20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

518 Sendenjav Dulammilk.” The king cast a glance toward the boy and said, “So then I can notput you to death. We have one mother. Do not tell anything about my ears.If you tell anyone you will be executed.” The boy said, “Yes, I agree.” Theking asked him to give some advice how to hide his ass ears. The boy said,“It is easy for you. Make a hat well fitting to your ears and tell other kingsto wear such hat. Then you won’t easily be identified.”A poor boy was spared, but he found it too hard for him to keep thesecret. The boy was trying too hard not to reveal the secret and worried toomuch about to keep it. As a result, he depressed and physically collapsed.At last, he went to the wise man and asked for advice. The wise man toldhim “Son, I know you keep some secret inside. That caused you weaken.”The boy asked, “What should I do?” The wise man told him to go out to thewilderness and shout into the hole in the ground, “Our king has ass ears!Our king has ass ears!” in order to comfort his heart. The boy took wiseman’s advice, went out to the wilderness and shouted into the hole in theground, “Our king has ass ears! Our king has ass ears!” until his heart iscomforted. Then the grass, stream and the wind all began to whisper, “Ourking has ass ears! Our king has ass ears!” The king could not cope with allthose. According to the boy’s advice, he started to wear the hat well fittingto his ears and ordered other kings to wear such a hat. It is said that laterit became crown of the king. Releasing all forbidden words, the boy gotcomfort and happiness 2 .There are short and extensive versions of the tale of Ass-eared Kingamong Belgian scholars A. Mostaert’s collection of Ordos tales. Theseversions say that Ass-eared king lived in Brown palace while his sister livesin White palace. According to this version of the tale, the hairdresser boyknew his king’s secret when he went to cut king’s hair and was spared fromdeath punishment, offering flour mixed with his mother’s milk. Moreover,he is invited with his mother to king’s palace and lived there eating fromking’s table and cutting his hair. However, he could not keep the secret.When he is drunk, he told king’s cupbearer his secret and escaped. Thenhe revealed the secret nationwide and people revolted against the king.King’s sister came to support her brother but the king refused and wasslain thereafter. (Mostaert 1980: 198-306) This version is unique withits motif about hairdresser boy, but it does not accord with the Greek tale.Same time the Central Khalkh version accords well with the Greek version(Bulfinch 1979: 74) of the tale. In the following, I compare them indetails.2Author recorded this tale from Doljinsuren Bavuu, 49 years old woman, residentof the Bayanbulag sum, Bayankhongor aimag on October 14, 1974.