(In the Persian version, a merchant leaves an amount of iron with a neighbor, who sells it, telling the merchant that it has been eaten by mice. The merchant kidnaps the man's son, and tells him that a hawk carried the boy off. The punchline is the same: in a town where mice can eat iron, certainly a hawk can pick up a boy.)

Best,
TWW


On Sun, Nov 5, 2017 at 8:38 PM, Tyler Williams <tylerwwilliams@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Greg, 

This story does indeed appear in the Kathāsaritasāgara, and in the Persian Anvār-i Suhailī. Sorry that I don't have the exact reference.

Best,
Tyler



On Sun, Nov 5, 2017 at 7:50 PM, Greg Bailey via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Dear Lost,

A friend who is not on the list asked me for some information about this brief story which he believes may be expressed in a few ślokas. It strikes me that it may come from somewhere in the Kath?sarits?gara. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.


I am writing to get some reference to a Sanskrit stanza (Shloka) which 
relates to an ancient Indian story.  To put this in context the story 
goes as follows:

An itinerant trader leaves a bowl made of gold for safe-keeping with a 
friend, to look after it while he is away.  On his return, the trader 
finds that the friend had substituted the bowl to one of brass.  The 
trader realizes that he had been cheated but says nothing.  Years later 
the friend asks the trader to teach his son the art of trading.  The 
trader takes the son to his home.  A few years later, the friend comes 
to pick his son, but finds to his horror the son tied to a tree like a 
monkey and trained to act like one.  Aghast, the friend asks what 
happened.  And the trader replies, "Just like gold can turn to brass, so 
can a boy turn to a monkey".

There is, I believe, a Sanskrit shloka which tells this story in verse.  
I am looking for a reference to the Sanskrit text.

Cheers,

Greg Bailey


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