登陆注册
19850600000077

第77章

And those who were waiting for the Rajah thought him a long time on the top of the mountain, and thought the great spirit must have much to say, or might perhaps want to keep him on the mountain always, or perhaps he had missed his way in conning down again. And they were debating whether they should go and search for him, when they saw him coming down with the two boys. And when he met them he looked very grave, but said nothing; and then all descended together, and the procession returned as it had come; and the Rajah went to his palace and the chiefs to their villages, and the people to their houses, to tell their wives and children all that had happened, and to wonder yet again what would come of it.

And three days afterwards the Rajah summoned the priests and the princes and the chief men of Mataram, to hear what the great spirit had told him on the top of the mountain. And when they were all assembled, and the betel and sirih had been handed round, he told them what had happened. On the top of the mountain he had fallen into a trance, and the great spirit had appeared to him with a face like burnished gold, and had said--"0h Rajah! much plague and sickness and fevers are coming upon all the earth, upon men and upon horses and upon cattle; but as you and your people have obeyed me and have come up to my great mountain, Iwill teach you how you and all the people of Lombock may escape this plague." And all waited anxiously, to hear how they were to be saved from so fearful a calamity. And after a short silence the Rajah spoke again and told them, that the great spirit had commanded that twelve sacred krisses should be made, and that to make them every village and every district must send a bundle of needles--a needle for every head in the village. And when any grievous disease appeared in any village, one of the sacred krisses should be sent there; and if every house in that village had sent the right number of needles, the disease would immediately cease; but if the number of needles sent had not been exact, the kris would have no virtue.

So the princes and chiefs sent to all their villages and communicated the wonderful news; and all made haste to collect the needles with the greatest accuracy, for they feared that if but one were wanting, the whole village would suffer. So one by one the head men of the villages brought in their bundles of needles; those who were near Mataram came first, and those who were far off came last; and the Rajah received them with his own hands and put them away carefully in an inner chamber, in a camphor-wood chest whose hinges and clasps were of silver; and on every bundle was marked the name of the village and the district from whence it came, so that it might be known that all had heard and obeyed the commands of the great spirit.

And when it was quite certain that every village had sent in its bundle, the Rajah divided the needles into twelve equal parts, and ordered the best steelworker in Mataram to bring his forge and his bellows and his hammers to the palace, and to make the twelve krisses under the Rajah's eye, and in the sight of all men who chose to see it. And when they were finished, they were wrapped up in new silk and put away carefully until they might be wanted.

Now the journey to the mountain was in the time of the east wind when no rain falls in Lombock. And soon after the krisses were made it was the time of the rice harvest, and the chiefs of districts and of villages brought their tax to the Rajah according to the number heads in their villages. And to those that wanted but little of the full amount, the Rajah said nothing; but when those came who brought only half or a fourth part of what was strictly due, he said to them mildly, "The needles which you sent from your village were many more than came from such-a-one's village, yet your tribute is less than his; go back and see who it is that has not paid the tax." And the next year the produce of the tax increased greatly, for they feared that the Rajah might justly kill those who a second time kept back the right tribute. And so the Rajah became very rich, and increased the number of his soldiers, and gave golden jewels to his wives, and bought fine black horses from the white-skinned Hollanders, and made great feasts when his children were born or were married; and none of the Rajahs or Sultans among the Malays were so great or powerful as the Rajah of Lombock.

And the twelve sacred krisses had great virtue. And, when any sickness appeared in a village one of them was sent for; and sometimes the sickness went away, and then the sacred kris was taken back again with great Honour, and the head men of the village came to tell the Rajah of its miraculous power, and to thank him. And sometimes the sickness would not go away; and then everybody was convinced that there had been a mistake in the number of needles sent from that village, and therefore the sacred kris had no effect, and had to be taken back again by the head men with heavy hearts, but still, with all honour--for was not the fault their own?

同类推荐
  • 海东高僧传

    海东高僧传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 地藏菩萨仪轨

    地藏菩萨仪轨

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 存复斋文集

    存复斋文集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 也是录

    也是录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 辨症玉函

    辨症玉函

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • TFBOYS之十年一辈子

    TFBOYS之十年一辈子

    意外偶遇,回眸微笑,怦然心动,造就一场青春的爱情。并肩作战,风生水起。错误的误会,小三的挑衅,绝情的背影,让爱情水晶支离破碎。筑起的信任,灰飞烟灭。曾经的恋人不复存在。身份翻牌,变身总裁。动用势力,竭力寻查,真相水落石出。受伤的人不见踪迹,华丽回归,身份大变转。一切的一切,翻天覆地。多次真诚悔过,请求重新来过。惨遭冷淡拒绝,伤透心何必重来。不死不休,封印爱情的结界在松动。第一二年,希望甜蜜,一切顺利。第三年第一个月绝望痛苦,一切皆毁。五年零二个月中愤恨煎熬,一切掌握。第七年第四月一日,华丽回归,冰冷疏远。“游戏开始。十年,还剩两年九个月。如爱上你,任凭处置。”
  • 纵宠千金宝贝

    纵宠千金宝贝

    他是一国皇帝,世人称颂的明君,后宫佳丽三千,但他的后宫中还从来没有出现过这么不驯的女人,他都不嫌弃她丑,为了得到她,他可以不择手段,强占、监视、纵宠,甚至无暇顾及他的后宫,果然,她终于臣服于他,但他的心里清楚明白,真正臣服的人其实是他自己!她这辈子注定是他的女人,他的唯一!
  • Satan公主的复仇爱恋

    Satan公主的复仇爱恋

    十年之前在这阴谋的前兆我们互不相识十年之后两位Satan无比的Bloodthirsty公主强势归来开始此次的复仇之旅等待他们的是再次的误会还是最后的白头到老又或许是生死离别
  • 绝宠坏丫头:全明星恶魔殿下

    绝宠坏丫头:全明星恶魔殿下

    倔强的痞女、嗜血的魔鬼、顽昧的冥王、温暖的天使...恶魔、骑士、天使、修罗、吸血鬼、激情、邪恶、冷笑、全明星、风云校园、黑街、叫呛、干架、泡吧...华丽的词汇,导演盛世的全偶像剧。
  • 妖兽战警

    妖兽战警

    妖怪能当警察吗?当然能,要知道人是人他妈生的,妖是妖他妈生的,不管是人还是妖,只要有一颗公正仁慈之心,就能当警察。本书讲述了一个人类带领一群妖怪成为城市守护神的故事。猪脚龚平是一名又才气,性格略微懦弱的警察,长期得不到上司的重用。他虽然是个凡人,内心深处却蕴藏着上战神刑天的英灵,拥有强大的力量。后由于仙界将其选中作为后备神仙的引导者而接受了引导印记,从而激活了英灵,导致龚平力量的觉醒。另一方面,由于仙界滥发帝流浆,导致人间妖物泛滥,贻害四方。龚平遂带领由妖怪为主体组成的ys战警,成为了城市的守护神!
  • 九极仙帝

    九极仙帝

    吞噬血肉的邪魅血碗,穿越修真世界的地球少年,一个能召唤神秘卡牌,一个缔造了修士界的传说,且看一个不狠毒反而雍容大度的少年如何玩转修真,共同经历一个以卡修真的奇妙之旅
  • 长离阁集

    长离阁集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 剑破轩辕

    剑破轩辕

    万剑阁府内,万剑阁主之子“殷文泽”,因为和玄魂宗宗主之子发生冲突,被玄魂宗把筋脉全部打断,之后由于无法忍受屈辱只好自尽,在仆人把他扔到万兽林后,却因为从天而降的人而,“起死回生”,那个人临死前又给了他一把破剑,让他不要被仇恨蒙蔽了,说完便化为一片虚无!殷文泽的命运正在悄然改变
  • 刘壮肃公奏议

    刘壮肃公奏议

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 聪明的动物 愚蠢的动物

    聪明的动物 愚蠢的动物

    "这是一本以动物为主角的童话故事集,风格轻松幽默。内容精选了俄国童话作家兼插画家瓦莱里?卡里克自编自绘的民间童话故事共50则。故事中多数都有着聪明的和愚蠢的动物角色——狐狸、兔子、狼、麻雀、山羊、仙鹤、公鸡、龙虾、骆驼、绵羊、青蛙、鹬,等等。其中很多角色颠覆了我们惯常思维中童话动物的单调形象。“故事意思简单,叙述有趣、重复,再加之图画又这样恰到好处,恰合儿童心理,是艺术家而兼教育家的手笔。”书中配有大量高品质的手绘插图,插图和故事本身一样,简洁明快,充满戏剧性,“无论在幽默感和艺术巧妙性上都是独一无二的”(英国《卫报》评)。