书城传记聆听史诗丛书-格萨尔王传:英文
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第64章 The Lion King and His...(5)

Dainma hit Zhaotoin’s hand with a wooden stick. Zhaotoin felt so hurt that he drew back his hand and became silent.

Zhaotoin thought to himself: “If I keep playing dead, Gesar will think of many ways to deal with me. I may as well beg for mercy as early as possible.”

Zhaotoin rolled out of the rock and went down on both knees, hobbling to the Lion King. He apologized respectfully:

“Lion King, my dear nephew, I deserve to die for faking my illness. What a shameful idiot I am to play dead! But I have made a pledge with the Raksasa, so I can’t tell you where he is.”

Gesar was unhappy because Zhaotoin always had countless excuses and was always throwing his weight around but was too weak to attack enemies. Now he was so afraid to break his promise that he refused to say where the Raksasa was. Also now nobody in the Ling area knew the Raksasa’s whereabouts, how could Gesar find the pieces of turquoise!

Seeing that Gesar was worried, Dainma suddenly thought of Zhugor Dazain, who participated in demarcating the frontier between the Hor and Ling. He should know Raksasa’s whereabouts. Dainma immediately went and told Gesar and he was sent to ask Zhugor Dazain to meet him.

Dainma jumped on his horse and went to Zhugor Dazain’s tent. He was warmly welcomed and became sworn brothers with Zhugor Dazain. When Zhugor Dazain arrived he knelt down and said to Gesar:

“I would like to tell you where the Raksasa lives, but I have made a pledge with him. As breaking a promise is a shame, I would rather be imprisoned than go with you. If you insist I go with you, please tie me up and force me to go with you. But, I beg you not to hurt the Raksasa.”

Gesar agreed.

On the 15th of that month, Gesar and eight of his generals set out to look for the Raksasa. When they reached a suitable site, they camped for a rest. Zhugor Dazain said:

“King Gesar, we are so close to his place that there are poisonous water, grass and trees hidden that he has conjured up. This is where he always wanders about. Now someone should be sent to check whether his footprints are nearby.”

Mychon volunteered to go. When he returned he reported that he had seen mountains and trees like Zhugor Dazain had described. Zhugor Dazain said:

“Now it’s time to send Dainma to wait on the rock, under which aromatic plants were burned for auspicious smoke. When the Raksasa comes, he will change his appearance to a master, a general or a beggar, and will ask Dainma for snow cocks. Please conjure up a snow cock for Dainma to shoot.”

Dainma then waited on the rock for the Raksasa. After a while, a hunchbacked master came with a walking stick and a bag on his back. He said to Dainma:

“It is said that the State of Ling gives charity to the poor. As I suffered a relapse, please be so kind enough as to give me some medicine. You can’t ask the State of Ling for mercy until I am treated.”

Dainma knew that this man was the Raksasa. Just then, a snow cock conjured up by Gesar hovered over Dainma’s head. The master pointed to the snow cock and asked Dainma for mercy. Dainma drew his bow and shot the snow cock down. As he was giving it to the old man, a fierce gale took away the snow cock in Dainma’s hand. Suddenly, the master was nowhere to be found.

Hearing Dainma’s report, Gesar asked Zhugor Dazain what to do next. Zhugor Dazain said that the Raksasa would ask for a marmot after he ate the snow cock, because he would become strong and very powerful if he ate them both. If so, it would be difficult to make him surrender.

Gesar immediately ordered Dainma to wait for the Raksasa at the marmot’s hole.

The old master, just as expected, came again. He gave many thanks to Dainma for the snow cock and said that he felt much better after eating the snow cock and that he would be fully recovered if Dainma gave him a marmot. Raising his head, Dainma saw a marmot running about, which Gesar had conjured from a stone. He shot it and gave it to the old master.

The Raksasa was happy with the marmot. He hurried to his palace and could not wait to throw it into the pot. But the marmot was conjured from a stone, so it broke the pot when it was thrown in. The ashes from the fire flew up and burned the Raksasa’s face and made him cry. The Raksasa realized that he had been cheated. He turned around and found King Gesar standing in front of him. He became scared and hurriedly conjured a cold wind to flee away.

Gesar sent Dainma to break into the Raksasa’s castle. When Dainma climbed onto the eighth floor, the Raksasa appeared as big as Dainma. They fought fiercely for several rounds but it turned out to be a tie. They had both never met a match for themselves. In this case, they decided to have an archery contest with the castle and treasures as a bet respectively.

Nine piles of helmets, breastplates and shields were stacked up on a rock as big as a yak. The Raksasa shot through the nine piles of helmets and nine shields at the same time, but the breastplates and the rock survived.

When it came to Dainma’s turn, he shot through the nine helmets, the nine shields, the nine breastplates and the rock which was destroyed into little pieces all at once. One side of the stable wall also fell in. Seeing that the Raksasa was in a daze, Dainma stretched out to catch him but failed. The Raksasa had disappeared again. Anyhow, Dainma won the bet and the Raksasa’s castle now belonged to Dainma.

However, the whereabouts of the turquoise pieces was still unknown. Zhugor Dazain said to the Lion King that the Raksasa liked women. If Queen Cholmo could be brought here within seven days and the Raksasa was required to deliver the turquoise pieces as a betrothal gift to marry her, he would surely accept it. Gesar followed this advice and sent Zhugor Dazain to the Raksasa. Above all else, he wanted the turquoise pieces to come into his hand.

Zhugor Dazain finally found him in another castle. He said: “Gesar has gone to Gyayo. He is most likely not to come back. Queen Cholmo is in the palace alone. If you are willing to deliver the turquoise pieces as the betrothal gift, you can marry Cholmo. If Gesar returns, you can serve as a domestic minister for him.”

When he heard this, the Raksasa said that he would marry Cholmo at any expense.