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| Once there was a boy who herded buffaloes; and as he watched his animals graze he noticed that at noon every day a female-dog used to make its way to a ravine, were there were some pools of water. This made him curious and he wondered to whom it belonged and what it was doing in the ravine. So he decided to watch, and one day when the dog came he hid himself and saw that when it got to the water, it shed its dog skin, and out stepped a beautiful maiden and she began to bathe. And when she had finished bathing she put on the skin and became a dog again, and went off to the village. The boy followed her and watched into what house she entered, and he asked to whom the house belonged. Having found out all about it, he went back to his work. That year the boy's father and mother decided that it was time for him to marry and began to look for a wife for him. But he announced that he had made up his mind to have a dog for his wife, and he would never marry a human girl. Everyone laughed at him for such an unusual idea, but he could not be moved. So at last they decided that he must really have the soul of a dog in him, and that it was best to let him have his own way. So his father and mother asked him whether there was any particular dog he would like to have for his bride, and then he gave the name of the man into whose house he had tracked the dog that he had seen going to the ravine. The master of the dog laughed at the idea that anyone should wish to marry her, and gladly accepted a bride's price for her. So a day was fixed for the wedding and the booth built for the ceremony, and the bridegroom's party went to the bride's house, and the marriage took place in due form, and the bride was escorted to her husband's house. Every night when her husband was asleep, the bride used to come out of the dog's skin and go out of the house. And when her husband found out this, he one night only pretended to go to sleep and lay watching her. And when she was about to leave the room he jumped up and caught hold of her and seizing the dog skin, threw it into the fire, where it was burnt to ashes. So his bride remained a woman, but she was of more than human beauty. This soon became known in the village, and everyone congratulated the boy on his intelligence in marrying a dog. |