The legends of the Panjâb

sadd
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BAJA BASALT^. 9
" I have destroyed everything within 48 miles round/' said
the horror, " and who are you that have dared to come here "
Whereon Eaja Rasalii struck the horror with an arrow and
it ran away, but the Kajsl followed it into a cave, and they had
a great light there. After a while the E§.ja killed it there and
came back.
In the morning the R&ja woke his companions, and the carpenter
showed them the serpent he had killed, and told the whole
story about it.
When the Hijh saw the serpent, he said, " this
is only a small snake, come and see what I killed in the cave."
So the goldsmith and the carpenter went into the cave and
saw what Raja Rasalu had killed. Then they became very
frightened and said to him, " you are a prince and a R^ja and
can fight such horrors, we are only ordinary people, and are
afraid that some day we may be killed if we follow you," and
they begged and prayed to be let go home again, and so the
Rsbja gave them leave.
So they went home, and Raj& RasalA said
Soda na phulan tormh, nafrd : sadd na Sdwan hoe ;
8add najoban thir rdhe : sadd na jhoe hoe :
Sadd na rdjidh huMmi .-
Sadd na howe ghar apnd, nafrd :
na rdjidn des :
iJiath pid pardes.*
Torts-f do not always flower, my servant : it is not always the
rainy season.
Youth does not always last : no one lives foi" ever :
Kings are not always rulers : kings have not always lands :
They have not always homes, my servant; they fall into great
troubles in strange lands.
Saying this Raja Rasalu went on and came upon a
sandalwood
tree, which was burning, and he asked his parrot why ifc
was : and it turned out that a serpent had bitten the tree and
caused it to burn ! And there flew a young swan out of the
tree which came before the Raja, and the Raja said to it
" You are a bird, why do you destroy your life in the fire
why don't you fly away "
'
* See FaUon, New Hin. Diet. s. v. thir. f A kind of mustard plant.
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