Jijang Bosal and Ela

On a time there was a young girl named Ela who was walking with her parents through the woods on a mountain path. It was the first day of Autumn and the breeze blowing through the trees was fresh and cool. Ela's parents were walking quickly, but the little girl liked to walk slower along the path and collect pretty stones and fallen leaves. Her parents told her to hurry and catch up with them. But Ela wasn't paying much attention to her parents because of all the beautiful and interesting things along the path.

As she walk slowly behind her parents, Ela saw a bush of fat, juicy blackberries growing in a patch of sun a few feet from the path. Ela went to the berries and ate a few. As she was eating she saw another sunny patch of berries a few more feet away. She hurried to these new berries. After eating some of these berries she looked around and could not see the path or her parents.

Ela became frightened and started running towards the direction where she thought her parents might be. But she wasn't watching where she stepped as she ran looking for her parents. Suddenly she stumbled and fell into a deep hole.

It was dark. Ela could barely see her dirty knees and the blackberry stains on her hands. She was sitting on the floor of a very large cave. The only light came from the hole she had just fallen through. The light coming through the hole twinkled on a little river in the cave. The banks of the little river were made up of thousands and thousands of small pebbles. The hole was too high for Ela to reach even when she stood on her tippy toes. Frightened and very sad, Ela sat back down on the ground and began to cry.

"No good crying now, my dear, what's done is done,” said a creaky old voice from deep in the darkness.

Ela looked around with her heart pounding with fear until she spotted a dark figure standing near the wall of the cave.

"I fell down the hole,” Ela sobbed. “I fell down and can't get back out.”

“To get out of this cave you must build a tower and climb your way out,” the creaky old voice said.

Then the figure stepped into the light that came from the hole and Ela gasped. The voice belonged to an ugly old hag with beady yellow eyes and a withered face.

“If you can build your tower before nightfall I'll allow you to leave this cave. But if you can't build a tower before nightfall you'll have to stay in this cave and be my slave.”

The old ugly hag's mouth curled into an evil grin with only three brown-stained teeth. She held a heavy iron club that she tossed from one claw-like hand to the other as she spoke.

The little girl was terrified of the old witch and hid her face in her hands. When she finally found the courage to peek through her fingers, the old hag was gone and she was once more all alone.

Once Ela was sure the witch was gone, she began to gather pebbles from the riverbank and piled them higher and higher so she could reach the hole she had fallen through.

The more pebbles she placed on the top of her growing pile the more they seem to tumble and roll off. But, she was determined and kept placing the stones, one-by-one, on the slowly growing pile. She became very careful in her work and slowly learned the art of building a tower from pebbles.

Hours passed and the light from the hole grew more and more dim.

When the light finally faded completely away it was very dark indeed. Then Ela saw a light coming from deep in the cave. The light came closer and closer. It was the old witch carrying a brightly burning torch. As soon as the hag saw the tower Ela was building she laughed wickedly.

She lifted her large iron club and swung it at the tower of pebbles that Ela had work so hard to create. The witch laughed loudly and horribly as her club smashed the tower and scattered the pebbles in every direction.

That first night the witch made Ela her slave. She forced the little girl to clean and cook for her. When Ela was too tired to scrub and clean anymore the witch made her sing until her voice was raw and hoarse. When morning came the witch disappeared down a dark tunnel.

Ela was again alone. She was frightened and tired. She wanted to get out of the horrible cave and find her father and her mother.

Before she left, the witch made the offer of giving Ela her freedom if she could build a tower to the hole. But if she could not build a tower, Ela would remain a slave to the old nasty witch.

Ela started building a new tower as soon as the witch had left. Because of what she had learned the day before the tower grew fast and fewer pebbles rolled away. She had all day to work and soon the tower was very high. Ela climbed the tower and placed more pebbles on it. Up and down she climbed all day.

When night came she was only a few inches from the hole. But the witch reappeared, and again swinging her iron club, she cruelly knocked down Ela's tower. The witch laughed at the little girl's tears and dragged her off to once more be her slave.

The next morning, after the witch had left, Ela was so tired and so sad. She sat down on the floor of the cave by the river and began to cry. She thought of her poor mother and father who would be very worried about her. She began to believe she would never see her parents again.

Suddenly Ela saw a soft golden glow and a little man. In his right hand the man held a tall staff with metal rings hanging from the top that jingled when he walked. In his other hand he held a beautiful round jewel that glowed with a golden light. The man was dressed as a monk in a long robe with large sleeves that hung to the floor. The man had a kind round face, almost a baby's face. Ela felt no fear when she saw the man.

“Who are you?” Ela asked.

“My name is Kshitigarbha,” the man answered, “but you may call be by my other name, Jijang.”

“Can you help me get out of here?” Ela asked. “There's a nasty evil witch who keeps knocking down my tower and makes me be her slave every night.”

“Yes, I know that old woman. Her name is Datsueba. I know her well. Don't fear her anymore, little one. You build your tower and I'll stay her and keep watch.”

These words from Jijang made Ela very happy. She began her work again while Jijang sat on a little rock nearby and chanted softly. Because he was near Ela felt her heart lighten. She smiled and was no longer afraid. Because of what she had learned building her first two towers, the pebbles did not roll off and fall back to the ground.

As the day neared its ending, Ela knew the old hag, Datsueba, would be returning. She worked faster.

When they heard old Datsueba coming near, Jijang told Ela to hide in the sleeves of his robe. When the old witch saw Jijang she became very unhappy. She lifted high her iron club to swing it at the tower but Jijang stood in her way.

The jewel in Jijang hand flamed bright and the old hag could not see the tower. The beautiful light hurt her nasty eyes.

Datsueba could not destroy the tower. Jijang stood between the hag and the tower and his jewel glowed brightly.

Finally old Datsueba stomped away down the same tunnel from where she had just come.

With Jijang's protection, Ela finally finished her tower of pebbles and climbed to the top. She looked back to the floor of the cave at Jijang and asked him to come with her.

But the monk slowly shook his head.

“No, child,” he said. “There are many more hidden places among these caves and many more Beings that need my help. I made a vow long ago to not leave until they all are saved.”

So, with a joyful heart full of gratitude, Ela put her hands together, bowed to Jijang and climbed out of the hole to safety.

---Kathryn Doran-Fisher---  

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In Sanskrit Jijang is known as Kshitigarbha.

In Chinese Jijang is known as Dizang.

In Japanese Jijang is known as Jizo or Ojizo-sama