Daughter of the Mountains

Ever since she could remember, Momo had wanted a dog. But no ordinary cur, such as she might easily have got, would do. She had set her heart on a very special kind of dog-a red-gold Lhasa terrier. There was one at the Kargayu monastery; it belonged to the head lama (priest). And from the moment when she had first seen this dog, Momo had one passionate longing-to have, for her very own, a red-golf terrier from Lhasa.

She was only four years old on that day. Nema, her father, had swung her up onto his shoulder and had set off with his family for the Red Hat festival at Kargayu. They were all very merry; for her father, who carried the mail over the mountains, and her mother, who kept a little tea shop in their home, worked very hard, and a holiday was a great thing. And so was the festival! For three days they and all the countryside would watch the lamas’ dances, and eat the good food and drink the strong tea of the monastery.

From every house and hamlet other families came out to join them, until a gay procession was streaming down the mountainside. All but the smallest children walked; for in far-off Tibet, where there were no cars nor trains, and only the rich have mules or horses to ride, the people walk. They wear high red felt boots, and climb with a quick, springing step up and down their high mountains, forty or fifty miles a day, thinking no more of it than the eagle does of soaring through air.

When they came to the monastery, Momo’s two brothers ran quickly into the courtyard and found themselves places in the from row. And though they were on the side set apart for the poor people, they were just opposite the raised platform of the head lama. The festival began with a solemn procession, when the lamas, in gorgeous silk robes, went round and round the courtyard. Then the head lama took his place on the platform; there was a shrill bugle cry, and the play began.

“Have no fear, Momo,” said her father, putting his strong arms about his little daughter. “These are not real demons; they are the good lamas of the monastery, with masks over their faces.”