178 THE NON-LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

me/ and in a few days he had restored her beauty, and they
were married and lived together in her mother's house for many
years. At length he asked permission to take his wife to his
own home, and they started, but no sooner had they passed the
village gate than he was changed into the shape of a tiger, and
his wife wept much at seeing him thus. An old woman of the
village saw them and came and told the people that a tiger
was carrying off the girl, so the villagers assembled to consult,*
but no one would volunteer for the task of rescuing the girl.
At last Fachirang and Rangchar, two brothers, set off with a
dao and a spear to kill the animal, but after going a very little
way Fachirang, the elder brother, said, ' Oh ! Rangchar, I
don't know what is the matter, but my heart beats so fast that
I must remain here ; you go and see if you can kill the beast
alone/ So the younger brother went on alone till he came to
the place where the tiger and the girl were living happily.
Rangchar thrust his spear into the breast of the tiger, and it
died at once, and Rangchar carried off the girl and returned to
where his brother was waiting, and they all three set out
for home together. The elder brother married the girl, and
they all lived happily together."

THE STORY OF
(From " Progressive Colloquial Exercises in the Lushai Dialect "
by Captain H. Lewin, 1874.)

Her father, who was unmarried, was splitting cane to make a
winnowing basket when he ran a splinter into his hand : the
splinter grew into a little child ; (after a time) the child was
brought forth motherless and they called her Kung<5ri. They
fed her with single grains of millet and rice, and so little by
little she grew big. Two or three years passed by and she
attained puberty ; she was very pretty, and all the young-men
of the village wanted to marry her, but her father refused them
all. Then the young tiger-man, Keimi, took up the impression
of her foot and wrapped it up and placed it on the bamboo
grating over the house fire to dry. Then Kiing6ri became ill.

Eoingdri's father said, " If there be anyone that can cure her,
he shall have my daughter." All the villagers tried, but not