A SPARROW and a crow once agreed to have _khichrî_ for dinner. So the Sparrow brought rice, and the Crow brought lentils, and the Sparrow was cook, and when the _khichrî_ was ready, the Crow stood by to claim his share.
'Who ever heard of any one sitting down to dinner so dirty as you are?' quoth the Sparrow scornfully. 'Your body is quite black, and your head looks as if it were covered with ashes. For goodness gracious sake, go and wash in the Pond first.'
The Crow, though a little huffy at being called dirty, deemed it best to comply, for he knew what a determined little person the Sparrow was; so he went to the Pond, and said--
'Your name, sir, is Pond, But my name is Crow. Please give me some water, For if you do so I can wash beak and feet And the nice _khichrî_ eat; Though I really don't know What the Sparrow can mean, For I'm sure, as Crows go, I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Pond said, 'Certainly I will give you water; but first you must go to the Deer, and beg him to lend you a horn. Then with it you can dig a nice little rill for the water to flow in clean and fresh.'
So the Crow flew to the Deer, and said--
'Your name, sir, is Deer, But my name is Crow. Oh, give me a horn, please, For if you do so I can dig a clean rill For the water to fill; Then I'll wash beak and feet And the nice _khichrî_ eat; Though I really don't know What the Sparrow can mean, For I'm sure, as Crows go, I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Deer said, 'Certainly I will give you a horn; but first you must go to the Cow, and ask her to give you some milk for me to drink. Then I shall grow fat, and not mind the pain of breaking my horn.'
So the Crow flew off to the Cow, and said--
'Your name, ma'am, is Cow, But my name is Crow. Oh, give me some milk, please, For if you do so The pain will be borne, Deer will give me his horn, And I'll dig a clean rill For the water to fill; Then I'll wash beak and feet And the nice _khichrî_ eat; Though I really don't know What the Sparrow can mean, For I'm sure, as Crows go, I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Cow said, 'Certainly I will give you milk, only first you must bring me some Grass; for who ever heard of a cow giving milk without grass?'
So the Crow flew to some Grass, and said--
'Your name, sir, is Grass, But my name is Crow. Oh, give me some blades, please, For if you do so Madam Cow will give milk To the Deer sleek as silk; The pain will be borne, He will give me his horn, And I'll dig a clean rill For the water to fill; Then I'll wash beak and feet And the nice _khichrî_ eat; Though I really don't know What the Sparrow can mean, For I'm sure, as Crows go, I'm remarkably clean!'
But the Grass said, 'Certainly I will give you Grass; but first you must go to the Blacksmith, and ask him to make you a sickle. Then you can cut me, for who ever heard of Grass cutting itself?'
So the Crow went to the Blacksmith, and said--
'Your name, sir, is Smith, But my name is Crow. Please give me a sickle, For if you do so The Grass I can mow As food for the Cow; Madam Cow will give milk To the Deer sleek as silk; The pain will be borne, He will give me his horn, And I'll dig a clean rill For the water to fill; Then I'll wash beak and feet And the nice _khichrî_ eat; Though I really don't know What the Sparrow can mean, For I'm sure, as Crows go, I'm remarkably clean!'
'With pleasure,' said the Blacksmith, 'if you will light the fire and blow the bellows.'
So the Crow began to light the fire, and blow the bellows, but in so doing he fell right in--to--the--very--middle--of--the--_fire_, and was burnt!
So that was the end of him, and the Sparrow ate all the _khichrî_.
NOTES TO TALE
_The Song_.--The form of words in the original is important. The following gives the variants and the strict translation--
_Tû Chhappar Dâs, Main Kâng Dâs, Deo paneriyâ, Dhoven chucheriyâ, Khâwen khijeriyâ, Dekh chiriyâ kâ chûchlâ, Main kâng sapariyâ._
You are Mr. Tank, I am Mr. Crow, Give me water, That I may wash my beak, And eat my _khichrî_, See the bird's playfulness, I am a clean crow.
_Tû Lohâr Dâs, Main Kâng Dâs, Tû deo pharwâ, Main khodûn ghasarwâ, Khilâwen bhainsarwâ, Chowen dûdharwâ, Pilâwen hirnarwâ, Toren singarwâ, Khôden chalarwâ, Nikâlen panarwâ, Dhoven chunjarwâ, Khâwen khijarwâ, Dehk chiriyâ kâ chûchlâ, Main kâng saparwâ._
You are Mr. Blacksmith, I am Mr. Crow, You give me a spade, And I will dig the grass, That I may give it the buffalo to eat, And take her milk, And give it the deer to drink, And break his horn, And dig the hole, And take out the water, And wash my beak, And eat my _khichrî_, See the bird's playfulness, I am a clean crow.
ANALYSIS OF THE TALES ON THE PLAN ADOPTED BY THE FOLKLORE SOCIETY OF ENGLAND
Number in collection, 11. Reference to pages, 102 to 106. Specific name, The Sparrow and the Crow. Dramatis personæ: sparrow, crow, pond, deer, cow, grass, blacksmith. Thread of story, sparrow makes some khichrî for herself and the crow, tells crow he is too dirty to eat it without washing. Crow goes to the pond and asks for water, who sends him to the deer for the use of his horn to dig a place for the water to flow into, who sends him to the cow for milk to console him for the pain of losing a horn, who sends him to the grass to get food in order to make milk, who sends him to the blacksmith for a sickle to cut the blades with, who tells him to light a fire that he may forge a sickle, and in doing so the crow falls into the fire and is killed, and the sparrow gets the khichrî. Where published, Indian Antiquary, vol. ix. p 207 ff. Nature of collection: (1) Original or translation, original, collected by F. A. Steel: (2) Narrator's name, not given; (3) Other particulars, very common tale in the Firôzpûr, Siâlkôt, and Lahore districts.
