J. F. Campbell Collection > Old Deccan days; or, Hindoo fairy legends, current in Southern India

XXX TJic Narrator s Narrative.
It was after my granny that I was named " Anna
Liberata." She died after my father, and when I was eleven
years old. Her eyes were quite bright, her hair black, and
her teeth good to the last. If I'd been older then, I should
have been able to remember more of her stories. 'Such a
number as she used to tell ! I'm afraid my sister would not
be able to remember any of them. She has had much
trouble; that puts those sort of things out of people's heads ;
besides, she is a goose. She is younger than I am, although
you would think her so much older, for her hair turned
grey when she was very young ; while mine is quite black
still. She is almost bald too, now, as she pulled out her
hair because it was grey. I always said to her, " Don't
do so ; for you can't make yourself any younger, and it is
better when you are getting old, to look old. Then people
will do whatever you ask them ! But however old you
may be, if you look young, they'll say to you, ' You are
young enough and strong enough to do your own work
yourself.' "
My mother used to tell us stories too ; but not so many
as my granny. A few years ago there might be found several
old people who knew those sorts of stories; but now
children go to school, and nobody thinks of remembering
or telling them — they'll soon be all forgotten. It is true
there are books with some stories something like these, but
they always put them down wrong. Sometimes when I
cannot remember a bit of a story, I ask some one about it ;
then they say, " There is a story of that name in my book.
I don't know it, but I'll read." Then they read it to me,
but it is all wrong, so that I get quite cross, and make them