NO. I 



CII UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



285 



succession he thought of climbing up to the 

 sky. Then he said to the woman, "You have 

 treated me, your husband San Jin, badly. 

 Now I will shut you up. I, your husband, 

 will now take two ropes and give one to 

 you. I want one. I will take you up into 

 the empty sky." 



Ni Ma crawled up toward the sky for a 

 half day. Then she pulled on the sky's road, 

 and the sky's road broke in two. Therefore 

 people of the present time cannot go up to 

 the sky, and present people use that rope 

 (or string or thread) to weave cloth. Nts'ai 

 Mi Je is in the sky above every morning. 

 When the day is dawning, the star that is 

 seen is what Nts'ai Mi Je has woven (during 

 the night). 



When the two creatures were killed, the 

 two men went and asked the children of the 

 wild people, "Why did your parents eat 

 people?" They replied, "My father has a 

 mouth harp. If he should blow it in hades, 

 the people in hades would get up. If he 

 played it in this world, the people in this 

 world would also arise." Then these two 

 men took this mouth harp and played it in 

 hades, and then the people in hades heard 

 this dirty instrument like a fierce wind. When 

 they played it in this world, every family had 

 the stamina of fire. Therefore they went and 

 played it throughout the world, and people 

 gradually became more numerous. Now this 

 mouth harp is still to be found. 



The Cannibals Bo Glai and Je Glai Were 

 Killed (510) 



In a big flat there was a cave with flowers 

 blooming in it. In it lived the family of 

 Bo Glai and Je Glai, who constantly came out 

 and ate people. Wherever he heard there 

 were people, he went to eat them. He ate up 

 all the people on this flat. There were left 

 only two girls who stayed upstairs (from 

 fear) . 



Two trappers came and asked the girls, 

 "Why are you here?" They replied, "In our 

 flat there are a pair of wild beings that eat 

 people. They have eaten us all up. Only we 

 two sisters are left." The trappers said to 

 them, "How can we call them here?" The 

 two girls said, "In the middle of the flat you 

 call them, and they will come. You go away 

 and come back tomorrow." 



They had just gone away, and went behind 

 the house of the cannibals and listened. They 

 heard the smaller children of the cannibals 

 say, "The cow kettle is hot." Their parent 

 said to them, "The two men came with five 



manloads of arrows. If black chickens' ma- 

 nure is rubbed on the arrows, they can shoot 

 us dead." 



When the two trappers heard this, diey 

 went away. The next day they brought the 

 five loads of arrows and smeared the black 

 chicken's manure on the arrows. Then they 

 carried the arrows and shot and killed the two 

 creatures that ate people. 



The Great Demon King (513) 



In very ancient times diere was a husband 

 and his wife who were very harmonious. 

 Later the wife died, and her husband was 

 truly much grieved about it.^^ Some person 

 told him, "Your wife is now at Yung Ch'iao, 

 Lu Hsien. You go there and look for her, 

 and you will certainly get to see her." 



He then went to that place and actually 

 saw his wife. That day the demon king was 

 not at home. When it became night the 

 demon king came, and the demon king said 

 to him, "Now your wife is already my wife. 

 I tell you, there is something that in the future 

 will bring you fame. On a certain street there 

 is a prime minister. He has only one son. 

 I have dug a little flesh out of his son's back. 

 Now the prime minister says that whoever 

 can heal his son will be given his daughter for 

 a wife. I will now give you the flesh I dug 

 out to take away. You go there and set up 

 a court. You take a bowl of water and put it 

 on the stand (or small table). Afterward you 

 sprinkle some water on the body of the sick 

 person, then you stick that flesh back on him, 

 and he will recover." 



He did this and healed the son of the prime 

 minister. Then the prime minister gave his 

 daughter to him in marriage, and he got a 

 wife. The prime minister also gave him some 

 land and houses. Then he had everything, 

 and he did not think about his former wife. 



When a Miao Travels until It Is Dar\, He 

 Must Certainly Sleep in a Chinese Open 

 Stone Tomb, and He Need Not Be Afraid 

 (550) 



Formerly there was a Miao man who went 

 to visit his distant relatives and came back 

 home. It had already become dark, and he 

 had not reached his house. He arrived in a 

 large forest where there was no home. One 

 man alone did not dare to travel farther. 

 But there was a deep grave made of big 

 stones. He went inside to sleep. He slept until 



^8 The word includes grief, anger, and resent- 

 ment. 



