Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 4, 1893.djvu/208

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200
Balochi Tales.

When the wazir turned back he filled a basketful of the flowers and took it with him. Then he closed his eyes, and opening them again, he sees that he is still standing on the river-bank. The wazir took up the basket of flowers, and went and presented them to the king. The king asked him whence he had brought them, and the wazir told him how it had happened. The king said: "Did you recognise anyone there?" "Yes, my lord," said the wazir, "I recognised thee!" "Where was I?" said he. "Thou wast waving a fan before the Prophet," said the wazir. "Then do not call me Goatherd," said the king, "for God has given me the kingdom. Now you can return to your own place as wazir, and I will rule as king myself."

So the king ruled as king, and the wazir served as wazir.


X.

Balach and the Bulethis.

A certain Bulethi dwelt in the land of Sangsila; he had much cattle but no son. And in that place he grew a crop of millet. One day he went to stroll round the field, and saw that a herd of cattle had been eating the millet. So he looked for their tracks all round the field to see which side they had come from. But he could find no track outside the banks, although the herd had grazed down the millet inside. The next day when he came he found the millet again grazed down, and again he searched for the tracks, but no track went outside the bank. Then he made a smoky fire, and left it burning at the millet-field that the cattle might come to it, for it is the custom of cattle to collect round a fire. When he came the third day he sees that the cattle, after grazing on the millet, had come and lain down by the fire. Then he knew in his heart that this herd had come from heaven. There were nineteen cows in the herd; he drove them off and brought them home. His wife's name was Sammi. He gave the