书城传记聆听史诗丛书-格萨尔王传:英文
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第69章 The Lion King and His...(10)

Hearing Chin’en’s tearful words, Gesar was suddenly overcome with benevolence. He ordered the troops to make camp where they stood and wait for the coming meeting between themselves and the State of Rong. But seven days passed, and no one came. Chin’en was confused: Why, he asked himself, does no one come out to meet us? If I let the situation go on like this, King Gesar will most certainly be offended, and then I will never meet my beloved parents, even though I am so close to home. Thinking thus, Chin’en became increasingly sad and could not help but shed further tears.

Seeing Chin’en crying, Mychon hurried to offer comfort and said that he could help him realize his dream. Immediately, Mychon began to put his words into action: he changed Gesar’s Heavenly horse, Gyaingar Pebo, into a donkey, at the same time transforming himself into an iron-faced beggar crawling with lice from head to foot.

Riding on the donkey, Mychon went towards Rong town. But he felt uneasy when he found that every crossing was guarded by armed men, although the road itself was empty. After a long while, he finally came upon a man collecting firewood. But the man regarded him as a murrain and fled at his approach. Mychon thought things over a while and then walked directly to the city’s palace. Near the palace was a field of grain ripe for harvest. Mychon drove his donkey straight into the field, thinking that this action must result in the swift appearance of the grain’s owner.

Now, the reason for this situation was as follows: hardly had Gesar’s troops encamped at Moinzhub Mountain Pass when Chin’en’s sister Ngaman observed them from her father’s castle. She saw not only the tents but also the magic troops with millions of soldiers and horses. Ngaman immediately reported her sighting to her father, the king of Rong, who naturally assumed that someone was preparing to invade his kingdom. He therefore promptly issued orders to his troops that every crossing be guarded, and also forbade any one from chopping wood on the mountain or standing on the river bank as though preparing to effect a crossing.

While Mychon was busy delousing himself, his donkey was just as busy eating the crops. A maid who came out from the palace scolded him, but he simply ignored her complaints. So the maid returned to the palace and told the king. The king just instructed her to drive the donkey away and not to bother him with it again. When the maid transmitted king’s order to Mychon, he pretented to be deaf to her words. The angry maid went once more back to the palace. When the maid repeated her story to Princess Ngaman, the princess flew into a rage. Taking a rod in her hand she went in search of Mychon and showered him with abuse:

“You are such a rascal! Our own local residents are currently banned from going outside, and strangers are also forbidden to enter. So how dare you just walk in here and damage our crops! You’d better go away right now, or you will certainly live to regret it.”

Mychon rejoiced in his heart when he realised he had met Princess Ngaman. He said:

“I am in truth a nobleman from the court of King Gesar, and we are now on our way back to the Land of Ling via Gyayo. It is said that Rong State is a rare and prosperous kingdom, where beggars never worry about eating and livestock can always find clear water and lush grass. However, I meet people here who are either deaf or mute. Is it possible that they are suffering from some form of plague?”

After hearing his words, Ngaman asked him about the other members of King Gesar’s entourage, to which Mychon replied with their names and stations. When Ngaman heard of the presence of her brother, Chin’en, she became very happy and immediately entertained Mychon. She told him that she would welcome the king of the Ling State at their palace the very next day.

Mychon returned to the camp of the Ling troops and told everything to King Gesar. The king became worried that Chin’en would not return to Ling because of homesickness. So he decided not to let Chin’en be reunited with his family.

The next day, Princess Ngaman and many officials came to the camp and invited King Gesar to Rong Palace. Before coming out to meet the princess, Gesar concealed Chin’en inside an iron bin. He told Ngaman that Chin’en was happy and contented in the State of Ling, and asked her to tell her father not to worry about his long-lost son.

Ngaman returned to the palace and reported Gesar’s words to the king, who responded by dispatching Chin’en’s wife to Ling’s camp. She returned, however, disappointed, so the king himself went to the Ling encampment, but he did not see Chin’en either. However, he was still somewhat uneasy about this situation, so he invited King Gesar and his generals to visit the palace.