THE LAY OF SAINT LINGO 



153 



In the courtyard of tte Great God. 

 Then the Great God washed his 



body, 

 Washed a little of the dirt off ; 

 Fashioned it into the likeness 

 Of the King of Squirrels — Warche ; 

 Breathed the breath of life into it ; 

 Down before the Koitor threw it. 

 Straight the Squirrel then his tail 



made. 

 Seeking passage to escape them. 

 Jerking in and out among them; 

 And the Gonds began to chase it, 

 Cryiag, " Catch it ! " crying, " KiU 



it!" 

 " Let us catch and skiu and eat it." 

 Some took sticks and some took 



stones, 

 Some took clods, and off they 



scurried 

 After Warche, Kiag of Squirrels, 

 Hip-cloths streaming out behind 



them. 

 But the Squirrel — Artful Dodger — 

 Jerkiag in and out among them 

 Popped into a hole convenient 

 In the mountain Dewalgiri. 

 And the Gonds all ran in after — 

 All but four that stayed behind 



them. 

 Then a stone took Mahadeva, 

 A great stone of sixteen cubits. 

 Shut them up within the cavern 

 In the mountain Dewalgiri; 

 Shut them up, and placed the 



demon- 

 Monster horrid, fierce Basmdsur — 

 Placed him guardian o'er the 



entrance. 

 And the four that were remaining 

 Swiftly fled from Dewalgiri, 

 Fled across the hills and valleys, 

 Fled to hide them from the Great 



God, 

 From the wrath of Mahddeva. 



Long they wandered thus in terror. 

 But no hiding-place discovered ; 

 Till a tree at last ascending. 

 On a hill a straight-stemmed date 



tree. 

 Thence looked forth and saw a 



refage — 

 Saw the Red Hills, Lahugadd, 

 The Iron Valley, Kachikopd. 

 There they sped them through the 



forest, 

 And they hid them from the Great 



God. 

 Now the goddess-queen Pdr- 



buttee — 

 Consort she of Mdhddevd — 

 On the mountain top was sleeping. 

 On the top of Dewalgiri. 

 Waked she shortly from her 



slumber. 

 Waked to find a something want- 

 ing 

 In the air of Dewalgiri. 

 Then she grieved, and thought 



within her, 

 " Where can aU my Gonds have 



gone to ? 

 Many days our hill is silent. 

 Once that echoed to their shouting ; 

 Many days no smell ascendeth. 

 Pleasant smell of Gonds ascending ; 

 My sweet-smeUing Gonds, where 



are theyl 

 And my Mahadevd, also, 

 Him I see not ; much I fear me 

 He has done my Gonds a mischief." 

 And she grieved, and took no 



dinner. 

 Prayed and fasted like a hermit, 

 Devotee-Uke penance doing 

 For her lost sweet-smeUing Koitor. 

 Siz months thus she prayed and 



fasted. 

 Till the King of Gods, Bhag- 



wantdl,^ 



1 This is intended for Bhagwdn, the unworshipped Creator of the 

 Hindus {vide p. 123). His introduction here as a mythical personage 

 is not consonant with the usual practice in Hindu writings. 



