246 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 



123 



At that moment the daughter of the em- 

 peror was on the flower paviUon. She then 

 saw him and threw a red thread down to him. 

 Then the red thread changed into a stone 

 pavement leading up to the flower paviUon. 



He then went up to visit (play). But at 

 night he came home without any grass. Je 

 Nan L'eo then asked him, "Why couldn't 

 you cut grass?" He replied, "Because there 

 were lice on my clothes. Today I went to 

 find the lice, so I did not cut any grass." Je 

 Nan L'eo then comforted him with a few 

 words and told him next day to cut grass 

 diligendy. 



For ten days he in the same way failed to 

 cut grass. Later, one day, Je Nan L'eo secredy 

 went along behind to watch him. Just as he 

 arrived beneath the flower pavilion he again 

 sang, saying the same words as before. Then 

 the emperor's daughter again welcomed him 

 upstairs. Then Je Nan L'eo secretly under- 

 stood his affairs. 



At night, when the orphan had finished 

 eating, Je Nan L'eo asked him, and he had 

 nothing to say. Then Je Nan L'eo said, "I 

 will not scold you, because your good luck 

 has arrived. Tomorrow I will go and speak 

 for you (make an engagement). 



Next day Je Nan L'eo mounted a horse and 

 went. He arrived at the palace and said to 

 the emperor, "The orphan wants to marry 

 into your family." When the emperor heard 

 his words, he became angry and immediately 

 ordered his soldiers to seize Je Nan L'eo and 

 take him out and execute him. But Je Nan 

 L'eo did not let the soldiers seize him. He 

 leaped upon his horse and fled back home. 



When he had reached home, he barricaded 

 his door. Then he called people to guard the 

 door, and the emperor's soldiers did not dare 

 to enter. The emperor feared that his daugh- 

 ter was acting in an improper way, and he 

 was about to kill his daughter. His daughter 

 then said, "My father, if you want to kill me, 

 execute me today as you may, but the reason 

 Je Nan L'eo came to mention marriage was 

 this. Will you please, this morning, come 

 upstairs and look?" 



Of course he saw the actual image of the 

 orphan. Naturally he then believed the words 

 of his daughter. On that day the emperor 

 sat upstairs and in a little while the orphan 

 came below the pavilion carrying the carry- 

 ing pole. When he arrived, he sang the same 

 words as before. When he had repeated them 

 once, tlie emperor saw nine dragons come 

 to protect that orphan. Then the body of 

 the orphan emitted light. The emperor then 



knew that this person would be useful in the 

 future. 



Next day the emperor himself went in a 

 sedan chair to the home of Je Nan L'eo and 

 promised his daughter to the orphan in mar- 

 riage. Then the emperor said, "I have already 

 promised my daughter to this orphan. I want 

 seven grams of his fine hair as a bride price, 

 and I want eight pearls and three pecks and 

 two quarts of dust gold as the ceremonial 

 gift." 



Je Nan L'eo said, "This is not difiBcult. 

 Since I am here, it will certainly be accom- 

 plished, and that is all." Within a few days 

 Je Nan L'eo got it all ready for him. 



He first sent word to the emperor. Then 

 the emperor chose an auspicious day, and 

 certainly the ceremonial bridal gift was to be 

 sent to the emperor. Next day Je Nan L'eo 

 escorted the orphan to the home of the em- 

 peror, and the emperor prepared a most ex- 

 cellent feast to entertain them. They all ate 

 until in the afternoon. 



The emperor's daughter secretly said to the 

 orphan, "You must be careful. In that parlor 

 we have a place covered with a red cloth. 

 You must not go and step on it." 



He became badly drunk, and he went into 

 the parlor and stepped right onto the red 

 cloth. He then sank down into a place below 

 the earth. This place was called Ruang Tsa 

 Glang Ti (dragon rotton demon place). The 

 people in that place are only as tall as a broom 

 (about two feet). Those people use cooking 

 vessels the size of eggshells. 



One day they invited the orphan to come 

 and eat. When he had eaten as much food 

 as all these people in one fortified place would 

 eat, it was still not enough for him (about 

 as much as two hundred of them would eat). 



After that these people were about to go 

 and cut wood to build a house. The axes they 

 used were only as big as a nail. They cut for 

 a whole day before they had cut down a large 

 grass stalk. Then several of them tried to 

 carry one stalk, but could not carry it. Then 

 the orphan at one load carried back all the 

 stalks of grass. Then these people highly 

 respected him. 



One day these people went to hoe the 

 ground (to farm). He watched them dig one 

 day. Each person hoed only as large a spot 

 as a straw bed mat. Then he went and helped 

 them hoe the ground. He had no hoe, but 

 scratched with his hands. In a litde while 

 he scratched up a large place. These people 

 came and looked and all said, "It is bad. 

 Today we are here, and this man is too big. 

 He has dug up other people's landmarks." 



