ONCE upon a time a man had some money given to him, and was told to go and buy a foal with it. So he set out to search for one. After a time he came to a village, and going to a house asked the people if they had a foal to sell, as he wished to buy one. They replied, "There are no foals here, but we have mare's eggs. If you will take them we will give them to you." He said, "I will not take eggs, I want a foal." He went to every house in the village asking if they had a foal to sell, but none was to be had; but at each they offered to sell to him mare's eggs.
He then thought within himself, wherever I have gone they have told me that they have not got a foal, but that they can let me have eggs. This being so, why should I give myself any further trouble? I will buy an egg. So he was given a large gourd, and told it was a mare's egg. Having got, as he thought a mare's egg, he joyfully started to return to his home. The man who sold him the gourd informed him, that a foal was certain to be hatched on the way. He was still far from home when the sun set, so he entered a village, and passed the night there. In the morning he set out betimes, and about breakfast time he came to a tank, on the embankment of which he laid down his gourd. He then went into the water to clean his teeth, after which he began to wash his face. While he was thus engaged a jackal came and pushed the gourd down the embankment. The noise frightening the animal it ran away, but the man having caught a glimpse of it called out, "My foal has hatched, and is galloping off." He pursued the jackal, which being terror stricken fled to the jungle, and took refuge in his burrow. The man was pleased to see the creature enter his hole, and he said, "He will soon come out again, and then I shall mount him, and gallop him home." Having said this, he placed himself in such a position that when the jackal came out he could sit down on its back.
He continued standing thus until nightfall, but even then he had no intention of relinquishing his chance of capturing his foal. Late at night some thieves came that way, and seeing him alone in the jungle asked him what he did there. He replied, "I was sent by my friends to buy a foal, but as I could not get one, I bought a mare's egg. I was informed that the egg would hatch on my way home. I spent last night in a village on the way side, and resumed my homeward journey in the morning. On arriving at a tank I laid down my egg on the embankment, and went down into the water, and having cleaned my teeth was washing my hands and face, when the egg hatched and the foal immediately ran away. I followed it, and saw it enter this hole, and I am waiting till it comes out, when I shall mount, and canter it home."
The thieves said, "Leave it alone. Let it remain there. Will you kill yourself for this foal? Come with us, and we will give you a strong, beautiful horse. This one has through fear of you riding on his back gone into this hole. Why should you wait for him? He will stay where he is. Come with us, and we will supply you with a good one presently."
After a little time spent in considering the offer the thieves had made him, he decided to accompany them. The thieves were pleased to receive him into their gang, and at once they proceeded towards a certain village. Having arrived there they went to a rich man's house, and dug a hole through the wall. They then said to our hero of the mare's egg, "You creep in." He raised no objection, but went willingly. They said to him, "Bring out all the heavy articles you can find, they are sure to be the most valuable." When inside he lifted up all he found to test the weight, but nothing seemed to be sufficiently heavy to be worth stealing. He said, "everything is light, what can I take out to them?" At length he came across a millstone, which he pushed through the hole in the wall to his confederates out side. Judging from its weight he expected they would be delighted to receive it, but they said, "Not this, Not this. Bring something worth stealing." So he went back, and finding a drum hanging from the roof he took it down, and began to beat it. When the thieves heard the sound of the drum they decamped, saying, "This fool is certain to betray us to-night." When he brought out the drum to make it over to them, they were nowhere to be seen, so he re-entered the house and placed the drum again where he had found it.
He then saw some milk near the fireplace, and being hungry he determined to cook some food. So helping himself to some rice he began to prepare it by boiling it in the milk. When it was nearly cooked, one of the household turned over in his sleep, saying, "I will eat. I will eat." So he filled a ladle with the boiling rice and milk, and poured it into the sleeper's mouth. The hot food scalded him terribly, and he sprang up howling with the pain.
The other members of the family also jumped to their feet, and laid hold of the intruder, and bound him hand and foot.
When the day broke a large number of people came to see the thief, and began to question him, as to who were his companions. So he related all that had occurred. Then they said, "Of a truth, this man has been the means of protecting us. Had he not acted as he did, we would have been robbed of all we have."
So they loosed his bonds, and set him free. They also allowed him to eat the rice and milk he had cooked, which having done, he went home.
