Collected Works (Vol. II)

228 THE THREE :CHARACTERISTICS. - a family of Nats in a big-tree at. Anuradhapura had a little stranger, very:welcome to. Mamma and Papa Nat. - © Blessed.-indeed::was thé family; ‘Five- and-forty feet }away.stoed:a, wnost ancient.and-| holy dagoba :.and the children: of light would gather round it ‘in the.coal:of.the evening, or in the misty glamour: of dawn, and turn.forth in. love and pity towards all mankind—nay, to the smallest grain of dust tossed on. the utmost storms of the Sahara! ‘¢ Blessed and more blessed! For one day came a holy Bhikkhu from the land of the “Peacock,? and would take up his abode in the hollow of their very tree. And little Perdu’ R Abu used to keep the mosquitoes away with the gossamer of his wings, so that the good man might be at peace. ‘‘Now the British Government abodein that land, and when it heard that there was a Bhikkhu living in a tree, and that the village folk brought him rice and onions and gramo- phones, it saw that it must not be. ‘‘And little Perdu’ R Abu heard them talk; and learnt the great secret of Imper- manence, and of Sorrow, and the mystery of Unsubstantiality. ‘And the Government evicted the Bhikkhu; and set guard, quite like the end of Genesis iii., and cut down the tree, and all the Nats perished. ‘‘Jehjaour heard and trembled. Perdu’ R Abu was only three years old. VIIL. ‘It really seemed as if fate was against him. Poor Jehjaour! In despair he cried to his partner, ‘O Ganesha, in the world of Gods only shall we be safe. Let him be born as a flute-girl before Indra’s throne!’ ‘Difficult is the task,’ replied the alarmed deity, ‘but I will use all my influence. I 1 The Government, in the interests of Bud- dhists themselves, reserves all ground within 50 feet of a dagoba. The incident described in this section actually occurred in 1901. 2 Siam. | example—— know a thing or two about Indra, for ‘Tt was done. Beautiful was the young- girl’s face’.as :she Sprang mature. from the womb of. Matter,:.on- her’ ie-goamey of: an hundred: thousand. years... Of.’‘ali. ‘Indra’s ’ flute-girls:she played and-sang’ the:sweetest, . Yet ever some remembrance, dim:as a-pallid - ghost. that fleets down the’ tong’ avenues! Of - ‘deodar and moonlight; stole in: her: brains and her song was ever of: love and death: and music from-beyond. — , ‘** And one day as she sang thus the deep truth stole into. being and ‘she knew ‘the Noble Truths. So she turned her flute ‘to the new song, when—horror !—there was.a mosquito in the flute. ‘Tootle! Tootle!’ she began. ‘ Buzz! Buzz!’- went.-the mos- quito from the very vitals of her delicate tube. “Indra was not unprovided with a disc, 1 Alas! Jehjaour, art thou alreadyin thé toils ? She had only lived eight months. a 0.¢ ‘** Flow you bungle!’ growled Ganesha. ‘Fortunately we are better off this time. Indra has been guillotined for his dastardly murder ; So his place is vacant.” ‘ Eurekas !’ yelled the magus, ‘his very virtue will save him from his predecessor’s fate.’ ‘Behold Perdu’ R Abu then as Indra! But oh, dear me! what a memory he was getting ! ‘ It seems to me,’ he mused, ‘that I’ve been changing about a lot lately. Well, I am virtuous—and I read in Crowley’s new translation of the Dhammapada? that virtue is the thing to keep one steady. So I think I may look forward to a tenure of my mahakalpa in almost Arcadian simplicity. Lady Bhavani, did you say, boy? Yes, I am at home. Bring the betel!’ ‘ Jeldi!’ he added, with some dim recollection of the A whirling discis Indra’s symbolic weapon. 2 He abandoned this. A few fragments are reprinted, supra.