Tibetan Folk Tales | Page 2

in his jurisdiction. Around his grounds
and palace were great forests and in these forests many birds and
animals lived. Every one seemed happy, except the king's wife, and she
said that so many birds singing at the same time made such frightful
discord that it worried her. One day she asked the king to call them all
in and cut off their bills so they couldn't sing any more.
"All right," the king said. "We will do that in a few days."

Now, hanging under the eaves of the palace, close to the queen's room,
was a little bat, and though he seemed to be asleep, he heard and
understood everything the queen had said. He said to himself, "This is
very bad indeed. I wonder what I can do to help all the birds."
The next day the king sent letters by runners into every corner of the
kingdom, telling all the birds that by the third day at noon--and it
mustn't be forgotten, so put this word down in the center of their
hearts--that all of them were to assemble at the palace.
The bat heard the order, but because he was very wise and understood
everything he sat very still thinking and thinking about what the queen
had said and didn't go to the king's audience on the third day, but
waited until the fourth. When he entered, the king said angrily:
"What do you mean by coming on the fourth day when I ordered every
one to be here on the third day!" Oh, he was very angry indeed.
The bat replied, "All these birds have no business and can come
whenever the king calls, but I have many affairs to look after. My
father worked and I too must work. My duty is to keep the death rate
from ever exceeding what it should be, in order to govern the sex
question, by keeping the men and women of equal numbers."
The king, much surprised, said, "I never heard of all this business
before. How does it come that you can do this?"
The bat answered, "I have to keep the day and night equal as well."
The king, more surprised, asked, "How do you do that? You must be a
very busy and powerful subject to attend to all these matters. Please
explain how you do it."
"Well," the bat replied, "when the nights are short I take a little off the
morning, and when the nights are long I take a little off the evening and
so keep the day and night equal. Besides, the people don't die fast
enough. I have to make the lame and the blind to die at the proper time
in order to keep the birth and death rate in proportion. Then sometimes

there are more men than women, and some of these men say, 'Yes, yes,'
to everything a woman asks them to do and think they must do
everything a woman says. These men I just turn into women and so
keep the sexes even."
The king understood very well what the bat meant, but didn't allow him
to know it. He was very angry with himself because he had agreed to
do so quickly what the queen had asked, and thought perhaps the bat
might change him into a woman.
"I am not a good king," he thought, "when I listen to a woman's words
and yield so easily, and I am terribly ashamed to have given this order.
I'll just not do what my wife asks, but send these birds all back home
and not cut off their bills."
So he called the birds all to him and said, "Heretofore, men haven't
known how to mete out punishment and laws for you, but now I am
going to make the Cuckoo your king, and what I called you up to-day
for is this: I wanted to ask your King and the prime minister, the
Hoopoe, to rule wisely, judge justly, and not oppress the people. If big
or little come to you in a law-suit you must judge rightly between them
and not favor either rich or poor. Now, you may all return to your
homes."
But the king in his heart was still angry at the bat because he hadn't
obeyed him and came the fourth day instead of the third, and to show
him he was the ruler and to be instantly obeyed he gave him a light
spanking for his disobedience and then turned him loose.
***
TWO
The Tiger and the Frog
The tall strong pine is a great help, for with its support the weak vine
may climb as high.

Tibetan Proverb.
ONCE upon a time, in the days when the world was young and all
animals understood each other's languages,