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Frazer, James George, Sir, 1854-1941

"The Golden Bough"

The two warriors
whose souls have thus been stolen know that they have no chance of
victory, and accordingly make peace with their enemies. In another
Tartar poem a terrible demon sets all the gods and heroes at
defiance. At last a valiant youth fights the demon, binds him hand
and foot, and slices him with his sword. But still the demon is not
slain. So the youth asked him, "Tell me, where is your soul hidden?
For if your soul had been hidden in your body, you must have been
dead long ago." The demon replied, "On the saddle of my horse is a
bag. In the bag is a serpent with twelve heads. In the serpent is my
soul. When you have killed the serpent, you have killed me also." So
the youth took the saddle-bag from the horse and killed the
twelve-headed serpent, whereupon the demon expired. In another
Tartar poem a hero called K?k Chan deposits with a maiden a golden
ring, in which is half his strength. Afterwards when K?k Chan is
wrestling long with a hero and cannot kill him, a woman drops into
his mouth the ring which contains half his strength.


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