Feather Woman of the Jungle (7 page)

As far as I saw her, she was about thirty years old. Her eyes were very clear and the face was very fresh as the face of a fifteen-year-old girl. There were no scars or pimples on her cheeks or face and the hair of her head was not so much dark but of course, probably the climate of that town had turned the hair to be like that. Her teeth were very white and very closely to each other. Her nose was quite pointed like that of an image, the slippers on her feet were made from the soft leather of crocodile. She had clear and lovely voice and her face always seemed as if she was kind and merciful.

As I was still noticing all these things, a number of another set of guardsmen walked in and those whom I met in there walked out and those who were just come in took over the
duty. Again, I noticed these new set of the guardsmen that everyone of them was a man of strong body, stout and fearful to see. The skull of shark was on everyone’s head, and wore the apron which was the skin of fish but the scaly skins of fishes were their purtises and gloves. Many of them held the tails of big fishes. Each of that tails was about four feet long and the width was about six inches and very thick indeed and sharp thorns were lined up on both edges. Some of those who held the long spears were shielded their breasts with the very big sea tortoise back shells. All of these were their uniforms. Every one of them was a giant-like and cynical.

As I sat on the chair facing the nymph or the queen of the river and I was still looking at the decorations and thinking also in mind that no doubt I would leave this town with much wealths, the man who had brought me in there started to complain to the nymph that he brought me before her for punishment because I struck his head when I jumped on the river when the only palm-fruit which I could find had fallen into the river. That man hardly complained to the nymph when all her guardsmen gathered at my back and ready to hold me. But the nymph hastily rang the bell on her side, to them to leave me. Then with a very cool voice, she asked from me: “Why did you strike him on the head?” So before I started to reply, I first crossed my feet and seated very easy as if I was in my house and then I said: “In fact, I jumped on the river when the only palm-fruit that I could get, had fallen in the water. But I did not know whether I had struck him on the head but if it was so then it was by a mistake.” She asked again: “Why did you jump into the river in respect of one palm-fruit?” And as those guardsmen were in attention and got ready to hold me if the nymph gave them the order to do so. So I replied: “My work was to find the palm-fruits to the people of the town of famine because they had nothing to eat since the famine had started in their town and they had already
leaned to the bones.” But when she heard like that from me, she was so wondered that she sat up and then asked again: “The famine was so serious that only the palm-fruits the people eat?” I said: “Yes. Even the palm-fruits were not easily to get.” Then she and her guardsmen breathed out with wonder and as she hesitated and was looking at me the guardsmen looked at each other’s eyes with great wonder and then stood easy and that showed me that they were in
sympathy
with me. So the nymph said suddenly: “Oh, no wonder, your appearance even shows that you are in a great famine because you are too lean.” But I hastily interrupted: “That town is not mine but I went there to find the treasure.”

But as she was about to ask me another question, one beautiful lady walked in that moment. She put one big basin in front of her and then she bowed down for her and walked out. When she removed the lid of that basin, it was roasted fish and then she started to eat it as a refreshment. But as I was very hungry even before I was brought before her, so I stood up, I walked to her and without excuse, I took some slices and then I walked back to my seat and there I started to eat the fish bit by bit with greediness. But as the nymph was kind and merciful, she rang the bell on her side and after a few seconds, one attendant walked in. Then she told her to take me to the dining-room and give me food. So I walked out with that attendant. She (attendant) gave me the nice food which I ate to my entire satisfaction. After that I went back to the nymph. Having discussed with me about the famine for a while, she stood up and walked into one room opposite that sitting-room. After a while she came back with one round box. It was very big but one man could carry it from one place to another. It was sealed round. She gave it to me and then explained to me that, “This sealed box (she pointed finger to it) will supply food and drinks of all kinds to you and the people of the town of famine throughout the
period of the famine. But you and the people must be very careful not to break the delicate box. If you break it it will not be able to supply anything to you any more and all of you will be punished for it. Furthermore, if it is stolen away from you, all of you will be punished as well. And again, you must put in your mind always that you must not come back to me for anything as from today!”

Having warned me like that she rang the bell and the man (the water-man) who had brought me to her, walked in. As he stood before her, she told him to take me back to where he had caught me. Then I put the box on head, I thanked her greatly before I followed the water-man and some of the guardsmen led us to a short distance before they went back. After a while we came to where that coffin was. Having put that box in it and I went inside it, the water-man pushed it on to the river and then he entered it. But to my surprise, he hardly covered it with its lid when the coffin started to run furiously on the water and within a few seconds it floated on the very part of that river from which he had caught me
before
.

As my canoe was still driven here and there by the tides. Then as soon as the coffin stopped closely to it, I put that box in it and then I started to paddle it along to the town of famine. But that water-man did not talk to me until when he had brought me back to that river and returned to the nymph.

When I paddled the canoe for about two hours I reached the bank of that river. Having tied up the canoe, I carried the box direct to the king. In the presence of the paramount chief, the king removed the lid of it. To their surprise, they met several basins of variety of food and one small spoon in it. But they did not believe me when I told them that the food would be sufficient to feed the whole people till whenever the famine was finished.

Anyhow, the king put the box in his strong-room and he choose me to be serving the food to the people and to himself. Then I first served him and the paramount chief and they had first satisfied their hunger, then the whole people in the town were invited to the palace. The king told them that everyone of them should go back to his or her house and bring the plate and spoon. Then the people ran back to their houses and they returned with all these things after a few minutes. Then I began to serve each of them. But the people ate and drank to their satisfaction and yet the food and the drinks remained in that box as if I had not served from them.

It was so the people and the king were eating and drinking to their satisfaction for three times daily for three months and yet the food and the drinks remained as if nothing had touched them. And within a few weeks more, the people had forgotten the famine. They had enough muscles on bodies, they became as powerful as before the famine had started. They were able to walk about easily in the town, singing, dancing and laughing with great joy. They were so satisfied that they determined not to work again for their living.

But as the news of that wonderful box had spread to many towns and villages and many people from those towns and villages had come to witness that box. So one midnight, a gang of night marauders came from one of those towns to the palace. When they came in and as they were trying to break and enter into the strong-room to steal the box away to their town. The king’s bugle-blowers who were keeping watch of the gate of the palace, started to blow the bugles just to wake the king and the rest people in the palace. When the people and the king woke, they took clubs, cudgels, matchets, axes, bows and arrows, etc. They rushed to the marauders and I followed them with my matchet in hand. Then all of us started to beat them but they beat us so mercilessly in return that everyone got wounds all over the body. They beat me
until I fell down unconsciously. Every part of my body was bleeding continuously. But at last, when the arrows were shot to them continuously for a few minutes then they ran away for their lives.

After the marauders had escaped, the king and some of the rest people took me from the floor to one room. The king started to treat my wounds with medicine and all were healed within a few days. And the marauders did not attempt to come to the palace for some weeks, but one of them whom we did not recognize at all, came to the bugle-blowers. He tried all his possible best and made friends with them. He was so kind to them that they did not suspect him as one of the marauders. He was sitting with them from morning till the evening. He was just spying the easiest way to get into the strong-room in which the wonderful box was kept always.

Having satisfied himself, then he went back to his members and told them to be ready for another attempt to steal the box. In the very night that they were coming, he had come to the bugle-blowers before his members. He was playing with them as he was usually doing. But he hid one bottle of thick honey under his dress. When he noticed that the
bugle-blowers
went to the palace to take their supper, he hastily filled their bugles with that thick honey and then hung them back on their usual rack before they came back.

When they returned, he ate and drank with them, after that he told them that he was going to visit another man in the next house. But not knowing that immediately he had left them, he went direct to the rest marauders. He told them that it was time to go and bugle the strong-room. Then all of them came to the town and entered the palace through the other gate. As they were splitting the door of the strong-room with axes, the bugle-blowers woke and hastily took their bugles from the rack. But when put them in the mouths just to be blowing them as a warning to the king and the people in the
palace that the night marauders came again. The thick honey started to run from their bugles into their mouths. Therefore, they were unable to blow the bugles but they were licking the honey and enjoying it as it was running into their mouths and it was so the marauders were breaking the strong-room as hastily as they could.

It was like that the room was broken into and the
wonderful
box together with the king’s property were taken and then they left the town as quickly as possible. And they had gone far away before the bugle-blowers were able to blow their bugles after they had licked the honey in their bugles.
Anyhow
, the king and the rest people took up the fighting weapons. Then we chased the marauders to catch and then to take the box back from them. But they had gone too far away, we did not see any trace of them.

Then we came back to the palace. The king cast down on his throne and was thinking sorrowfully of what to eat in the morning. In the morning, when the people gathered in the front of the palace and were waiting for their breakfast, the king and his paramount chief told me to go back to the nymph for another wonderful box. But when I explained to the king that the nymph had warned me already not to come back to her for anything and she had warned me as well that if the box was split or stolen away, we would be punished for it. The hungry people shouted at a time: “Don’t tell us a lie! But you must go back to her and if you explain to her how the box was stolen from the strong-room, she would not
refuse
to give you another one!” Again, I insisted to go back, but that time the king and the paramount chief said that if I refused to go back to the nymph it meant I disobeyed their order and therefore, they would punish me and the
punishment
was to behead me.

Anyhow, I went back to that river and as I was paddling the canoe along, I came to the same spot from where the
water-man had taken me to the nymph the other day. Then I wilfully threw the paddle in the water with the hope that it would sink like that palm-fruit. But when the paddle did not sink, I jumped into the water and I hardly dived when the same water-man held my both feet and pulled me deeply into the water before he put me inside the same coffin and within a few minutes it took us to the town of the nymph. Then the water-man took me before her like the first time. He
complained
to her that he caught me again when I struck his head with my feet.

But the nymph grew annoyed when she saw me there again. Instead to say anything to the complaint of the water-man, she asked me: “Had I not told you last time not to come here again?” I replied with trembling voice: “In fact you had told me not to come to you again. But I come back to take another wonderful box in which everlasting food and drinks are kept!” Having heard like that from me, she became more anger and asked: “By the way, what has happened to the one which I had given to you the other day?” I replied that the night marauders had stolen it away from the king’s strong-room a few days ago. Then she remarked with fearful voice: “Is that how you people are careless? I had warned you that you should keep the box so savely that it might not be stolen. All right, I shall send another thing to the king which will teach all of you sense!”

Then she stood up and entered the same room opposite the sitting-room and I was very happy when she told me that she would send another thing to us which would teach us sense. After a while she returned with one huge sealed pot. When gave it to me, she told me that I should open it when the whole people and the king gathered into one place. Then I thanked her greatly for I believed that this pot was going to supply the food and drinks like that box. So when I was ready to leave, she rang the bell to the same water-man and he
walked in at the same time. As he bowed down for her, she told him to take me back with the same coffin. Having taken me back to where he had caught me, then I put the pot in my canoe and I paddled it to the bank and from there I carried the pot to the town.