NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



165 



every day. On the boat every day he saw some 

 fish leaping in the water. But every day he 

 saw two especially large fish leaping at one 

 side of the boat. The pair of big fishes daily 

 picked up in their mouths some grains of 

 sand. 



One night before New Year the people 

 on the boat told him to go home. He said, 

 "I have been here a year and haven't found 

 anything to take home. How can I go back 

 home?" He again said, "Although I have not 

 a single thing, I am going to pick up a 

 handful of this sand." Then he went and 

 picked up the pile of sand that the big fish 

 had been daily picking up in their mouths. 

 He carried a load home (by a carrying pole 

 on his shoulders in two baskets). When he 

 had gone only halfway he met a man who 

 had prospected for gold sand who knew that 

 this sand was golden sand and gave him 2,000 

 taels of silver for it. After that he had 

 plenty of money. 



The Mother Was Carried away by Robbers 

 and Her Two Sons Rescued Her (193) 



That year was a year of pestilence and a 

 bad year with many robbers. The grains were 

 not good, and the crops did not mature. That 

 (one) year Na Bo Ngeo Tong gave birth to 

 sons. The older of them (twins) was called 

 Ntseo Go (beloved small son) and the 

 younger was called Ntseo Gan. Their mother 

 sighed for three days saying, "Ai, ai, in the 

 spring what shall I give my sons to eat? In 

 the winter, what shall I use for them to 

 wear?" 



She went down the mountain to dig roots 

 for them to eat and met some robbers who 

 came to capture people. The robbers took 

 hemp ropes and bamboo cords and bound her 

 and led her ofJ. 



When she had gone half a morning, she 

 sighed with a sorrowful heart and said, "My 

 two sons are at home. They will wait for 

 their mother until night and she will not 

 return. They will call their mother in that 

 direction and she will not answer. They will 

 call her in this direction and their mother 

 cannot hear." 



The next day they both went out and 

 looked for her and walked to the high hill 

 where people had dug for roots and called 

 their mother to come, and their mother did 

 not answer. Then they went home at night 

 and slept. 



After 16 years, when the two had grown 

 up, the older brother said, "We two have 

 grown up. We have no mother. But we do 

 not know whether she was eaten by a tiger 



or a demon, or killed by brigands, or bound 

 and carried away. Let us use some money 

 and purchase a Lolo slave to look after the 

 house for us." 



They then raised domestic animals and 

 sold them and got some money. They in- 

 tended to use it for a Lolo woman slave to 

 look after the house for them. 



Then they took the silver and wrapped it 

 up in their clothes and took their bows and 

 arrows in their hands. The younger said to 

 the older, "Let us first go and seek our 

 mother. If we find her, that will be well. 

 If we cannot find her, we can go and buy a 

 Lolo woman slave to take care of the house 

 for us." Then they went together to the Lolo 

 country. 



They stayed there 16 days but did not see 

 anyone like their mother. They thought that 

 probably their mother was eaten up by a 

 tiger or a demon. Then they sought for an 

 old woman Lolo slave. They went and talked 

 about the price with the brigands. The 

 brigands wanted 16 taels for one person. The 

 younger brother said to his older brother, "If 

 it is as expensive as this, we do not want any. 

 We had better use this silver and hire a servant 

 by the year." The older brother said, "Never 

 fear. We can buy an old woman and take her 

 back and she will be more careful with our 

 affairs." They then bought an old woman and 

 took her back home. 



The two brothers rode back on horses, and 

 the old woman walked. When it was time 

 to eat the noon meal the two brodiers ate 

 rice and pork, and the old woman ate buck- 

 wheat chaff. The two brothers smoked with 

 a brass pipe and a silver pipe. The old woman 

 took a tree leaf to wrap her tobacco in when 

 she smoked. 



They proceeded for half a month, 15 days, 

 and came to the place where their mother 

 used to dig roots. They then proceeded to the 

 path where she had gathered wood. The old 

 woman then sighed softly three times and 

 said, "This is where I used to bring my two 

 sons to dig roots." Then they came to die 

 path where she used to gadier wood. She 

 again sighed three times softly and said, 

 "This is very much like the place where I 

 used to bring my two sons to gather wood." 

 Then they went on to the place where she 

 used to wash the roots. She again sighed 

 softly three times and said, "This is where 

 I used to bring my little boys to wash roots." 



Then Ntseo Go and Ntseo Gan leaped off 

 their horses and said, "Ai, tell us, were those 

 two boys Ntseo Go and Ntseo Gan? Who 

 are you anyway?" Then she said, "I think 

 that this place is where I used to live." The 



