Tibetan Folk Tales | Page 8

A rabbit came along and saw the
elephant lying still, played and hopped around, until finally the
elephant opened his eyes and watched him.
"That's very queer that a little fellow like you can jump so far. I believe
I'll try it," he thought. So he gave a big jump and his front feet caught
and loosed a big rock that fell on his back and killed him. All three
were dead now, the bear, the fox and the elephant. Then seven robbers
came along and exclaimed, "Just look at the meat, we will stay here a
few days and eat." But they must have water too, and nobody wanted to
carry it. Each wanted the other to go. They finally got three to go and
the four who were left said, "We will fix up three nice pieces of meat
and put some poison in it for them when they get back, and we four
will have all this meat, bones and ivory." So they fixed up the poison
meat for the three men who were gone, for they had to go a long way
over the mountain after the water. The three who carried the water said:
"Those four fellows are bad men, we are doing all the work carrying
this water for them, so we will put some poison in it, then we can have
all the meat." When they got back the others were very thirsty and took

a big drink, and in a little while they were all dead. "Now," said the
three, "we will have all this meat and stuff ourselves." So the three took
meat already cut and ate that, and in a little bit they were dead too.
Now the moral is, "First, people shouldn't be greedy when there is
plenty for all (the fox wanted all the meat to eat for a year and tried to
ruin the bow and got killed). Second, you mustn't do what you aren't
fitted for (the elephant tried to do what the rabbit was doing and got
killed). Then the four men begrudged the three and the three begrudged
the four, so they all died.
***
NINE
The Wise Carpenter
For men there is no hope--except to find happiness in the worship of
the gods.
Tibetan Proverb.
ONCE upon a time in the city which was called Snalong lived a King
whose name was Gendong. This King died and his son, Genchog, ruled
in his stead. Among the people under him were two men, one a painter,
who did exceedingly fine work, the other a carpenter, who was also of
the best, and these two men were enemies. One day the painter came up
to the new King and said, "Last night as I was ready to go to sleep, your
father sent an angel out of Heaven to call me, and I went to Heaven
with him to see what your father wanted and found him rich beyond
belief. He gave me a letter to bring to you, and here it is; this letter is
about that fine carpenter that dwells here in this city."
The King opened the letter and read: "My son, I am here in Heaven,
very wealthy, and I have all that I want except one thing, and that is I
wish to build a HlŠkŠng, or temple, to the gods. But there are no good
carpenters here and I want you to send me up the best one in the city.
The painter who brings this to you knows all that I mean, for he has

been here, and I'm sending the letter by him."
So the King, Genchog, said, "This must be my father's letter, for it is
like him to want to build a temple to the gods, and I must see to his
wishes at once." So he called the carpenter before him and told him,
"My father is in the dwelling of the gods, is very happy, but wants to
build a HlŠkŠng and asked me to send you up to help him."
The carpenter thought it queer that such a thing could occur, and said to
himself, "It must be a scheme of that painter to get rid of me. I must
think of some plan to get ahead of him." Then he said, "LŠso, [which
means so-be-it] but how am I to get there?" Then the King called the
painter and asked him how he was to send the carpenter to his father.
The painter said, "This is the way. He is to bring all his tools that he
will need up there, put them on a pile on the ground, sit on them, then
wood must be piled around him and set on fire. As the smoke goes up,
he can ride on it