Folk tales reflect life and belief prevalent among the people in the past. The Noctes had many fables or folk tales, but most of them have bow been forgotten. Some of them, given below are interesting.

WHY THE EARTH QUAKES

Many of babies born into this world of ours die, sometimes a few days, sometimes only a few hours, after their birth. The spirits of these little ones cannot go up to rang, sky above, as the spirits of the grown up do. They remain on earth as invisible spirits and roam aimlessly through wood and forests, over mountains and hills, across rivers and streams, without particular dwelling places of their own.

These tiny tots (spirits) thirst for their mother’s milk, but the thirst remains unfulfilled. Though are in this world, they must remain separate from the living. They see this world so green and beautiful, but cannot enjoy it as the living do. They pity themselves in their misery, and ascribe it to the little care that their parents or human being took of them. They do blame mankind for their unhappy lot and curse them for it.

There are times when these spirits gather together for song and dance. As they dance in a circle, they song:

“Let hills and mountains be rocked and shaken,

And man to sudden death awakens.”

This carry of the tiny spirits melts the tender heart of mother earth and she starts rocking. Earthquake sometimes takes a very heavy7 toll of lives or causes heavy damages, but that is the punishment mankind must suffer for sinfully neglecting to take care of the new born babies and so causing them to die premature.

HOW DAY AND NIGHT BEGAN

In the beginning of the world, there was no bright light or darkness on earth as we find today. It was like dusk all the time .This state of flimsy light was not convenient to many creatures for searching their food.

Once, all creatures of the earth i.e. the man, the animals and the birds convened a meeting to decided as to what should be the state of the light or darkness of the earth .The man and other animals proposed that there was light all the time, as they cannot easily see in the night also thought, if it was dark all the time, he could get his pray easily at any time. He therefore, suggested that there should be darkness on earth all the time.

The owl then said,” no, no, there should be ‘wo-wo, nayak-nayak’which meant light and dark alternately. All the creatures in the gathering clapped their hands in support. At this the Tiger got furious and hit the owl hard on the eyes with his claws, as a result, both the eyeballs of the owl shrank deep and remained so forever. Anyway the owl’s proposal was accepted and both day and night started appearing on the earth .The owl was asked by the gathering to give alarms, as and when the day and night changes. The owl therefore hoots at dusk and dawn.

THE ARROGANT ELEPHANT

In the past, the elephant was very arrogant and was proud of his stupendous body adnd didn’t care for anything. One, a tiny bird had a nest in the leaf of a small plant where some eggs were laid. One day the elephant appeared near the nest. The tiny bird was frightened by the sight of the huge elephant approaching towards her nest. She pleaded the elephant, not to eat the plant where she laid the eggs. But, the elephant, out of sere pride and arrogance, did not pay heed to the little bird and ate up the plant along with the eggs. The tiny bird, totally devastated was roaming hither and thither, crying and cursing the elephant, thinking as to how to take revenge. She met the wood pecker (sharp beaked bird), narrated her plight, and pleaded to make a hole in the fore head of the elephant with the sharp beak. The wood pecker felt pity for the small bird and quickly flew in on to the head of the elephant and made a hole on the fore head. The tiny bird then pleaded the fly to lay some eggs over the hole made on the fore head of the elephant. The fly did it accordingly.

After a few days, innumerable worms came out of the fly eggs, and started eating deep in to the elephant head. As a result, the elephant lost his brain (intelligence), and could now be used as a slave even by a puny man.

THE LUNAR ECLIPSE

The Noctes have a beautiful folklore about the Lunar Eclipse. The moon travels every day from one comer of the sky to another, fully armed, for he has to protect himself from a big frog that very often tries to block his path. The frog also quietly gives way to the moon as he travels with the arms. But when the moon grows into full on a full moon day, he becomes proud and travels without the arms. Whenever the moon is found without arms and unprotected, the frog does appear and swallows the moon; as long as the moon remains inside the frog, it is not visible from the earth, the moon lit disappear and darkness is cast all over. But, after a while, the moon comes out by the anus of the frog. This is how the Lunar Eclipse occurs in the Nocte folk-lore.

Dafay shay (Lullaby)