Parwati and the Beggar-Man
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Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In It there lived a Brahman. He had seven daughters, and when they had reached a marriageable age he asked them who would arrange their marriages and bring them handsome husbands and make their fortunes. The six eldest1 daughters said, "Papa, Papa, you of course. You will arrange our marriages and bring us handsome husbands and make our fortunes for us."

But the youngest daughter was a naughty little girl. She got into a temper2 all about nothing, and she stamped her foot, and she turned her back on her father and said, "I will arrange my own marriage, and I will get a handsome husband for myself, and I will make my fortune myself." The Brahman was very angry with her, and so how do you think he punished her? He first searched about and found six rich and handsome boys. Then he married them with great pomp and display to his six eldest daughters.

But the youngest girl he gave in marriage to a miserable3 beggar-man. You never saw such a beggar-man as he was! There was not a spot on his skin that was not black with leprosy, and his feet and hands had rotted right off. If you had seen him you would have said, "If that beggar-man does not die to-day he will certainly die to-morrow. For he cannot possibly live any longer!" When the marriage was celebrated4, the little girl's mother filled her lap with wheat and then handed her over to the beggar-man to see what sort of fortune would be hers.

But in a few days the beggar-man died. His corpse5 was taken to the burning-ground, and his little widow6 followed it. But when his relatives wanted to burn the body, she forbade them and told them to go away. For she said, "My fortune is still to come, whatever it may be." They all got round her and tried to persuade her that there was no use in her staying by the corpse, but she would not mind what they said. At last they were quite tired out and went home, leaving her in the burning-ground. When they had gone she took her husband's corpse on to her lap. Then she prayed to the god Shiva and said:

"My parents disown me. O why was I born
Both as orphan7 and widow to live all forlorn?"

As she prayed, she put the wheat which her mother had put into her lap grain by grain in the dead man's mouth. Then she sat there crying until midnight. Now it happened that on that very night Shiva and Parwati were in their chariot driving through the air over that very place. Parwati said suddenly to her husband, "I hear a woman crying, let us go and see what it is."

The god Shiva drove his chariot down to earth. He and Parwati got out and saw the Brahman's youngest daughter crying. They asked her what the reason was, and she told them. Then Parwati pitied her and said, "Your aunt has acquired great merit8 by her piety9 and devotions. You go to her and get her to give you all her merit and so you will bring your husband back to life." The god Shiva and Parwati then mounted10 on their chariot and disappeared.

Next morning the little widow left her husband's body, went to her aunt's house and begged her to give her all the merit which she had acquired, and told her the cause of the request. The aunt was very good and gave her all her own merit. The little widow then went back to the burning-ground and with its aid brought her husband back to life. But this time he was no longer a beggar-man black with leprosy and with feet and hands that had rotted away. He was a beautiful young man with well-shaped feet and a beautiful fair skin, and the little widow took her husband back to her father's house.

"Papa, Papa," she said, "you turned me out, but the gods have brought me back, and good fortune came to me without your bringing it." The father was too frightened of Parwati to say anything, so he held his peace. And the little girl and her husband, the beggar-man, lived happily ever afterwards.

 



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 eldest bqkx6     
adj.最年长的,最年老的
参考例句:
  • The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
2 temper 1IVzg     
n.恶劣的心情,心绪焦躁;性情,脾气
参考例句:
  • The man lost his temper and struck out wildly.那人因发怒而大打出手。
  • One day the man flew at me in a temper.一天,那个人冲着我大发脾气。
3 miserable g18yk     
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的
参考例句:
  • It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他,这是可耻的。
  • Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。
4 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
5 corpse JYiz4     
n.尸体,死尸
参考例句:
  • What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
  • The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。
6 widow sgxwQ     
n.寡妇
参考例句:
  • Martha was a very rich young widow.玛莎是个很有钱的年轻寡妇。
  • All this money was appropriated for the support of his widow.所有这些钱作为给他的遗孀的抚养费。
7 orphan QJExg     
n.孤儿;adj.无父母的
参考例句:
  • He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大,并且把自己的医术传给了他。
  • The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。
8 merit l7NzA     
n.优点,价值,功绩,成绩;vt.值得
参考例句:
  • There is great merit in dealing fairly with your employees.公正地对待你的雇员有极大好处。
  • History affords us lessons that merit attention.历史给我们提供了值得注意的借鉴。
9 piety muuy3     
n.虔诚,虔敬
参考例句:
  • They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
  • Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。
10 mounted 81c4e3af4002170ab76fe2e53488b6a4     
adj.骑在马[自行车]上的;安装好的;裱好的v.登上,骑上( mount的过去式和过去分词);增加,上升;上演;准备
参考例句:
  • He mounted his horse and rode off. 他跨上马骑走了。
  • He saddled his horse, mounted, and rode away at a gallop. 他给马套上鞍子,跨上马背疾驰而去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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