Latest / Sandman Stories Presents / EP 327: Laos- A Child of The Woods; The Enchanted Mountain; The Spirit-Guarded Cave (Fleeson)

Transcript

EP 327: Laos- A Child of The Woods; The Enchanted Mountain; The Spirit-Guarded Cave (Fleeson) · Sandman Stories Presents

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Welcome back, listeners to Sam Mann Stories Presents, a
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folklore podcast where I read you to sleep or until the next
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story. I'm your host, Dustin, and if
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you want more Sandman that's too spicy for the main feed, slide
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on over to my Patreon and you can help support the show, even
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for free. And we are starting another new
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book. This one is Lao folklore written
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down by Kathleen Fleeson. In the first four stories, the
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storyteller tells us the origins of people and what it's like to
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live in the jungle, and how if a white person can't steal
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anything, it must really be nailed down.
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OK, let's begin. A child of the Woods Deep in the
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forest of the north there's a large village of jungle people,
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and among them is an old woman who is held in reverence by all.
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The stranger who asked why she is honored as a Princess is thus
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answered by her. Verily I have much boon, for I
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am but a child of nature. When I was a young maiden it
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fell upon a day that my heart grew hot with anger.
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For many days the anger grew, until it filled my whole heart.
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Also my eyes were so red that I could see but dimly, and no
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longer could I live in the village or among my own people,
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for I hated all men, and I felt that the beasts of the forest
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were more to me than my kindred. Therefore I fled from the face
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of man into the jungle, where no human foot had ever gone.
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All day I journeyed, running as though my feet would never
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weary, and feeling no pangs of hunger.
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When the darkness closed in on me, I was not afraid, but lay
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down under a shelter of a tree, and for a time slept peacefully,
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as peacefully as though in my own home.
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At length I was awakened by the breath of an animal, and in the
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clear light of the moon I saw a large tiger before me.
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It smelled my face, my hands, and my feet, then seated itself
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by my head and watched me through the night as I lay there
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unafraid. In the early morning the tiger
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departed, and I continued my journey.
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Quieter was my heart. Still.
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I dislike my own people, but I had No Fear of the beasts or the
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reptiles of the forest. During the day I ate of the
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fruit which grew in the wild abundance, and at night I slept
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Neath the tree, protected and guarded by fierce wild beasts,
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which molested me not in my sleep.
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For many days I wandered thus, and the nights were secure, for
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the wild beasts watched over me and protected me thus.
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My heart grew cool in my bosom, and I no longer hated people.
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And after one moon had gone, I found myself near a village.
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The people wandered to see me approach from the jungle,
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dreaded as being the jungle of the man eating tiger.
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When I related my story, the people were filled with wonder
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and brought rich gifts to me. For a year and a day I lived
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there, and no more wild beasts molested the cattle.
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But my heart yearned to see the face of my kindred again, so
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laden with silver, gold and rich garments and seated on a how
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dove an elephant. The people escorted me to my own
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village. And here I have lived in content
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in these 100 years. The end, All right.
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And the next part of the story, the enchanted mountain.
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The hunters who were continually going about from place to place,
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climbing up high heels and descending into deep ravines and
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making waste of the jungle in search of the wild bison and
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other game, tell strange tales of an enchanted place.
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On the top of a lofty mountain there's a beautiful lake, which
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is as bright and clear as a drop of morning dew hanging on the
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petal of the white water Lily, and when you drink of it you are
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no longer weary. New life has come into you, and
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your body is more vigorous than ever before.
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The flowers on the margin of this enchanted lake are more
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beautiful than those that grow in any other spot, and such is
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the love of the cherished spirits for it that they care
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for it as in no other place in the world.
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Bananas of a larger growth than can be found in the gardens of
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man, and oranges sweeter to the taste than those we will ever
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eat, are there. They're fruits of all the trees,
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more beautiful to the eye, and richer than man can produce, are
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there, free to those who can find them.
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All the fowls usually nurtured by man and flocking about his
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door are there, and they are not afraid of the presence of a
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hunter, but come at his call. Should the hunter wish to kill
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them. His arrow cannot Pierce their
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charmed bodies to deprive them of life, but the arrow falls
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harmless to the ground, because spirits protect them, and their
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lives are sacred. Great fields of rice are about
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this place, and the hunter marvels at the size of the
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grains and the strength of the stalks.
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No field tended by man has seen grain like that which the
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spirits nourish. Many men, on hearing of this
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wonderful mountaintop, have sought it, but all have returned
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unsuccessful to their home, saying that there is no such
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place on this earth. Only the hunter, who has chased
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the games of the jungle, over the streams, and up the steep
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mountainsides, when tired and discouraged because the coveted
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prize has gone beyond his reach, is rewarded for all his labor
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when he finds himself in the garden of fruit or on the margin
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of the enchanted lake, whose waters give renewed vigor to his
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wearied body. Often when the hunter desires to
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eat the flesh of these fowls, he endeavours to kill the fowls,
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but no effort can take their life.
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As the spirits hold them in their care.
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No mortal can harm them, nor can the hunter take any of the fruit
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away, for as he leaves the spot, no matter how he may hold it, it
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vanishes from his hand. Thus no man who has not seen the
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place has eaten the fruit or drank of the water, so many
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doubt of their existence for such as the heart of man that he
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must touch with his hands, see with his eyes, or taste with his
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tongue before he can believe. Nevertheless, on the top of that
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lofty mountain there is a lake with cool waters, clear and
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beautiful, where the fowls swim on its surface or drink from its
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margin, and the grain and the fruit ripen.
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For those who are loved by the spirits, and are led by them to
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this cherished spot, where they may rest and be refreshed, and
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then return to their wives and children's, and tell them of the
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care of the spirits. The little ones who have heart
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free from guile believe the end. OK, and Part 3 of this chapter.
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The Spirit guarded cave When the people of the far North were
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molested by their foes and were in continual fear, they
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consulted each other, saying, Our lives are spent in trying to
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escape from our enemies, and no joy can be ours.
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Let us flee to the South country.
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If the people make slaves of us, we can at least know that our
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lives will be spared. And life, even in slavery, is
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better than this constant fear of our enemies destroying both
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ourselves and our dwelling places, and taking our cattle
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for their own. Therefore they gathered together
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all their household goods, secreted their money and jewels
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about their persons, and loading their cattle with rice, they
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commenced their toilsome journeys through the narrow
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jungle paths and across the high mountains on their way to the
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South, where they hoped for peace and safety.
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The way was long and difficult, and they'd eaten all the rice
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and all the cattle before they had reached their journey's end.
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Then they used their money to buy food so they could have
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strength for their journey. And they whispered to one
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another that people looked with covetous eyes on their hoard of
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money and jewels, and they feared that they would be slain
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because of the greed of the people.
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One man wiser than the other said, Why do we endanger our
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lives for our possessions? Can we not find some secret
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place in which to leave our money and jewels, and when
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brighter days come we can return and find them?
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As we left them all the people cried.
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Your words are wise. Let us do accordingly.
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And as these people were loved of the spirits, they were led to
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a deep cave in the midst of the wood, where man seldom came.
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And there they left their possessions in the care of the
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spirits, who promised to guard them, until in the days when,
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life being brighter and more secure, the owners could come
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back and claim them. The people journeyed on to the
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South country, and there lived as slaves.
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Many generations of them lived and died, but they could not
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escape or come to claim their fast wealth and jewels which
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they had left in the care of the spirits of The Cave.
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The story became known, and the inhabitants of all the
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surrounding countries went to The Cave and sought to secure
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the treasure. But such was the care of the
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spirits that no man with safety could enter The Cave.
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A light was instantly blown out. If a man came down into the deep
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pit in the chamber where the treasure was, the spirits blew
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their breath upon it, and it was no more.
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Everyone tried to obtain the treasure, and from all parts of
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the country the people came, but they could not overcome the
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charm which the spirits have placed upon The Cave.
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One man even went into the treasure chamber and filled his
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hands with precious stones, but he was overcome with a deadly
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sickness and forced to replace the jewels in the treasure chest
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and flee for his life, so as to escape the wrath of the guardian
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spirits. Even the white foreign strangers
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who have come into the land and placed their strong hands on the
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elephants and the trees of the forest claim them for their use,
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were baffled and driven back by the faithful spirits when they
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endeavored to enter the treasure chamber.
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And for all time this treasure shall remain there, for if the
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white foreigner, by his wisdom or by his craft fails to obtain
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it, verily it will remain untouched forever.
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The end. OK, and the fourth part of the
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story, the mountain spirits and the stone mortars.
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The spirits who lived in the mountains near a large city upon
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a time wanted money for some purpose, and they brought down
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to the people of the city a number of large and heavy stone
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mortars, which they commanded them to buy at an exorbitant
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price. The men of the city said The
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price you ask is too great. Moreover, we have no need of
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your mortars, as they are too large for us to use in pounding
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out our rice or for any other purpose.
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Therefore we don't wish to buy them.
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The spirits were very angry because they did not cheerfully
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agree to pay the money, and answered, If you will not buy
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these mortars which we have brought for you to use, you
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shall carry them up to our home at the top of the mountain, for
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the labor of bringing them down has wearied us.
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Not daring to incur the wrath of the spirits, and yet being
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utterly unable to carry the huge mortars to the high mountain,
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they paid the price. For they reasoned, is any price
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too great to risk falling under the displeasure of the evil
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spirits? The spirits departed with the
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money, and to this day the stone mortars are scattered about the
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streets of the city. And when strangers ask why they
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are there and what the use is made of them, this story will be
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told, and all people say it is verily the truth.
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For do you not see them with your own eyes?
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How else could they have come here had the spirits not brought
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them? The end.
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This was an interesting beginning to the book.
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It seems to be stories of how people came from southern China
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but then were enslaved by the people of Thailand.
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Also how people lived in the old days in the jungle.
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Jungle is an old word that comes from Sanskrit, meaning an
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uncultivated area. And there will be more stories
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with morals and story elements. But I think this is a very good
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start to the third new book of the year.
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Let's go 2026 and the podcast shout out is 2 Girls Beer
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Sports. If you're a woman into sports
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and drinking, there's a place for you.
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Give this podcast a listen and become one of the girls just
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like me. And the listener shout out is to
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Tuguero Philippines. It is up on the north side of
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Luzon in the Philippines. If I am lucky enough to visit, I
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would love to see the Banque Carrera Boat race.
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And so I say to my listener in Tuguero, I say in Filipino
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Salamat at Magadan Gabi, thank you and goodnight.