236 Astronomy among the Karens. [No. 4, 



"While the men were out fishing, " the wife hearer," or Orion, came 

 and carried them off on his shoulder. The women cried out to their 

 hushands : 



" Lau-to, oh, Lau-to dear, 



Snatch up thy how and spear, 



To-phau, oh, To-phau come, 



We're carried away from home." 



After calling a long time, their hushands heard their cries, and 

 returned home, when they discovered that their wives had been carried 

 away. They seized their hows and spears and followed on after " the 

 wife bearer." When they came within a spear's throw of him, Lau-to 

 poised his spear or javelin to throw it at " the wife bearer ;" but his 

 younger brother came behind Lau-to unobserved, and struck the 

 handle of the javelin, so that it flew against his father-in-law's house, 

 and knocked a part of it down. To encourage their wives, the men 

 sung : 



" Tha-bgheu-mu, suffering dear, 



Tha-bgheu-bghai, have no fear. 



The bow's bent, the string tight, 



Arrows ready, you in sight." 



Then they followed on silently, and " the wife bearer" thinking he 

 was not pursued, stopped and set down his burden to rest ; but while 

 he was gone down into the water to bathe, the husbands arrived and 

 carried their wives back home, and repaired their father-in-law's 

 bouse. 



Though the resemblance is remote, yet this story must have had a 

 common origin with the Greek myth of Orion and the daughters of 

 Oenopion. 



Some of the Karen constellations, to judge from their names, are of 

 Karen origin. One is called the " Burmese yoke," from the resem- 

 blance the stars are supposed to bear to the yoke a Burman carries on 

 his shoulder. 



Some names are local and vary in different places. For instance 

 the Karens in the south call the Milky way the "Paddy Bin-" 

 while the Bghais denominate it the " Bazar street," because the 

 streets in the bazar are usually an undistinguishable mass of people. 



