0189. The Brahman's Dream

From The Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, online at: The Gold Scales.

Notes. For more stories of this type, see Dan Ashliman's collection: Air Castles,

Summary: A brahman dreams of how he will sell his barley-meal and multiple his riches, but things do not turn out as he imagines.

Read the story below:

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THE BRAHMAN'S DREAM

(Brahman priest)

In a certain town lived a Brahman named Seedy, who got some barley-meal by begging, ate a portion, and filled a jar with the remainder. This jar he hung on a peg one night, placed his cot beneath it, and fixing his gaze on the jar, fell into a hypnotic reverie.

"Well, here is a jar full of barley-meal," he thought. "Now if famine comes, a hundred rupees will come out of it. With that sum I will get two she-goats. Every six months they will bear two more she-goats. After goats, cows. When the cows calve, I will sell the calves. After cows, buffaloes; after buffaloes, mares. From the mares I shall get plenty of horses. The sale of these will mean plenty of gold. The gold will buy a great house with an inner court. Then someone will come to my house and offer his lovely daughter with a dowry. She will bear a son, whom I shall name Moon-Lord. When he is old enough to ride on my knee, I will take a book, sit on the stable roof, and think. Just then Moon-Lord will see me, will jump from his mother's lap in his eagerness to ride on my knee, and will go too near the horses. Then I shall get angry and tell my wife to take the boy. But she will be busy with her chores and will not pay attention to what I say. Then I will get up and kick her."

Being sunk in his hypnotic dream, he let fly such a kick that he smashed the jar. And the barley-meal which it contained turned him white all over.

0058. Sheik Chilli

From Simla Village, or, Folk Tales from the Himalayas by Alice Elizabeth Dracott (the name of the illustrator is not given), online at: Internet Archive.

Notes. For more stories of this type, see Dan Ashliman's collection: Air Castles, and you can find out more about Sheikh Chilli at Wikipedia.

Summary: Sheik Chilli daydreams about future profits as he walks along carrying a pot of oil.

Read the story below:

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SHEIK CHILLI

(illustration in the book)

The hero of this story was one day walking along with a vessel of oil upon his head. As he walked he kept thinking of the future.

"I will sell the oil, and with the money I shall buy a goat, and then I shall sell the kids, and then I shall buy a cow, and sell the milk, till I get a large sum of money; then I shall buy a pair of buffaloes, and a field, and plough the field, and gain more money, and build myself a house, and marry a wife, and have many sons and daughters. And when my wife comes to call me to dinner, I'll say: Dhur, away! I'll come when I think fit!" and with that he held up his head suddenly, and away fell the chattie [clay pot] with the oil, and it was all spilt.

This upset Sheik Chilli so much that he began to yell: "I have lost my goats, I have lost my cows, I have lost my buffaloes, and my house, and my wife and children."

That such dire calamity should befall a man caused great pity, so the bystanders took Sheik Chilli to the Rajah, who asked him how it had all happened.

When he heard the story he laughed, and said: "This boy has a good heart, let him be given a reward to compensate him for the loss of his oil."