Now the king knew nothing about fruits except that they were good to eat; and, as for seasons, he asked for whatever fruit he wanted whenever he wanted it, and saw that he got it; so to him Moti’s guess was like a miracle, and clear proof not only of his wisdom but of his innocence18, for it was a pomegranate that he had put into the box. Of course when the king marvelled19 and praised Moti’s wisdom, everybody else did so too; and, whilst the Afghans went off crestfallen20, Moti took the horse and entered the king’s service.
Very soon after this, Moti, who continued to live in the serai, came back one wet and stormy evening to find that his precious horse had strayed. Nothing remained of him but a broken halter cord, and no one knew what had become of him. After inquiring of everyone who was likely to know, Moti seized the cord and his big staff and sallied out to look for him. Away and away he tramped out of the city and into the neighbouring forest, tracking hoof-marks in the mud. Presently it grew late, but still Moti wandered on until suddenly in the gathering21 darkness he came right upon a tiger who was contentedly22 eating his horse.
‘You thief!’ shrieked23 Moti, and ran up and, just as the tiger, in astonishment24, dropped a bone—whack! came Moti’s staff on his head with such good will that the beast was half stunned25 and could hardly breathe or see. Then Moti continued to shower upon him blows and abuse until the poor tiger could hardly stand, whereupon his tormentor26 tied the end of the broken halter round his neck and dragged him back to the serai.
‘If you had my horse,’ he said, ‘I will at least have you, that’s fair enough!’ And he tied him up securely by the head and heels, much as he used to tie the horse; then, the night being far gone, he flung himself beside him and slept soundly.
You cannot imagine anything like the fright of the people in the serai, when they woke up and found a tiger—very battered28 but still a tiger—securely tethered amongst themselves and their beasts! Men gathered in groups talking and exclaiming, and finding fault with the innkeeper for allowing such a dangerous beast into the serai, and all the while the innkeeper was just as troubled as the rest, and none dared go near the place where the tiger stood blinking miserably29 on everyone, and where Moti lay stretched out snoring like thunder.
At last news reached the king that Moti had exchanged his horse for a live tiger; and the monarch30 himself came down, half disbelieving the tale, to see if it were really true. Someone at last awaked Moti with the news that his royal master was come; and he arose yawning, and was soon delightedly explaining and showing off his new possession. The king, however, did not share his pleasure at all, but called up a soldier to shoot the tiger, much to the relief of all the inmates31 of the serai except Moti. If the king, however, was before convinced that Moti was one of the wisest of men, he was now still more convinced that he was the bravest, and he increased his pay a hundredfold, so that our hero thought that he was the luckiest of men.
A week or two after this incident the king sent for Moti, who on arrival found his master in despair. A neighbouring monarch, he explained, who had many more soldiers than he, had declared war against him, and he was at his wits’ end, for he had neither money to buy him off nor soldiers enough to fight him—what was he to do?
‘If that is all, don’t you trouble,’ said Moti. ‘Turn out your men, and I’ll go with them, and we’ll soon bring this robber to reason.’
The king began to revive at these hopeful words, and took Moti off to his stable where he bade him choose for himself any horse he liked. There were plenty of fine horses in the stalls, but to the king’s astonishment Moti chose a poor little rat of a pony32 that was used to carry grass and water for the rest of the stable.
‘But why do you choose that beast?’ said the king.
‘Well, you see, your majesty,’ replied Moti, ‘there are so many chances that I may fall off, and if I choose one of your fine big horses I shall have so far to fall that I shall probably break my leg or my arm, if not my neck, but if I fall off this little beast I can’t hurt myself much.’
A very comical sight was Moti when he rode out to the war. The only weapon he carried was his staff, and to help him to keep his balance on horseback he had tied to each of his ankles a big stone that nearly touched the ground as he sat astride the little pony. The rest of the king’s cavalry33 were not very numerous, but they pranced34 along in armour35 on fine horses. Behind them came a great rabble36 of men on foot armed with all sorts of weapons, and last of all was the king with his attendants, very nervous and ill at ease. So the army started.
They had not very far to go, but Moti’s little pony, weighted with a heavy man and two big rocks, soon began to lag behind the cavalry, and would have lagged behind the infantry37 too, only they were not very anxious to be too early in the fight, and hung back so as to give Moti plenty of time. The young man jogged along more and more slowly for some time, until at last, getting impatient at the slowness of the pony, he gave him such a tremendous thwack with his staff that the pony completely lost his temper and bolted. First one stone became untied38 and rolled away in a cloud of dust to one side of the road, whilst Moti nearly rolled off too, but clasped his steed valiantly39 by its ragged27 mane, and, dropping his staff, held on for dear life. Then, fortunately the other rock broke away from his other leg and rolled thunderously down a neighbouring ravine. Meanwhile the advanced cavalry had barely time to draw to one side when Moti came dashing by, yelling bloodthirsty threats to his pony:
‘You wait till I get hold of you! I’ll skin you alive! I’ll wring40 your neck! I’ll break every bone in your body!’ The cavalry thought that this dreadful language was meant for the enemy, and were filled with admiration41 of his courage. Many of their horses too were quite upset by this whirlwind that galloped howling through their midst, and in a few minutes, after a little plunging42 and rearing and kicking, the whole troop were following on Moti’s heels.
Far in advance, Moti continued his wild career. Presently in his course he came to a great field of castor-oil plants, ten or twelve feet high, big and bushy, but quite green and soft. Hoping to escape from the back of his fiery43 steed Moti grasped one in passing, but its roots gave way, and he dashed on, with the whole plant looking like a young tree flourishing in his grip.
The enemy were in battle array, advancing over the plain, their king with them confident and cheerful, when suddenly from the front came a desperate rider at a furious gallop.
‘Sire!’ he cried, ‘save yourself! the enemy are coming!’
‘What do you mean?’ said the king.
‘Oh, sire!’ panted the messenger, ‘fly at once, there is no time to lose. Foremost of the enemy rides a mad giant at a furious gallop. He flourishes a tree for a club and is wild with anger, for as he goes he cries, “You wait till I get hold of you! I’ll skin you alive! I’ll wring your neck! I’ll break every bone in your body!” Others ride behind, and you will do well to retire before this whirlwind of destruction comes upon you.’
Just then out of a cloud of dust in the distance the king saw Moti approaching at a hard gallop, looking indeed like a giant compared with the little beast he rode, whirling his castor-oil plant, which in the distance might have been an oak tree, and the sound of his revilings and shoutings came down upon the breeze! Behind him the dust cloud moved to the sound of the thunder of hoofs44, whilst here and there flashed the glitter of steel. The sight and the sound struck terror into the king, and, turning his horse, he fled at top speed, thinking that a regiment45 of yelling giants was upon him; and all his force followed him as fast as they might go. One fat officer alone could not keep up on foot with that mad rush, and as Moti came galloping46 up he flung himself on the ground in abject47 fear. This was too much for Moti’s excited pony, who shied so suddenly that Moti went flying over his head like a sky rocket, and alighted right on the top of his fat foe48.
‘Where are your men? Bring them up and I’ll kill them. My regiments50! Come on, the whole lot of you! Where’s your king? Bring him to me. Here are all my fine fellows coming up and we’ll each pull up a tree by the roots and lay you all flat and your houses and towns and everything else! Come on!’
But the poor fat officer could do nothing but squat51 on his knees with his hands together, gasping52. At last, when he got his breath, Moti sent him off to bring his king, and to tell him that if he was reasonable his life should be spared. Off the poor man went, and by the time the troops of Moti’s side had come up and arranged themselves to look as formidable as possible, he returned with his king. The latter was very humble53 and apologetic, and promised never to make war any more, to pay a large sum of money, and altogether do whatever his conqueror54 wished.
So the armies on both sides went rejoicing home, and this was really the making of the fortune of clumsy Moti, who lived long and contrived55 always to be looked up to as a fountain of wisdom, valour, and discretion56 by all except his relations, who could never understand what he had done to be considered so much wiser than anyone else.
A Pushto Story.
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1
curds
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| n.凝乳( curd的名词复数 ) | |
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savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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colonnade
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| n.柱廊 | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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assenting
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| 同意，赞成( assent的现在分词 ) | |
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7
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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8
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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12
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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obeisance
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| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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15
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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17
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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18
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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19
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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tormentor
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| n. 使苦痛之人, 使苦恼之物, 侧幕 =tormenter | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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30
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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31
inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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32
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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pranced
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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38
untied
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| 松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决 | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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40
wring
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| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
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41
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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42
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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43
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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44
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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46
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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47
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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48
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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49
regaining
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| 复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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50
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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51
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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52
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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53
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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54
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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55
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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56
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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