Latest / Sandman Stories Presents / EP 290: Bengal- Strike, But Hear (Day)

Transcript

EP 290: Bengal- Strike, But Hear (Day) · Sandman Stories Presents

• 0:25
  Welcome back listeners to Sandman's Stories Presents, a
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  folklore podcast where I read you to sleep or until the next
• 0:30
  story. I'm your host Dustin, and if you
• 0:33
  want more Sandman, I have extra stories that are too spicy for
• 0:36
  my main feed, available on my Patreon.
• 0:39
  You can even join at the free tier and get everything.
• 0:43
  Today we are back in the book of Bengal folklore written down by
• 0:45
  Lalbahari Day. In this story, a son licks
• 0:49
  something off his stepmom, but I assure you that it isn't Sandman
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  after Dark. OK, let's begin.
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  Strike. But here, Once Upon a time,
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  there reigned a king who had three sons.
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  One day his subjects came to him and said, O incarnation of
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  justice, the Kingdom is infested with thieves and robbers.
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  Our property is not safe. We pray your Majesty to catch
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  hold of these thieves and punish them.
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  The king said to his sons. Oh my sons, I am old, but you
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  are all in the prime of manhood. How is it that my Kingdom is
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  full of thieves? I look to you to catch hold of
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  these thieves. The three Princess made-up their
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  mind to patrol the city every night.
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  With this view, they set up a station in the outskirts of the
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  city, where they kept their horses.
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  In an early part of the night, the oldest Prince rode upon his
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  horse, went through the whole city, but he did not see a
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  single thief. He came back to the station
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  about midnight. The second Prince got upon his
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  horse and rode through every part of the city, but he did not
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  see nor hear of a single thief. He also came back to the station
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  some hours after midnight. The youngest Prince went on the
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  rounds and when he came near the gate of the palace where his
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  father lived, he saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace.
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  The Prince accosted the woman and asked who she was and where
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  she was going at that hour of the night.
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  The woman answered. I am Rajlakshmi, the guardian
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  deity of this palace. The king will be killed tonight.
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  I'm therefore not needed here. I'm going away.
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  The Prince did not know what to make of this message.
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  After a moment's reflection, he said to the goddess.
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  But suppose the king is not killed tonight, then do you have
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  any objection to coming back to the palace and staying there?
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  I have no objection, replied the goddess.
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  The Prince begged the goddess to go in, promising to do his best
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  to prevent the king from being killed.
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  Then the goddess entered the palace again and in a moment
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  disappeared from the prince's sight.
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  The Prince went straight into the bedroom of his royal father.
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  They he lay immersed in deep sleep.
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  His 2nd and youngest wife, the stepmother of our Prince, was
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  sleeping in another bed. In the room a light was burning
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  dimly. What was his surprise when the
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  Prince saw a huge cobra going round and round the golden
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  bedstead on which his father was sleeping.
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  The Prince took his sword and cut the serpent in two.
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  Not satisfied with killing the cobra, he cut it up into 100
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  pieces and put them inside the pan dish which was inside the
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  room. While the Prince was cutting up
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  the serpent, a drop of blood fell on the breast of his
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  stepmother who was sleeping hard by.
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  The Prince was in great distress.
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  He said to himself, I have saved my father but killed my mother.
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  How was the drop of blood to be taken out of his mother's
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  breast? He wrapped a piece of cloth
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  around his tongue 7 times and with it licked up the drop of
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  blood. But while he was in the act of
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  doing this, his stepmother woke up and opening her eyes, saw
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  that it was her stepson, the youngest Prince.
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  The young Prince rushed out of the room.
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  The queen, intending to ruin the youngest Prince who she hated,
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  called out to her husband. My Lord, my Lord, are you awake?
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  Are you awake? Wake yourself up.
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  Here is a nice piece of business.
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  The king on waking inquired what the matter was.
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  The matter, my Lord. Your worthy son, the youngest
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  Prince of whom you speak so highly, was just here.
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  I caught him in the act of touching my breast.
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  Doubtless he came here with wicked intent.
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  And this is your worthy son. The king was horror struck.
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  The Prince went to the station with his brothers, but told them
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  nothing. Early in the morning the king
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  called his eldest son to him and said, If a man to whom I am
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  entrusted my honour in my life proves faithless, how should he
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  be punished? The eldest Prince replied,
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  Doubtless such a man's head should be cut off, but before
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  you kill, you should see whether the man is really faithless.
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  What do you mean? Inquired the King.
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  Let your Majesty be pleased to listen, Answered the Prince, and
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  the eldest Prince began to tell a story.
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  Once Upon a time there lived a Goldsmith who had a grown up
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  son, and this son had a wife who had the rare faculty of
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  understanding the language of beasts.
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  But neither her husband nor anyone else knew that she had
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  this uncommon gift. One night she was laying in bed
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  beside her husband in this house which was close to a river, when
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  she heard a Jackal howl Out there goes a carcass floating on
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  the river. Is there anyone who will take
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  off the diamond ring of the finger of the dead man and give
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  me the corpse to eat? The woman understood the
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  jackal's language, got up from the bed and went to the
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  Riverside. The husband, who was not asleep,
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  fouled his wife at some distance so as not to be observed by her.
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  The woman went into the water, tugged the floating corpse
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  towards the shore, and saw the diamond ring on the finger.
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  Unable to loosen it with her hand, as the fingers of the dead
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  body had swelled, she bit it off with her teeth and put the dead
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  body upon the land. She then went to her bed, where
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  she had been preceded by her husband.
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  The young Goldsmith lay beside his wife, almost petrified with
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  fear, for he concluded after what he had saw, that his wife
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  was not human, but a Rakshasi. He spent the rest of the night
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  tossing in his bed, and in the early morning he spoke to his
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  father in the following manner. Father, the woman who you have
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  given to Mary is not a real woman, but a rock chassis.
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  Last night, as I was laying in bed with her, I heard outside
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  the house towards the Riverside, a Jackal set up with a fearful
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  howl. On hearing this, thinking that I
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  was asleep, she got up from the bed, opened the door, and went
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  out to the Riverside. I was surprised to see her go
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  out alone at the dead of night. I suspected evil and followed
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  her, but so that she could not see me.
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  What do you think she did? Oh, horror of horrors, she went
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  into the stream, dragged towards the shore of the dead body of a
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  man which was floating by, and began to eat it.
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  I saw this with my own eyes. I then returned home while she
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  was feasting upon the carcass and jumped into bed.
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  In a few minutes she also returned, bolted the door and
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  lay beside me. Oh father, how can I live with a
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  Rakshasi? She will certainly kill me and
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  eat me up one night. The old Goldsmith was not a
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  little shocked to hear this account.
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  Both father and son agreed that the woman should be taken to the
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  forest and left there to be devoured by wild beasts.
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  Accordingly, the young Goldsmith spoke to his wife.
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  Thus, my dear love, you had better not cook much this
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  morning. Only boil rice and berna
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  brinjal, for I must take you today to see your father and
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  mother, who are dying to see you.
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  At the mention of her father's house, she became full of joy
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  and finished the cooking. In no time the husband and wife
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  snatched a hasty breakfast and started on their journey.
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  The way lay through a dense jungle, in which the Goldsmith
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  thought to himself of leaving his wife alone to be eaten up by
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  the wild beasts. But while they were passing
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  through the jungle, the woman heard a serpent hiss, the
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  meaning of which was understood by her was as follows.
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  Oh passerby, how thankful I should be to you if you catch
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  hold of that croaking frog in Yonder hole which is full of
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  gold and precious stones. Give me the frog to swallow, and
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  you take the gold and precious stones.
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  The woman forthwith made for the frog and began digging the hole
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  with a stick. The young Goldsmith was now
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  quaking with fear, thinking his Rakshasi wife was about to kill
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  him. She called out to him and said,
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  Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold and these
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  precious stones. The Goldsmith, not knowing what
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  to make of it, timidly went to the place, and to his infinite
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  surprise he saw gold and precious stones.
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  They took up as much as they could.
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  The husband asked his wife how she came to know of the
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  existence of all these riches, and she said that she understood
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  the language of animals, and that the snake coiled hard and
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  had informed her of it. The Goldsmith, on finding out
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  what an accomplished wife he was blessed with, said to her, My
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  love, it is getting very late today.
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  It would be impossible to reach your father's house before
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  nightfall, and we may be devoured by wild beasts in the
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  jungle. I propose, therefore, that we
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  both return home. It took them a long time to
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  reach home, for they were laden with large quantity of gold and
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  precious stones. On coming near the house, the
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  Goldsmith said to his wife, My dear, you go by the back door.
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  Well, I go by the front door to see my father in his shop and
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  show him all this gold and precious stones.
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  So she entered the house by the back door, and the moment she
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  entered she was met by the old Goldsmith, who had come that
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  minute into the house for some purpose with a hammer in his
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  hand. The old Goldsmith, when he saw
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  his Rakshasi daughter-in-law, concluded in his mind that she
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  had killed and swallowed up his son.
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  He therefore struck her on the head with a hammer, and she
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  immediately died. That moment the son came into
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  the house, but it was too late. Hence it is that I told your
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  Majesty that before you cut off a man's head, you really should
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  inquire whether the man is really guilty.
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  The king then called in his second son, and said to him, If
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  a man whom I'm entrusted with my honor and my life proves
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  faithless, how should he be punished?
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  The second Prince replied. Doubtless such a man's head
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  should be cut off, but before you kill you should see whether
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  the man is really faithless. What do you mean?
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  Inquired the King. Let your Majesty be pleased to
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  listen, answered the Prince, and he told this story.
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  Once Upon a time there reigned a king who was very fond of going
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  out hunting. Once, while he was out hunting,
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  his horse took him to a dense forest far from his followers.
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  He rode on and on, and did not see either villages nor towns.
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  He became very thirsty, but he could see no pond, lake, or
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  stream. At last he found something
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  dripping from the top of the tree, concluding it to be
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  rainwater which had rested in some cavity of the tree.
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  He stood on horseback under the tree and caught the dripping
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  contents in a small cup. It was, however, no rainwater.
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  A huge cobra which was at the top of the tree, was dashing its
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  fangs against the tree in a rage, and its poison was coming
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  out and falling in drops. The king, however, thought it
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  was rainwater, though his horse knew better.
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  When the cup was nearly filled with the liquid Snake poison,
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  the king was about to drink it off.
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  The horse, to save the life of his master, moved so the cup
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  fell from the King's hand and spilled all the liquid on the
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  ground. The king became very angry with
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  his horse, and with his sword gave a cut to the horse's neck,
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  and the horse died immediately. Hence it is that I told your
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  Majesty that before you cut off a man's head you should inquire
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  whether the man is really guilty.
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  The king then called to him his third and youngest son, and
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  said, If a man who I entrusted with my honour and my life
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  proves faithless, how should he be punished?
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  The youngest Prince replied, Doubtless such a man's head
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  should be cut off. But before you kill you should
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  see whether the man is really faithless.
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  What do you mean? Inquired the King.
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  Let your Majesty be pleased to listen, Answered the Prince, and
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  he told this story. Once Upon a time there reigned a
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  king who had in his palace a remarkable bird of the Sukkah
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  species. One day, as the Sukkah went out
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  to the fields to fly around, he saw his dad and mom, who pressed
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  him to come with them, and spent some days in their nest in some
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  far off land. The Sukkah answered that he
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  would be very happy to come but he could not go without the
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  King's leave. He added that he would speak to
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  the king on that very day and would be ready to go the
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  following morning if his dad and mom would come to that very
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  spot. The suka spoke to the king and
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  the king gave leave with reluctance as he was very fond
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  of the bird. So the next morning the suka met
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  his dad and his mom at the imported place and he went with
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  them to his hometown nest at the top of some high tree in the far
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  off land. The three birds lived together
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  happily for a fortnight, at the end of which period Thusuka said
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  to his mom and dad. My beloved parents, the king has
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  granted me leave for only a fortnight, and today the
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  fortnight is over. Tomorrow I must start for the
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  city of the king. His mom and dad readily agreed
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  to the responsible proposal and told him to take a present to
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  the king. After laying their heads
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  together for some time, they agreed that the present should
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  be the fruit of the Tree of Immortality.
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  So early the next morning, the Sukkah plucked a fruit off the
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  Tree of Immortality and, carefully catching it in his
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  beak, started on his aerial journey.
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  As it was a heavyweight to carry, the Sukkah was not able
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  to reach the city of the King in that day, and he was benighted
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  on the road. He took shelter in a tree and
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  was at a loss to know where to keep the fruit.
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  If he kept it in his beak, it was sure, he thought, to fall
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  out when he was asleep. Fortunately he saw a hole in the
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  trunk of the tree in which he had taken shelter.
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  Accordingly he put the fruit in it.
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  It so happened that in that hole there was a snake.
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  In the course of the night the snake darted its fangs on the
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  fruit, and thus besmeared it with its poison.
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  Early before the crow cawed, the Sukkah, suspecting nothing, took
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  up the fruit of immortality in its beak and began its aerial
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  voyage. The Sukkah reached the palace
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  while the king was sitting with his ministers.
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  The king was delighted to see his pet bird come again, and
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  greatly admired the beautiful fruit which the Sukkah had
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  brought as a present. The fruit was very fair to look
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  at. It was the loveliest fruit in
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  all the earth, and as its name implies, it makes the eater
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  immortal. The king was about to eat it,
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  but his courtiers said that it was not advisable for the king
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  to eat it, as it might be a poisonous fruit.
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  He accordingly threw it to a crow which perched on the wall.
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  The crow ate part of it, but in a moment the crow fell down
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  dead. The king, imagining that the
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  sukkah had intended to take away his life, took hold of the bird
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  and killed it. The king ordered the stone of
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  the deadly fruit, as it was thought to be, to be planted in
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  the garden outside the city. The stone in course of time
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  became a large tree of bearing lovely fruit.
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  The king ordered a fence to be put around the tree and place a
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  guard lest people should eat the fruit and die.
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  There lived in that city and old Brahman and his wife, who used
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  to live upon charity. The Brahman one day mourning his
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  hard lot, and told his wife that instead of leading the wretched
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  life of a beggar, he would eat the fruit of the poisonous tree
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  in the King's garden. And thus and his days.
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  So that very night he got up from his bed, and in order to
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  get into the King's garden, his wife, suspecting her husband's
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  intentions, followed him and resolved to also eat the fruit
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  and die with her husband. At that late hour of the night
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  the guard was asleep, and the old Brahman plucked a fruit and
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  ate it. The woman said to her husband,
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  If you die, what is the use of my life?
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  I'll also eat and die. So saying, she plucked a fruit
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  and ate it. Thinking that the poison would
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  take some time to produce its due effect, they both went home
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  and lay in bed, supposing that they would never again rise.
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  To their infinite surprise, the next morning they found
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  themselves not only young and alive, but vigorous.
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  Their neighbors could scarcely recognize them, they had become
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  so changed. The old Brahman had become
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  handsome and vigorous, with no Gray hairs and no wrinkles on
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  his cheeks. As for his wife, she had become
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  as beautiful as any lady in the King's household.
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  The king, hearing of this wonderful change, sent for the
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  old Brahman, who told him of all the circumstances.
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  The king then greatly lamented the sad fate of his pet bird,
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  and blamed himself for having killed it, without fully
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  inquiring into the case. Hence it is continued, the
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  youngest Prince, that I told your Majesty that before you cut
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  off the man's head, you should inquire whether the man is
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  really guilty. I know your Majesty thinks that
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  last night I entered your chamber with wicked intent.
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  Be pleased to hear me before you strike.
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  Last night as I was on my rounds, I saw a female figure
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  coming out of the palace. On challenging her, she said
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  that she was Rajlakshmi, the guardian deity of the palace,
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  and that she was leaving the palace as the king would be
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  killed that night. I told her to come in and that I
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  would prevent the king from being killed.
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  I went straight to your bedroom and I saw a large cobra sitting
• 17:59
  round and round your golden bedstead.
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  I killed the cobra, cut it up into 100 pieces and put them in
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  the pan dish. But while I was cutting up the
• 18:09
  snake, a drop of his blood fell on the breast of my mother, and
• 18:13
  then I thought that while I had saved my father, I had killed my
• 18:16
  mother. I wrapped a piece of cloth
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  around my tongue 7 times and licked up the drop of blood.
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  While I was licking up the blood, my mother opened her eyes
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  and noticed me. This is what I have done, now
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  caught off my head, if your majesty wishes it.
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  The King, filled with joy and gratitude, embraced his son and
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  from that time loved him even more than he had before.
• 18:39
  Thus my story endeth the Nadia, Thorn, withereth, etcetera.
• 18:44
  The end. Wow, I really like the story
• 19:13
  within a story. In fact, the three stories
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  within the story and it has echoes all the way back to the
• 19:18
  dead finger all the way back in episode 60 and also the Armenian
• 19:21
  tale of Simon, the front of the snakes in episode 55.
• 19:25
  Wow, really reaching back. I need to re record some of
• 19:28
  those. They've I've gotten better.
• 19:31
  I like how the Suns preach patients and I try and keep that
• 19:34
  same energy in my classroom. And the podcast shout out is to
• 19:38
  Mama life. That's MAMALYFE Rose C.
• 19:43
  The Haitian Mama hosts a show with honest takes about raising
• 19:46
  boys and what it takes to be a man.
• 19:48
  She is very honest and real. And if you like her show as much
• 19:52
  as I do, go and give her a like a rating and a review.
• 19:56
  And the listener shout out is to Ballarat, Australia.
• 20:00
  Traditional lands of the Wadawarung people, Ballarat
• 20:03
  didn't have enough white folks come through until the 1830s.
• 20:07
  Then gold was found and there was a gold rush in the area.
• 20:11
  Then there were disputes about permits and so there was a
• 20:13
  rebellion. In 185422 gold miners were
• 20:17
  killed in the Eureka uprising. The city changed from gold rush
• 20:22
  to industrial and continued to grow.
• 20:24
  The city name itself comes from 2 Wadawarung words, Bala and
• 20:28
  arat, meaning resting place or camping place, and I would love
• 20:32
  to rest there someday. And so to my listener in
• 20:35
  Balarat, I say in Wata Warung, Klobata and Kungdaji, take care.
• 20:42
  Goodbye.