The Origin of Opium

Once on a time[21] there lived on the banks of the holy Ganga a Rishi,

[22] who spent his days and nights in the performance of religious

rites and in meditation upon God. From sunrise to sunset he sat on the

river bank engaged in devotion, and at night he took shelter in a hut

of palm-leaves which his own hand had raised in a bush hard by. There

were no men and women for miles round. In the hut, however, there was a

mouse, which used to live upon the leavings of the Rishi's supper. As

it was not in the nature of the sage to hurt any living thing, our

mouse never ran away from him, but, on the contrary, went to him,

touched his feet, and played with him. The Rishi, partly in kindness to

the little brute, and partly to have some one by to talk to at times,

gave the mouse the power of speech. One night the mouse, standing on

its hind-legs and joining together its fore-legs reverently, said to

the Rishi, "Holy sage, you have been so kind as to give me the power

to speak like men. If it will not displease your reverence, I have one

more boon to ask." "What is it?" said the Rishi. "What is it, little

mousie? Say what you want." The mouse answered--"When your reverence

goes in the day to the river-side for devotion, a cat comes to the

hut to catch me. And had it not been for fear of your reverence, the

cat would have eaten me up long ago; and I fear it will eat me some

day. My prayer is that I may be changed into a cat that I may prove a

match for my foe." The Rishi became propitious to the mouse, and threw

some holy water on its body, and it was at once changed into a cat.

Some nights after, the Rishi asked his pet, "Well, little puss,

how do you like your present life?" "Not much, your reverence,"

answered the cat. "Why not?" demanded the sage. "Are you not strong

enough to hold your own against all the cats in the world?" "Yes,"

rejoined the cat. "Your reverence has made me a strong cat, able to

cope with all the cats in the world. But I do not now fear cats; I

have got a new foe. Whenever your reverence goes to the river-side,

a pack of dogs comes to the hut, and sets up such a loud barking

that I am frightened out of my life. If your reverence will not be

displeased with me, I beg you to change me into a dog." The Rishi said,

"Be turned into a dog," and the cat forthwith became a dog.

Some days passed, when one night the dog said thus to the Rishi:

"I cannot thank your reverence enough for your kindness to me. I was

but a poor mouse, and you not only gave me speech but turned me into a

cat; and again you were kind enough to change me into a dog. As a dog,

however, I suffer a great deal of trouble, I do not get enough food:

my only food is the leavings of your supper, but that is not sufficient

to fill the maw of such a large beast as you have made me. O how I

envy those apes who jump about from tree to tree, and eat all sorts

of delicious fruits! If your reverence will not get angry with me,

I pray that I be changed into an ape." The kind-hearted sage readily

granted his pet's wish, and the dog became an ape.

Our ape was at first wild with joy. He leaped from one tree to

another, and sucked every luscious fruit he could find. But his

joy was short-lived. Summer came on with its drought. As a monkey

he found it hard to drink water out of a river or of a pool; and

he saw the wild boars splashing in the water all the day long. He

envied their lot, and exclaimed, "O how happy those boars are! All

day their bodies are cooled and refreshed by water. I wish I were a

boar." Accordingly at night he recounted to the Rishi the troubles of

the life of an ape and the pleasures of that of a boar, and begged

of him to change him into a boar. The sage, whose kindness knew no

bounds, complied with his pet's request, and turned him into a wild

boar. For two whole days our boar kept his body soaking wet, and on

the third day, as he was splashing about in his favourite element,

whom should he see but the king of the country riding on a richly

caparisoned elephant. The king was out hunting, and it was only by a

lucky chance that our boar escaped being bagged. He dwelt in his own

mind on the dangers attending the life of a wild boar, and envied the

lot of the stately elephant who was so fortunate as to carry about

the king of the country on his back. He longed to be an elephant,

and at night besought the Rishi to make him one.

Our elephant was roaming about in the wilderness, when he saw the king

out hunting. The elephant went towards the king's suite with the view

of being caught. The king, seeing the elephant at a distance, admired

it on account of its beauty, and gave orders that it should be caught

and tamed. Our elephant was easily caught, and taken into the royal

stables, and was soon tamed. It so chanced that the queen expressed

a wish to bathe in the waters of the holy Ganga. The king, who wished

to accompany his royal consort, ordered that the newly-caught elephant

should be brought to him. The king and queen mounted on his back. One

would suppose that the elephant had now got his wishes, as the king

had mounted on his back. But no. There was a fly in the ointment. The

elephant, who looked upon himself as a lordly beast, could not brook

the idea that a woman, though a queen, should ride on his back. He

thought himself degraded. He jumped up so violently that both the

king and queen fell to the ground. The king carefully picked up the

queen, took her in his arms, asked her whether she had been much

hurt, wiped off the dust from her clothes with his handkerchief, and

tenderly kissed her a hundred times. Our elephant, after witnessing

the king's caresses, scampered off to the woods as fast as his legs

could carry him. As he ran he thought within himself thus: "After

all, I see that a queen is the happiest of all creatures. Of what

infinite regard is she the object! The king lifted her up, took her

in his arms, made many tender inquiries, wiped off the dust from her

clothes with his own royal hands, and kissed her a hundred times! O

the happiness of being a queen! I must tell the Rishi to make me a

queen!" So saying the elephant, after traversing the woods, went at

sunset to the Rishi's hut, and fell prostrate on the ground at the feet

of the holy sage. The Rishi said, "Well, what's the news? Why have

you left the king's stud?" "What shall I say to your reverence? You

have been very kind to me; you have granted every wish of mine. I

have one more boon to ask, and it will be the last. By becoming an

elephant I have got only my bulk increased, but not my happiness. I

see that of all creatures a queen is the happiest in the world. Do,

holy father, make me a queen." "Silly child," answered the Rishi,

"how can I make you a queen? Where can I get a kingdom for you,

and a royal husband to boot? All I can do is to change you into an

exquisitely beautiful girl, possessed of charms to captivate the

heart of a prince, if ever the gods grant you an interview with some

great prince! "Our elephant agreed to the change; and in a moment the

sagacious beast was transformed into a beautiful young lady, to whom

the holy sage gave the name of Postomani, or the poppy-seed lady.

Postomani lived in the Rishi's hut, and spent her time in tending

the flowers and watering the plants. One day, as she was sitting at

the door of the hut during the Rishi's absence, she saw a man dressed

in a very rich garb come towards the cottage. She stood up and asked

the stranger who he was, and what he had come there for. The stranger

answered that he had come a-hunting in those parts, that he had been

chasing in vain a deer, that he felt thirsty, and that he came to

the hut of the hermit for refreshment.

Postomani. Stranger, look upon this cot as your own house. I'll do

everything I can to make you comfortable; I am only sorry we are too

poor suitably to entertain, a man of your rank, for if I mistake not

you are the king of this country.

The king smiled. Postomani then brought out a water-pot, and made

as if she would wash the feet of her royal guest with her own hands,

when the king said, "Holy maid, do not touch my feet, for I am only

a Kshatriya, and you are the daughter of a holy sage."

Postomani. Noble sir, I am not the daughter of the Rishi, neither

am I a Brahmani girl; so there can be no harm in my touching your

feet. Besides, you are my guest, and I am bound to wash your feet.

King. Forgive my impertinence. What caste do you belong to?

Postomani. I have heard from the sage that my parents were Kshatriyas.

King. May I ask you whether your father was a king, for your uncommon

beauty and your stately demeanour show that you are a born princess.

Postomani, without answering the question, went inside the hut,

brought out a tray of the most delicious fruits, and set it before the

king. The king, however, would not touch the fruits till the maid had

answered his questions. When pressed hard Postomani gave the following

answer: "The holy sage says that my father was a king. Having been

overcome in battle, he, along with my mother, fled into the woods. My

poor father was eaten up by a tiger, and my mother at that time was

brought to bed of me, and she closed her eyes as I opened mine. Strange

to say, there was a bee-hive on the tree at the foot of which I lay;

drops of honey fell into my mouth and kept alive the spark of life

till the kind Rishi found me and brought me into his hut. This is

the simple story of the wretched girl who now stands before the king."

King. Call not yourself wretched. You are the loveliest and most

beautiful of women. You would adorn the palace of the mightiest

sovereign.

The upshot was, that the king made love to the girl and they were

joined in marriage by the Rishi. Postomani was treated as the favourite

queen, and the former queen was in disgrace. Postomani's happiness,

however, was short-lived. One day as she was standing by a well,

she became giddy, fell into the water, and died. The Rishi then

appeared before the king and said: "O king, grieve not over the

past. What is fixed by fate must come to pass. The queen, who has

just been drowned, was not of royal blood. She was born a mouse; I

then changed her successively, according to her own wish, into a cat,

a dog, an ape, a boar, an elephant, and a beautiful girl. Now that

she is gone, do you again take into favour your former queen. As

for my reputed daughter, through the favour of the gods I'll make

her name immortal. Let her body remain in the well; fill the well up

with earth. Out of her flesh and bones will grow a tree which shall

be called after her Posto, that is, the Poppy tree. From this tree

will be obtained a drug called opium, which will be celebrated as a

powerful medicine through all ages, and which will always be either

swallowed or smoked as a wonderful narcotic to the end of time. The

opium swallower or smoker will have one quality of each of the animals

to which Postomani was transformed. He will be mischievous like a

mouse, fond of milk like a cat, quarrelsome like a dog, filthy like

an ape, savage like a boar, and high-tempered like a queen."

Thus my story endeth,

The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.

[21] This story is not my own. It was recited to me by a story-teller of the other sex who rejoices in the nom de plume "An Inmate of the Calcutta Lunatic Asylum."

[22] A holy sage.