Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 4, 1893.djvu/213

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Balochi Tales.
205

"Four wanderers came unto a town,
I ween, upon a day:
Which one was swallowed by a fish?
The tiger which did slay?
And which was seated on a throne?
And which in prison lay?"

Hanūd, full of joy, came back to the wazir, who was lying in bonds. The wazir looked at the kerchief, and read what was on it, and then he wrote again on the back of it:—

"Four wanderers came unto a town
To beg, upon a day.
The slave was swallowed by a fish,
The kotwal did the tiger slay,
The king on the throne was seated,
The wazir in prison lay."

Hanūd took the kerchief back and gave it to the king. When he had read it, he knew that his wazir was in prison. He carried off Hanūd to the lock-up, and went to his house and loosed the wazir and the other twenty men who were tied up there. Hanūd and all his household he wrapped up in straw mats and set fire to them, and Hanud and all his family were burnt. Then the king made the wazir his own wazir.


XII.

The Three Wonderful Gifts.

There were once two brothers, one of whom had three sons, and the other one daughter. The one who had three sons died, and his sons said to their uncle: "Give us your daughter, betroth her to us." The uncle said: "My daughter is one and you are three; to which of you shall I give her? I will give you three hundred rupees: go and trade with it, and bring back your merchandise. Whichever one of you makes the greatest profit, he shall have my