Note 63.1 — Chapter XVII · THE RESCUE OF ANDROMEDA IN SAGAS.

In the last chapter I summarised several märchen wherein Andromeda was replaced by a youth of the opposite sex. Such examples are rare among sagas. Beside the cases of Kleostratos and Theseus already cited I am only aware of one other, which indeed appears to be merely one of the märchen from the Panjáb with its hero identified as the celebrated Râjâ Rasâlu. The râjâ comes with his pet parrot of supernatural wisdom to Nîlâ City and finds an old woman, six of whose seven sons have been already sent by the king to feed a certain giant. It is now her seventh son’s turn, and he is to be sent that day for the giant’s dinner, together with a basket of bread and a buffalo. The râjâ offers himself in place of the youth. It turns out that there are in all seven giants, who are fated to be overcome by Râjâ Rasâlu. They candidly tell him, as these stupid monsters are accustomed to do, how to perform the feat. Taught by them, he looses the heel-ropes from his horse and drops the sword out of his hand. The ropes tie up the giants and the sword cuts them in pieces. But this is not enough to satisfy the conditions; and the giants, still living, are obliging enough to put seven frying-pans, one behind the other, and behind the frying-pans to arrange themselves one behind the other, so that their antagonist may conveniently loose an arrow from his bow to pierce them all through the frying-pans, and slay them at one blow in the predestined manner. A giantess, their sister, however, escaped to a cave. The hero pursued her, and placed a statue of himself at the mouth of the cave, so that, being afraid to venture forth again, she was starved to death within.63.1