1861k] Religion dr. among the Karens. 221 



When mount Kie-ku attacked, he made it so hot that the sea was 

 dried up, and the crocodiles could not live in it ; and he threw his 

 thunderbolts at the peepul, and when a branch was struck off, they 

 said : li There dies an officer." 



The peepul came and fought the mountain several days, but getting 

 the worst of it, he said : " I will retreat." In his retreat Phai-thau-o, 

 his daughter's husband, intercepted his path, and hid himself in a 

 gorge by the way, watching for his father-in-law to come along. He 

 had a sword, and a gold comb that shone like the sun, and to keep 

 himself from being seen, he put his comb under his foot and trod on 

 it. There he stood in the interstice of two rocks, and when one of 

 the peepul's officers came along, he smote him with his sword and 

 killed him ; and so on, one after another, till he had nearly killed off 

 the whole. There was only one left. He said to himself : " They are 

 all ended, and took up his comb, and put it in his hair again, which 

 made him visible. 



The remaining officer said, as he came along : " A great many 

 people have gone before, and yet the sound of horse or elephant is not 

 heard ; " and starting on, he saw Phai-thau-o, whom he cut down and 

 killed with his sword. 



Until this day, people say the matter is not finished. They have 

 a saying : " Mau-khe's contention is not settled : Mau's contention is 

 not settled." 



Brownies. 



Now and then, we find a good natured spirit appearing in Karen 

 stories that comes for some one's benefit. Here is a specimen : 



" The elders say that there was once a poor orphan boy, that owned 

 nothing but a dog with seven tails. On one occasion, he noticed his 

 dog go and bark on a hillock in the field near his house ; but when he 

 went there, he found nothing, so he came away. Still the dog remain- 

 ed barking, and he went again and dug into the hillock, when he 

 found a cavity with an egg in it. He took the egg, intending to eat 

 it, put it in a basket, and went to work in his field. During his 

 absence, the spirit in the egg cooked the poor youth's rice and 

 curry for him ; and when he came home, he found his meal ready 

 prepared for him, but he was afraid to eat it, and he went to 

 the neighbours to inquire if they could 'explain the matter. They 



