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title: Opening, part 5 — Indian tales of the great ones among men, women,… · full text with trees
description: Opening, part 5, «Indian tales of the great ones among men, women, and bird-people» by Cornelia Sorabji: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: And the men and women and beasts and birds and flower-people went to the great god and said: “We are weary, a
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# Opening, part 5

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Opening, part 5 of «Indian tales of the great ones among men, women, and bird-people» by Cornelia Sorabji: the whole text, 27 sentences and 474 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself.

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And the men and women and beasts and birds and flower-people went to the great god and said: “We are weary, and there is no room for us on the Earth; we are the things that must pass.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") Send the King of Death to take us to the Kingdom of Peace and Forgetfulness and Quiet Sleep.”[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics")

And the great god said: “I will not; I have spoken.”[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics")

Then the tired Earth-people went to Parvati, the wife of Shiva, and, “Please help us,” they said.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") “See how full the Earth is.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") There is no room for us all, and some of us are weary and would sleep.”[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics")

So Parvati went to the great god.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Earth is very full,” she said.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") “Will you not let the King of Death send his slow-moving grey-black buffalo for the tired Earth-people?”[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics")

“No,” said Shiva; “he insulted my symbol: he may not return to the Earth.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") I have spoken.”[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics")

“But you know you did say that the perfect boy was to be no older than his thirteenth year,” said Parvati.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") “That was why the King of Death came to fetch him.”[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics")

And Shiva was silent, not knowing what to answer.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics")

“But when you said that, you only meant that he should never look older than his thirteenth year, though he might live and live as long as he liked,” said clever goddess Parvati.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics")

And Shiva waited, for surely here was a way out of a difficulty.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics")

“And poor old King Death was not clever enough to understand this, and thought that you meant him to take the boy away.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") It was only stupidity.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Forgive him.”[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics")

And Shiva said: “It shall be as you ask.”[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics")

“Then give the message,” said Goddess Parvati.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics")

And, “Let the old tired leaves fall from the trees,” said Shiva the god, and turned to other business.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics")

But his messengers were so full of gladness that good King Death might return to the Earth once more, riding on his grey-black buffalo--for that was the meaning of Shiva’s message--that they were drunk with joy, and said the words wrongly.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics")

“Let the old leaves, and the middle-aged leaves, and the little baby leaves fall from the trees,” was what they said, when they flew back to the Earth on the wings of the morning.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics")

And that is why to this day, old and young, boys and babies, all alike, ride, when the great god wills, upon the grey-black buffalo, as it makes its slow-moving way to the quiet Kingdom of Death.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics")

But Kamil, the perfect boy, lived in the world that he loved, and was always and always just thirteen years old, and no more.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics")

And, “It was well,” said the man, his father, “that I left the Son-puzzle to you, O Mother of Kamil.”[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics")

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