NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



185 



eve the female tiger came with the small baby 

 tiger, carrying in her mouth a wild pig which 

 she left outside the front door. Next morning 

 when they arose and saw this, they realized 

 that the tigress had thus come to express 

 thanks for help in delivering her baby. 



An Orphan Saved an Insect {Lizard) and 

 Secured Gold *' (417) 



There was an orphan who had nothing to 

 eat or wear. He went and worked for a 

 Chinese. 



One day he went to hoe the dykes of the 

 rice paddies, and he cut off the tail of a 

 lizard. Then he was very sorry for that rep- 

 tile. So he went and found medicine and 

 healed the lizard and gave it some food 

 to eat. 



After he had doctored it several days, the 

 reptile recovered. Then the lizard said to 



him, 'Tour conscience is good. You helped 

 me every day and cured me. Today you 

 reach out your hand, and I will spit out a 

 pearl for you." When he spit it out, it was a 

 gourd seed. He said, "Quickly plant this and 

 let it grow up. In the future you will cer- 

 tainly get food to eat." When he had finished 

 speaking, the orphan stretched out his hand, 

 and the snake spat out a grain of seed for him, 

 and he took it and planted it. Later from 

 that seed a gourd vine grew up. 



In the autumn the gourd ripened (yel- 

 lowed). Then he picked it and broke open 

 the gourd. Inside there were many golden 

 seeds, which rolled out. The orphan took 

 these and bartered them for rice to eat, and 

 it was enough for him to use all his life. So 

 he made up this song to teach future genera- 

 tions that all creatures having life you should 

 treat kindly, and afterward you will cer- 

 tainly receive benefits. 



PEOPLE CHANGED INTO TIGERS AND TIGERS INTO PEOPLE 



A Miao Changed into a Tiger, or Why Cows 

 Have no Upper Teeth (46) 



There is a kind of Miao people who can 

 have two kinds of existence. At one moment 

 they are people and the next moment they are 

 tigers. The way they change is that the old- 

 est son changes into a tiger and the oldest 

 daughter changes into a lao pien (bien) p'o^^ 

 Some after death change into tigers out of 

 the grave. Others while living change their 

 bodily appearances into tigers. 



One time there were two brothers. Their 

 parents were both dead. They lived with 

 their mother's older brother. When they had 

 grown up, one day the uncle went out and 

 they two brought a stool to practice jumping. 

 At that time the uncle had a nest of little 

 chickens, and the brothers would jump once 

 and pick up a chick and eat it raw. They 

 talked it over thus, "When the day arrives 

 that we have great strength, we will cer- 

 tainly eat them (the uncle's family) up." At 

 that time their uncle came back from with- 

 out and heard what they said and saw them 

 tearing up the chicks and eating them. One 

 of them developed a tail and the uncle killed 

 him. One escaped and said, "Uncle, I have 

 gone. After three years I will return and try 

 out strength with you." He then went away 

 for three years. 



One day the uncle went outside to plow 



^^ Lizards are called insects, snakes long insects. 

 *^ Lao pien p'o is a Chinese phrase meaning 

 an old woman who changes. 



the ground. The nephew had changed into 

 a striped tiger and returned. Suddenly he 

 leaped out of the forest and said to his uncle, 

 "You old fellow, are you plowing the 

 ground?" The uncle lifted up his head and 

 looked. 'Tou truly frighten me," he said. 



He made up his mind and then he said to 

 the tiger, "Why do you deceive an old person 

 like me?" The tiger said, "I will not deceive 

 you. No matter what you do I will eat you 

 up at one mouthful (bite). The uncle said, 

 "Don't be in a hurry. In the end I will go 

 into your mouth. Please let me go back and 

 report to my wives, and then I will come back 

 and be your dinner." The tiger said, "I fear 

 that you will not return." He said, "I will 

 leave my cow here to be a witness. How will 

 that be?" The tiger said, "All right, all right." 

 The uncle again said, "I fear that you will 

 eat my cow." The tiger said, "You can tie 

 me to this tree and not release me until you 

 return. Then we will compare strength. 

 What is wrong about that?" He said, "That 

 will do," and he bound the tiger. But the 

 cow was tied to the tree with the tiger. The 

 cow feared the tiger very greatly. 



In a short time die uncle went home and 

 brought back his ax and said to the tiger, 

 "Today, my good fellow, I ask you to return 

 to Ntz'i's land." When he had said this, he 

 killed the tiger. The cow, tied to the tree, 

 laughed until she fell down, and lost her 

 upper teeth. Therefore cattle have no upper 

 teeth, and it is concerned with the second 

 nephew turning into a tiger. 



