India Folk Tales
The Lambikin
ONCE upon a time there was a wee wee Lambikin, who frolicked about on his little tottery legs, and enjoyed himself amazingly.
Now
one day he set off to visit his Granny, and was jumping with joy to
think of all the good things he should get from her, when who should he
meet but a Jackal, who looked at the tender young morsel and said:
"Lambikin! Lambikin! I'll EAT YOU!"
But Lambikin only gave a little frisk, and said:
"To Granny's house I go, Where I shall fatter grow, Then you can eat me so."
The Jackal thought this reasonable, and let Lambikin pass.
By-and-by
he met a Vulture, and the Vulture, looking hungrily at the tender
morsel before him, said: "Lambikin! Lambikin! I'll EAT YOU!"
But Lambikin only gave a little frisk, and said:
"To Granny's house I go, Where I shall fatter grow Then you can eat me so."
The Vulture thought this reasonable, and let Lambikin pass.
And
by-and-by he met a Tiger, and then a Wolf, and a Dog, and an Eagle; and
all these, when they saw the tender little morsel, said: "Lambikin!
Lambikin! I'll EAT YOU!"
But to all of them Lambikin replied, with a little frisk:
"To Granny's house I go, Where I shall fatter grow, Then you can eat me so."
At
last he reached his Granny's house, and said, all in a great hurry,
"Granny dear, I've promised to get very fat; so, as people ought to
keep their promises, please put me into the corn-bin at once."
So
his Granny said he was a good boy, and put him into the corn-bin, and
there the greedy little Lambikin stayed for seven days, and ate, and
ate, and ate, until he could scarcely waddle, and his Granny said he
was fat enough for anything, and must go home. But cunning little
Lambikin said that would never do, for some animal would be sure to eat
him on the way back, he was so plump and tender.
"I'll tell you
what you must do," said Master Lambikin; "you must make a little
drumikin out of the skin of my little brother who died, and then I can
sit inside and trundle along nicely, for I'm as tight as a drum myself.'
So
his Granny made a nice little drumikin out of his brother's skin, with
the wool inside, and Lambikin curled himself up snug and warm in the
middle, and trundled away gaily. Soon he met with the Eagle, who called
out:
"Drumikin! Drumikin! Have you seen Lambikin?"
And Mr. Lambikin, curled up in his soft warm nest, replied:
"Fallen into the fire, and so will you On little Drumikin. Tum-pa, tum-too!"
"How very annoying!" sighed the Eagle, thinking regretfully of the tender morsel he had let slip.
Meanwhile Lambikin trundled along, laughing to himself, and singing:
"Tum-pa, tum-too; Tum-pa, tum-too!"
Every animal and bird he met asked him the same question:
"Drumikin! Drumikin! Have you seen Lambikin?"
And to each of them the little slyboots replied:
"Fallen into the fire, and so will you On little Drumikin. Tum-pa, tum-too; Tum-pa, tum-too; Tum-pa, tum-too!"
Then they all sighed to think of the tender little morsel they had let slip.
At last the Jackal came limping along, for all his sorry looks as sharp as a needle, and he too called out:
"Drumikin! Drumikin! Have you seen Lambikin?"
And Lambikin, curled up in his snug little nest, replied gaily:
"Fallen into the fire, and so will you On little Drumikin! Tum-pa--"
But
he never got any further, for the Jackal recognised his voice at once,
and cried: "Hullo! you've turned yourself inside out, have you? Just
you come out of that!"
Whereupon he tore open Drumikin and gobbled up Lambikin.
|