186 Religion &c. among the Karens. [No. 3> 



He had not much love for the Burmans, and that they might be 

 slow in coming, he gave the Tupaia two bits of bamboo to rub 

 together to obtain fire, and a bit of skin to eat, for it was difficult to 

 cook, and the bamboos difficult to take fire. 



When they departed, the monkey-tiger went up round all the 

 crooks of the gigantic bean creeper, and slept one night by the way. 

 When he cooked his crayfish, he said : " Why, it is blood red ! " And 

 it was long before he arrived. 



But the Tupaia went rapidly. He was very hungry, so he roasted 

 his skin a little, and eat it ; and reached his destination in a short 

 time. Hence the Burmans reached Ta-ywa first before he expired. 

 They asked of him, and obtained horses, and elephants, and oxen, and 

 buffaloes, and their dog asked for ears of paddy as large as the end of 

 his bushy tail, and three crops a year. 



The Karens did not arrive till after Ta-ywa was dead, and burned 

 to ashes. His mats, and fanning baskets and carrying baskets were 

 burned up and just their form and variegated patterns left in the ashes, 

 which the Karens looked upon, and imitated. 



Not satisfied, they followed on after the elephants, and tried to get 

 on to their necks, but could not. Then he commenced driving bam- 

 boo steps into their legs, as when ascending trees ; but this made 

 them run away. Failing with the elephants, they tried to drag along 

 tin- buffaloes with ropes tied to their legs, but could not make them 

 go ; and they tried the oxen with no better success ; but the hog they 

 succeeded in dragging along ; so the Karens have hogs to this day. 



The latter part of this story is versified, as follows : — 



Go poison fish at Po, at Yau, 



Go to angle at Po, at Yau. 



Great frogs die, thou stayest to cook them, 



Great fish die, thou stayest to cook them : 



Thou remainest to cook them with thy brother, 



To prepare them, thou remainest with thy brother. 



Thou doest whatever cometh into thy mind. 



Thou cockest the bow, lay est on a red arrow, 



Thou shootest dead thy younger brother : 



Then thou repentest, sorrowfully. 



Thou lightest the reed blossom, and boundest away 



Three times thou runnesfc round the horizon, 



