Part 1 — The Gamarāla’s Cakes

At a village there are a Gamarāla (a village headman or elder) and a Gama-Mahagē (his wife) and their four sons, it is said.

One day while they were there the Gamarāla said to his wife, “Bolan, it is in my mind to eat cakes. For the boys and for me fry ample cakes, and give us them,” he said.

The Gamarāla was looking out for them for many days; the Gama-Mahagē did not cook and give him the cakes.

Again one day the Gamarāla thought of eating cakes. That day, also, the Gamarāla reminded her of the matter of the cakes. On the following day the Gama-Mahagē having fried five large cakes, placed them in the corn store. The boys having gone to the chena and come back, after they had asked, “Is there nothing to eat?” the Gama-Mahagē said to the boys, “Look there! There are cakes in the corn store. I put them there for father, too; eat ye also,” she said. The boys having gone to the corn store, all four ate the cakes.

After they had eaten them, the Gamarāla, having gone to the watch-hut, came back. After he came the boys said, “Father, we ate cakes.” When the Gamarāla asked, “Where are [some] for me?” “Mother puts them in the corn store,” they said.

When the Gamarāla went to the corn store for the cakes to eat, there were no cakes. “Where, Bolan, are the cakes?” he asked.

Saying, “Why are you asking for them at my hands? If there are none the boys will have eaten them,” the Gama-Mahagē pushed against the Gamarāla.

Then the Gamarāla said, “Now I shall not remind you again. You do not make and give me the food I tell you about.” Having said, “It is good,” and thinking, “Having pounded and taken about half a quart of rice, and given it at a place outside, and got the cakes fried, I must eat them,” pounding the rice he took it away.

As he was going he saw a poor house. Having seen it the Gamarāla thought, “Should I give it at this house, these persons because they are poor will take the rice, and I shall not be able to eat cakes properly.” So having gone to a tiled house near it, and given a little rice, he said, “Make and give me five cakes out of this, please.”

The people of the house replied, “It is good,” and taking a little of the rice fried some cakes. The woman who fried them then looked into the account. “For the trouble of pounding the rice and grinding it into flour, I want ten cakes,” she said. “Also for the oil and coconuts I want ten cakes, and for going for firewood, and for the trouble of frying the cakes, I want ten cakes.” So that on the whole account for cooking the cakes it was made out that the Gamarāla must give five cakes.

Next day the Gamarāla, having eaten nothing at home, came to eat the cakes. Having sat down, “Where are the cakes?” he asked.

Then the woman who fried the cakes said, “Gamarāla, from the whole of the rice I fried twenty-five cakes. For pounding the rice and grinding it into flour I took ten cakes. For the oil and coconuts I took ten cakes. For going for firewood, and for the trouble of frying the cakes ten more having gone, still the Gamarāla must bring and give me five cakes.”

Then the Gamarāla thought, “Aḍā! What a cake eating is this that has happened to me!”

After thinking thus, having gone outside and walked along, and come to that poor house, he sat down. As he was thinking about it that poor man asked, “What is it, Gamarāla, that you are thinking about in that way?”

The Gamarāla said, “The manner in which they fried and gave me cakes at that house,” and he told him about it.

Then the man of that poor house said to the Gamarāla, “Since we are poor you did not give the rice to us. If he had given it to us wouldn’t the Gamarāla have been well able to eat cakes? The Gamarāla having given us the rice would have had cakes to eat, and still five cakes to give for that debt.

“For those cakes I will teach the Gamarāla a trick,” that poor man said to the Gamarāla. “The husband of the woman who fried the cakes has gone to his village. The woman is now connected with another man. Every day the man having come at night taps at the door when he comes. After she has asked from inside the house, ‘Who is it?’ he makes a grunt, ‘Hum.’ Then having opened the door he is given by her to eat and drink. To-day she will give the cakes made for the Gamarāla.

“After the Gamarāla has gone at night in that manner, and tapped at the door, she will ask, ‘Who is it?’ Then say, ‘Hum.’ Then she will open the door. Having gone into the house without speaking, she will give to eat and drink. Having eaten and drunk, and been there a little time, open the door and come away.” Thus the poor man taught his lesson to the Gamarāla.

As he was eating them, some one else having come taps at the door. The Gamarāla became afraid. “Don’t be afraid,” she said, and sent the Gamarāla to the corn loft [under the roof of the house, at the level of the top of the side walls].

When a little time had gone, again some one tapped at the door. Then the Tambi-elder-brother, having become afraid, prepared to run off without eating the sweetmeats. “Don’t be afraid,” she said, and she put the Tambi also in another part of the corn loft [and he lay down].

Having come back, after she had opened the door and looked, it was the man of the house who, having been to the village, had come back. She gave him water to wash his face, hands, and feet. After he had finished washing, she gave him cakes and the like to eat, and water to drink. The man afterwards lay down to sleep.

When a little time had gone, the man who went first to the corn loft, the Gamarāla, asked for water, saying, “Water, water.” Then the man of the house having opened his eyes, asked, “What is speaking in the corn loft?”

“When you went to the village, as you were away a long time, I made an offering of a leaf-cup of water to the deity. Perhaps the deity is asking for it now,” she said.

Then the man told her to put a coconut in the corn loft. So the woman put a coconut in the corn loft.

The Gamarāla, taking the coconut in his hand, sought for a place on which to strike it [in order to break it, so that he might drink the water in it]. As he was going feeling with his hand, the Gamarāla’s hand touched a lump like a stone in hardness, the head of Tambi-elder-brother. After he touched it, the Tambi-elder-brother [not knowing what it was] through fear trembled and trembled, and did not speak. Then the Gamarāla, taking the coconut, struck it very hard on the head of the Tambi-elder-brother, thinking it was a stone.

The man of the house thought [before this], “The water in the coconut is insufficient for the deity. He will be ascending [and leaving us].” After he had quickly opened the door, and gone out to get more water to give him, the Tambi-elder-brother sprang from the corn loft, breaking his head, and ran away.

Then the man who came out to get the water said, “My deity! Here is water, here is water,” holding the water kettle in his hand. While he was calling out to him, the woman having opened her eyes said, “What is it, Bolan?” As she was coming outside the man said, “The deity jumped down and ran away.”

At that very time, breaking out from the corn loft, the Gamarāla also jumped down and ran off. Then the man of the house asks the woman, “Who is that running away?”

The woman says, “Why, Bolan, don’t you understand in this way? Didn’t the God Saman also run behind him?”

Village Vaeddā of Bintaenna.