Page:Santal Folk Tales.djvu/65

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THE MAGIC FIDDLE.
53

The water continued to rise, and when it reached her waist, she wailed as follows ; —

" Oh ! my brother, the water reaches to my waist, " Oh ! my brother, the water reaches to my waist, " Still, Oh ! my brother, the pitcher will not dip, " Still, Oh ! my brother, the pitcher will not dip."

The water in the tank continued to rise, and when it reach-ed her breast, she wailed as follows;—

" Oh ! my brother, the water reaches to my breast, " Oh ! my brother, the water reaches to my breast, " Still, Oh ! my brother, the pitcher will not fill, " Still, Oh ! my brother, the pitcher will not fill."

The water still rose, and when it reached her neck she wailed as follows;—

" Oh ! my brother, the water reaches to my neck, " Oh ! my brother, the water reaches to my neck, " Still, Oh ! my brother, the pitcher will not dip, " Still, Oh ! my brother, the pitcher will not dip."

At length the water became so deep that she felt herself to be drowning, then she wailed as follows;—

" Oh ! my brother, the water measures a man's height, " Oh ! my brother, the water measures a man's height, " Oh ! my brother, the pitcher begins to fill, " Oh ! my brother, the pitcher begins to fill."

The pitcher filled with water, and along with it she sank and was drowned. The honga then transformed her into a bong a like himself, and carried her off.

After a time she re-appeared as a bamboo groN^ing on the embankment of the tank in which she had been drowned. When the bamboo had grown to an immense size, a Jugi, who was in the hfitjit of passing that way, seeing it said to himself, this will

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