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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 12: 



Just as they had finished speaking they 

 heard an approaching Hke that of horses. He 

 then knew that he could not oppose them, 

 and leaped into the circle on the side of the 

 cliff. The large tiger carried a big yellow 

 cow in his mouth. He smelt all around and 

 asked, "My daughter-in-law, why does it smell 

 so in your home today?" She said, "Father-in- 

 law, you went away and had very good things 

 to eat. I remained at home with a mouth so 

 dry that my lips could not move. That is why 

 there is an odor." In a short time the mother 

 tigers and father tigers and children and older 

 brothers and younger brothers came back in a 

 group. They all said to her, "You smell much 

 with a human odor." She said as before that 

 she did not know about it. 



She waited until the time of winter cold 

 when there were icicles and all the tigers had 

 gone to sleep. Then she took her embroidery 

 needle and pricked the skins of the tigers, 

 but each one was sound asleep and was en- 

 tirely unconscious. Then she called him down 

 and the two conversed. They spoke a few 

 sentences, and then he took his sword and 

 killed a tiger, but she did not know it. He 

 continued to talk and to kill until all the 

 tigers were killed. She wept and said, "You 

 are really without goodness, and have killed 

 all these people. I will not go with you." He 

 said, "If you will not go, I will also kill you." 

 She said, "You miust not kill me. Let me go 

 into the cave and pay my debts to the demons 

 before we go." She immediately went into 

 the cave and changed into a large yellow 

 striped tiger, and with mouth open and ex- 

 tended claws she clutched at him. He took 

 out his sword and said to her, "Let your body 

 be divided into three pieces if it is long or 

 two pieces if it is short." She said, "You must 

 not kill me. Wait until I have finished paying 

 my debts and I will go." 



She returned into the cave and changed 

 into a pretty woman, and the two walked 

 together. When they had gone halfway she 

 said to him, "Now I still want to pay debts 

 to demons before I can go with you. Other- 

 wise I can hardly stay with you." He said, 

 "All right." She said, "Now you dig a pit 

 for me thirty feet wide and three feet deep 

 and cover it with nettles, I will lie down 

 inside and you bury me with dirt. After 

 seven days, expose me and look. If I look 

 fresh as far as my feet I will certainly be alive, 

 and otherwise I will surely be dead." He pre- 

 pared everything, and the woman lay down 

 in the center. After seven days he exposed 

 her and looked. She had turned into a heap 

 of fine manure. He ceased looking at her 



and boiled some porridge to eat, intending 

 to go home and eat it. He wept as he cooked 

 it. He cried himself to sleep and heard the 

 porridge saying to him, "Ging ging, gong 

 gong, your face has swollen from crying. Ge 

 (gs) ge, qwa qwa, your face is large from 

 weeping." This sound entered his ears, and 

 he dared not cry any more. He again went 

 and opened up the grave and looked. He 

 actually saw the woman lying there with her j 

 face as beutiful as a peach blossom. The I 

 woman then said, "You are still here?" He 

 said, "I am waiting for you." The two arose .: 

 and ate, then returned together. ! 



When they reached their home, their par- 

 ents could not recognize them. That evening 

 their parents were just killing a cow and play- , 

 ing the liu shejig and beating the drum in a i' 

 Tso Chai memorial ceremony for diem. Their 

 father went to make offerings to them and 

 said, "Hai (Xai), ah, hai, hai, hai" (mean- 

 ing here, here, here, come my son and eat). 

 He then wept awhile with tears flowing. The 

 son replied from not far away, "Hai, ah, hai, 

 ah, your son is still living." His father said, 

 "You guest, when my heart is in pain and 1 1 

 am calling my dead son, why are you imitat- 

 ing me?" He replied, "Old man, you are not 

 good at making offerings. Bring them here 

 and I will teach you." The old man said, 

 "All right," and invited the son to teach him. 



The son called on the ancestors beginning 

 several generations back up to his own name, 

 then took the offerings and ate them. The 

 aged parent said, "There is still my son, 

 Dong Pl'ai Hmong Zwang." The son then 

 knelt down and said, "Father, why are you 

 thus? I am your son." The father said, "My 

 son, just remember that you were gone sev- 

 eral years and could not come back, and! 

 because of this I have burnt a soul for you. , 

 Now, never mention that. You are here. 

 Your wife?" He replied, "She has also come 

 back, but she cannot enter this building, and 

 sleeps in a compile beside the house." The 

 father said, "Quickly call her back here." 



When the family heard these words, diey 

 were very happy indeed and sent some women 

 to welcome her. To their surprise, when she 

 came to the doorsill and one foot had entered 

 the house, and she still had one foot outside, 

 she could not lift her second foot inside. 

 Their father and mother then vowed to offer 

 a pig to the door before she could get into 

 the house. The reason the Ch'uan Miao now 

 worship the door is that that daughter went 

 and returned (and this had to be done before 

 she could enter the house). 



