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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Folk-Tales of Bengal
+
+Author: Lal Behari Day
+
+Illustrator: Warwick Goble
+
+Release Date: January 3, 2012 [EBook #38488]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project
+Gutenberg. (This file was produced from images generously
+made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL
+
+                                 By the
+                          Rev. LAL BEHARI DAY
+
+                 Author of 'Bengal Peasant Life,' etc.
+
+                    With 32 illustrations in colour
+                            By Warwick Goble
+
+
+
+                       Macmillan and Co., Limited
+                      St. Martin's Street, London
+                                  1912
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                   TO
+                         RICHARD CARNAC TEMPLE
+                      CAPTAIN, BENGAL STAFF CORPS
+                    F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S., M.A.I., ETC.
+                   WHO FIRST SUGGESTED TO THE WRITER
+                         THE IDEA OF COLLECTING
+                              THESE TALES
+                        AND WHO IS DOING SO MUCH
+                    IN THE CAUSE OF INDIAN FOLK-LORE
+                            THIS LITTLE BOOK
+                              IS INSCRIBED
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In my Peasant Life in Bengal I make the peasant boy Govinda spend
+some hours every evening in listening to stories told by an old woman,
+who was called Sambhu's mother, and who was the best story-teller in
+the village. On reading that passage, Captain R. C. Temple, of the
+Bengal Staff Corps, son of the distinguished Indian administrator
+Sir Richard Temple, wrote to me to say how interesting it would be to
+get a collection of those unwritten stories which old women in India
+recite to little children in the evenings, and to ask whether I could
+not make such a collection. As I was no stranger to the M�hrchen of
+the Brothers Grimm, to the Norse Tales so admirably told by Dasent,
+to Arnason's Icelandic Stories translated by Powell, to the Highland
+Stories done into English by Campbell, and to the fairy stories
+collected by other writers, and as I believed that the collection
+suggested would be a contribution, however slight, to that daily
+increasing literature of folk-lore and comparative mythology which,
+like comparative philosophy, proves that the swarthy and half-naked
+peasant on the banks of the Ganges is a cousin, albeit of the
+hundredth remove, to the fair-skinned and well-dressed Englishman
+on the banks of the Thames, I readily caught up the idea and cast
+about for materials. But where was an old story-telling woman to
+be got? I had myself, when a little boy, heard hundreds--it would
+be no exaggeration to say thousands--of fairy tales from that same
+old woman, Sambhu's mother--for she was no fictitious person; she
+actually lived in the flesh and bore that name; but I had nearly
+forgotten those stories, at any rate they had all got confused in
+my head, the tail of one story being joined to the head of another,
+and the head of a third to the tail of a fourth. How I wished that
+poor Sambhu's mother had been alive! But she had gone long, long ago,
+to that bourne from which no traveller returns, and her son Sambhu,
+too, had followed her thither. After a great deal of search I found
+my Gammer Grethel--though not half so old as the Frau Viehm�nnin of
+Hesse-Cassel--in the person of a Bengali Christian woman, who, when
+a little girl and living in her heathen home, had heard many stories
+from her old grandmother. She was a good story-teller, but her stock
+was not large; and after I had heard ten from her I had to look about
+for fresh sources. An old Brahman told me two stories; an old barber,
+three; an old servant of mine told me two; and the rest I heard from
+another old Brahman. None of my authorities knew English; they all
+told the stories in Bengali, and I translated them into English when
+I came home. I heard many more stories than those contained in the
+following pages; but I rejected a great many, as they appeared to me
+to contain spurious additions to the original stories which I had
+heard when a boy. I have reason to believe that the stories given
+in this book are a genuine sample of the old old stories told by old
+Bengali women from age to age through a hundred generations.
+
+Sambhu's mother used always to end every one of her stories--and
+every orthodox Bengali story-teller does the same--with repeating
+the following formula:--
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth.
+           "Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost wither?"
+           "Why does thy cow on me browse?"
+           "Why, O cow, dost thou browse?"
+           "Why does thy neat-herd not tend me?"
+           "Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the cow?"
+           "Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me rice?"
+           "Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give rice?"
+           "Why does my child cry?"
+           "Why, O child, dost thou cry?"
+           "Why does the ant bite me?"
+           "Why, O ant, dost thou bite?"
+            Koot! koot! koot!
+
+
+What these lines mean, why they are repeated at the end of every
+story, and what the connection is of the several parts to one another,
+I do not know. Perhaps the whole is a string of nonsense purposely
+put together to amuse little children.
+
+
+Lal Behari Day.
+
+Hooghly College,
+
+February 27, 1883.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                               PAGE
+         1. Life's Secret                                         1
+         2. Phakir Chand                                         16
+         3. The Indigent Brahman                                 51
+         4. The Story of the Rakshasas                           61
+         5. The Story of Swet-Basanta                            89
+         6. The Evil Eye of Sani                                104
+         7. The Boy whom Seven Mothers suckled                  113
+         8. The Story of Prince Sobur                           119
+         9. The Origin of Opium                                 132
+        10. Strike but Hear                                     140
+        11. The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons     152
+        12. The Ghost-Brahman                                   173
+        13. The Man who wished to be Perfect                    178
+        14. A Ghostly Wife                                      188
+        15. The Story of a Brahmadaitya                         192
+        16. The Story of a Hiraman                              200
+        17. The Origin of Rubies                                211
+        18. The Match-making Jackal                             217
+        19. The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead               227
+        20. The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged            247
+        21. The Field of Bones                                  251
+        22. The Bald Wife                                       269
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                        Facing page
+
+        "She rushed out of the palace ... and came to the
+        upper world" (p. 26)                           Frontispiece
+        "The Suo queen went to the door with a handful
+        of rice"                                                  1
+        "The prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human
+        figure near the gate"                                     9
+        "She took up the jewel in her hand, left the palace,
+        and successfully reached the upper world"                22
+        "He rushed out of his hiding-place and killed the
+        serpent"                                                 43
+        "Instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons"          56
+        "At the door of which stood a lady of exquisite
+        beauty"                                                  62
+        "In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed, and
+        eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was"                77
+        The Girl of the Wall-Almirah                             90
+        "On a sudden an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot
+        across his path"                                         95
+        "They then set out on their journey"                    106
+        "A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the
+        palace"                                                 117
+        "Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the
+        embankments to eat the khai"                            123
+        "'You would adorn the palace of the mightiest
+        sovereign'"                                             138
+        "He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace"     141
+        "'Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold
+        and these precious stones'"                             145
+        "They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them
+        the money and jewels"                                   162
+        "The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a
+        tree on the spot, and began smoking"                    170
+        "'How is it that you have returned so soon?'"           174
+        "At dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest"         181
+        "The Brahman's wife had occasion to go to the tank,
+        and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni"            188
+        "The moment the first stroke was given, a great many
+        ghosts rushed towards the Brahman"                      194
+        "The lady, king, and hiraman all reached the king's
+        capital safe and sound"                                 210
+        "'What princess ever puts only one ruby in her
+        hair?'"                                                 214
+        "Coming up to the surface they climbed into the
+        boat"                                                   216
+        "The jackal ... opened his bundle of betel-leaves,
+        put some into his mouth, and began chewing them"        218
+        "A bright light, like that of the moon, was seen
+        shining on his forehead"                                237
+        "The six queens tried to comfort him"                   238
+        "'Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will
+        protect you?'"                                          248
+        "They approached a magnificent pile of buildings"       259
+        "Thus the princess was deserted"                        266
+        "When she got out of the water, what a change was
+        seen in her!"                                           271
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+LIFE'S SECRET
+
+
+There was a king who had two queens, Duo and Suo. [1] Both of them
+were childless. One day a Faquir (mendicant) came to the palace-gate
+to ask for alms. The Suo queen went to the door with a handful of
+rice. The mendicant asked whether she had any children. On being
+answered in the negative, the holy mendicant refused to take alms, as
+the hands of a woman unblessed with child are regarded as ceremonially
+unclean. He offered her a drug for removing her barrenness, and she
+expressing her willingness to receive it, he gave it to her with the
+following directions:--"Take this nostrum, swallow it with the juice
+of the pomegranate flower; if you do this, you will have a son in due
+time. The son will be exceedingly handsome, and his complexion will
+be of the colour of the pomegranate flower; and you shall call him
+Dalim Kumar. [2] As enemies will try to take away the life of your
+son, I may as well tell you that the life of the boy will be bound up
+in the life of a big boal fish which is in your tank, in front of the
+palace. In the heart of the fish is a small box of wood, in the box is
+a necklace of gold, that necklace is the life of your son. Farewell."
+
+In the course of a month or so it was whispered in the palace
+that the Suo queen had hopes of an heir. Great was the joy of
+the king. Visions of an heir to the throne, and of a never-ending
+succession of powerful monarchs perpetuating his dynasty to the
+latest generations, floated before his mind, and made him glad as he
+had never been in his life. The usual ceremonies performed on such
+occasions were celebrated with great pomp; and the subjects made loud
+demonstrations of their joy at the anticipation of so auspicious an
+event as the birth of a prince. In the fulness of time the Suo queen
+gave birth to a son of uncommon beauty. When the king the first time
+saw the face of the infant, his heart leaped with joy. The ceremony
+of the child's first rice was celebrated with extraordinary pomp,
+and the whole kingdom was filled with gladness.
+
+In course of time Dalim Kumar grew up a fine boy. Of all sports he was
+most addicted to playing with pigeons. This brought him into frequent
+contact with his stepmother, the Duo queen, into whose apartments
+Dalim's pigeons had a trick of always flying. The first time the
+pigeons flew into her rooms, she readily gave them up to the owner;
+but the second time she gave them up with some reluctance. The fact
+is that the Duo queen, perceiving that Dalim's pigeons had this happy
+knack of flying into her apartments, wished to take advantage of it
+for the furtherance of her own selfish views. She naturally hated the
+child, as the king, since his birth, neglected her more than ever,
+and idolised the fortunate mother of Dalim. She had heard, it is not
+known how, that the holy mendicant that had given the famous pill
+to the Suo queen had also told her of a secret connected with the
+child's life. She had heard that the child's life was bound up with
+something--she did not know with what. She determined to extort that
+secret from the boy. Accordingly, the next time the pigeons flew
+into her rooms, she refused to give them up, addressing the child
+thus:--"I won't give the pigeons up unless you tell me one thing."
+
+Dalim. What thing, mamma?
+
+Duo. Nothing particular, my darling; I only want to know in what your
+life is.
+
+Dalim. What is that, mamma? Where can my life be except in me?
+
+Duo. No, child; that is not what I mean. A holy mendicant told your
+mother that your life is bound up with something. I wish to know what
+that thing is.
+
+Dalim. I never heard of any such thing, mamma.
+
+Duo. If you promise to inquire of your mother in what thing your
+life is, and if you tell me what your mother says, then I will let
+you have the pigeons, otherwise not.
+
+Dalim. Very well, I'll inquire, and let you know. Now, please, give
+me my pigeons.
+
+Duo. I'll give them on one condition more. Promise to me that you
+will not tell your mother that I want the information.
+
+Dalim. I promise.
+
+The Duo queen let go the pigeons, and Dalim, overjoyed to find again
+his beloved birds, forgot every syllable of the conversation he had
+had with his stepmother. The next day, however, the pigeons again flew
+into the Duo queen's rooms. Dalim went to his stepmother, who asked
+him for the required information. The boy promised to ask his mother
+that very day, and begged hard for the release of the pigeons. The
+pigeons were at last delivered. After play, Dalim went to his mother
+and said--"Mamma, please tell me in what my life is contained." "What
+do you mean, child?" asked the mother, astonished beyond measure at
+the child's extraordinary question. "Yes, mamma," rejoined the child,
+"I have heard that a holy mendicant told you that my life is contained
+in something. Tell me what that thing is." "My pet, my darling, my
+treasure, my golden moon, do not ask such an inauspicious question. Let
+the mouth of my enemies be covered with ashes, and let my Dalim live
+for ever," said the mother, earnestly. But the child insisted on being
+informed of the secret. He said he would not eat or drink anything
+unless the information were given him. The Suo queen, pressed by the
+importunity of her son, in an evil hour told the child the secret of
+his life. The next day the pigeons again, as fate would have it, flew
+into the Duo queen's rooms. Dalim went for them; the stepmother plied
+the boy with sugared words, and obtained the knowledge of the secret.
+
+The Duo queen, on learning the secret of Dalim Kumar's life, lost
+no time in using it for the prosecution of her malicious design. She
+told her maid-servants to get for her some dried stalks of the hemp
+plant, which are very brittle, and which, when pressed upon, make
+a peculiar noise, not unlike the cracking of joints of bones in the
+human body. These hemp stalks she put under her bed, upon which she
+laid herself down and gave out that she was dangerously ill. The
+king, though he did not love her so well as his other queen, was
+in duty bound to visit her in her illness. The queen pretended that
+her bones were all cracking; and sure enough, when she tossed from
+one side of her bed to the other, the hemp stalks made the noise
+wanted. The king, believing that the Duo queen was seriously ill,
+ordered his best physician to attend her. With that physician the
+Duo queen was in collusion. The physician said to the king that for
+the queen's complaint there was but one remedy, which consisted in
+the outward application of something to be found inside a large boal
+fish which was in the tank before the palace. The king's fisherman was
+accordingly called and ordered to catch the boal in question. On the
+first throw of the net the fish was caught. It so happened that Dalim
+Kumar, along with other boys, was playing not far from the tank. The
+moment the boal fish was caught in the net, that moment Dalim felt
+unwell; and when the fish was brought up to land, Dalim fell down on
+the ground, and made as if he was about to breathe his last. He was
+immediately taken into his mother's room, and the king was astonished
+on hearing of the sudden illness of his son and heir. The fish was
+by the order of the physician taken into the room of the Duo queen,
+and as it lay on the floor striking its fins on the ground, Dalim
+in his mother's room was given up for lost. When the fish was cut
+open, a casket was found in it; and in the casket lay a necklace of
+gold. The moment the necklace was worn by the queen, that very moment
+Dalim died in his mother's room.
+
+When the news of the death of his son and heir reached the king he was
+plunged into an ocean of grief, which was not lessened in any degree
+by the intelligence of the recovery of the Duo queen. He wept over
+his dead Dalim so bitterly that his courtiers were apprehensive of a
+permanent derangement of his mental powers. The king would not allow
+the dead body of his son to be either buried or burnt. He could not
+realise the fact of his son's death; it was so entirely causeless
+and so terribly sudden. He ordered the dead body to be removed to
+one of his garden-houses in the suburbs of the city, and to be laid
+there in state. He ordered that all sorts of provisions should be
+stowed away in that house, as if the young prince needed them for his
+refection. Orders were issued that the house should be kept locked
+up day and night, and that no one should go into it except Dalim's
+most intimate friend, the son of the king's prime minister, who was
+intrusted with the key of the house, and who obtained the privilege
+of entering it once in twenty-four hours.
+
+As, owing to her great loss, the Suo queen lived in retirement,
+the king gave up his nights entirely to the Duo queen. The latter,
+in order to allay suspicion, used to put aside the gold necklace at
+night; and, as fate had ordained that Dalim should be in the state
+of death only during the time that the necklace was round the neck
+of the queen, he passed into the state of life whenever the necklace
+was laid aside. Accordingly Dalim revived every night, as the Duo
+queen every night put away the necklace, and died again the next
+morning when the queen put it on. When Dalim became reanimated
+at night he ate whatever food he liked, for of such there was a
+plentiful stock in the garden-house, walked about on the premises,
+and meditated on the singularity of his lot. Dalim's friend, who
+visited him only during the day, found him always lying a lifeless
+corpse; but what struck him after some days was the singular fact that
+the body remained in the same state in which he saw it on the first
+day of his visit. There was no sign of putrefaction. Except that it
+was lifeless and pale, there were no symptoms of corruption--it was
+apparently quite fresh. Unable to account for so strange a phenomenon,
+he determined to watch the corpse more closely, and to visit it not
+only during the day but sometimes also at night. The first night that
+he paid his visit he was astounded to see his dead friend sauntering
+about in the garden. At first he thought the figure might be only
+the ghost of his friend, but on feeling him and otherwise examining
+him, he found the apparition to be veritable flesh and blood. Dalim
+related to his friend all the circumstances connected with his death;
+and they both concluded that he revived at nights only because the
+Duo queen put aside her necklace when the king visited her. As the
+life of the prince depended on the necklace, the two friends laid
+their heads together to devise if possible some plans by which they
+might get possession of it. Night after night they consulted together,
+but they could not think of any feasible scheme. At length the gods
+brought about the deliverance of Dalim Kumar in a wonderful manner.
+
+Some years before the time of which we are speaking, the sister of
+Bidhata-Purusha [3] was delivered of a daughter. The anxious mother
+asked her brother what he had written on her child's forehead;
+to which Bidhata-Purusha replied that she should get married to a
+dead bridegroom. Maddened as she became with grief at the prospect of
+such a dreary destiny for her daughter, she yet thought it useless to
+remonstrate with her brother, for she well knew that he never changed
+what he once wrote. As the child grew in years she became exceedingly
+beautiful, but the mother could not look upon her with pleasure in
+consequence of the portion allotted to her by her divine brother. When
+the girl came to marriageable age, the mother resolved to flee from
+the country with her, and thus avert her dreadful destiny. But the
+decrees of fate cannot thus be overruled. In the course of their
+wanderings the mother and daughter arrived at the gate of that very
+garden-house in which Dalim Kumar lay. It was evening. The girl said
+she was thirsty and wanted to drink water. The mother told her daughter
+to sit at the gate, while she went to search for drinking water in some
+neighbouring hut. In the meantime the girl through curiosity pushed
+the door of the garden-house, which opened of itself. She then went
+in and saw a beautiful palace, and was wishing to come out when the
+door shut itself of its own accord, so that she could not get out. As
+night came on the prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human
+figure near the gate. He went up to it, and found it was a girl of
+surpassing beauty. On being asked who she was, she told Dalim Kumar
+all the details of her little history,--how her uncle, the divine
+Bidhata-Purusha, wrote on her forehead at her birth that she should
+get married to a dead bridegroom, how her mother had no pleasure in
+her life at the prospect of so terrible a destiny, and how, therefore,
+on the approach of her womanhood, with a view to avert so dreadful a
+catastrophe, she had left her house with her and wandered in various
+places, how they came to the gate of the garden-house, and how her
+mother had now gone in search of drinking water for her. Dalim Kumar,
+hearing her simple and pathetic story, said, "I am the dead bridegroom,
+and you must get married to me, come with me to the house." "How
+can you be said to be a dead bridegroom when you are standing and
+speaking to me?" said the girl. "You will understand it afterwards,"
+rejoined the prince, "come now and follow me." The girl followed the
+prince into the house. As she had been fasting the whole day the
+prince hospitably entertained her. As for the mother of the girl,
+the sister of the divine Bidhata-Purusha, she returned to the gate
+of the garden-house after it was dark, cried out for her daughter,
+and getting no answer, went away in search of her in the huts in the
+neighbourhood. It is said that after this she was not seen anywhere.
+
+While the niece of the divine Bidhata-Purusha was partaking of the
+hospitality of Dalim Kumar, his friend as usual made his appearance. He
+was surprised not a little at the sight of the fair stranger; and his
+surprise became greater when he heard the story of the young lady from
+her own lips. It was forthwith resolved that very night to unite the
+young couple in the bonds of matrimony. As priests were out of the
+question, the hymeneal rites were performed � la Gandharva. [4] The
+friend of the bridegroom took leave of the newly-married couple and
+went away to his house. As the happy pair had spent the greater part
+of the night in wakefulness, it was long after sunrise that they awoke
+from their sleep;--I should have said that the young wife woke from her
+sleep, for the prince had become a cold corpse, life having departed
+from him. The feelings of the young wife may be easily imagined. She
+shook her husband, imprinted warm kisses on his cold lips, but in
+vain. He was as lifeless as a marble statue. Stricken with horror, she
+smote her breast, struck her forehead with the palms of her hands, tore
+her hair and went about in the house and in the garden as if she had
+gone mad. Dalim's friend did not come into the house during the day,
+as he deemed it improper to pay a visit to her while her husband was
+lying dead. The day seemed to the poor girl as long as a year, but the
+longest day has its end, and when the shades of evening were descending
+upon the landscape, her dead husband was awakened into consciousness;
+he rose up from his bed, embraced his disconsolate wife, ate, drank,
+and became merry. His friend made his appearance as usual, and the
+whole night was spent in gaiety and festivity. Amid this alternation
+of life and death did the prince and his lady spend some seven or
+eight years, during which time the princess presented her husband
+with two lovely boys who were the exact image of their father.
+
+It is superfluous to remark that the king, the two queens, and other
+members of the royal household did not know that Dalim Kumar was
+living, at any rate, was living at night. They all thought that he
+was long ago dead and his corpse burnt. But the heart of Dalim's wife
+was yearning after her mother-in-law, whom she had never seen. She
+conceived a plan by which she might be able not only to have a
+sight of her mother-in-law, but also to get hold of the Duo queen's
+necklace, on which her husband's life was dependent. With the consent
+of her husband and of his friend she disguised herself as a female
+barber. Like every female barber she took a bundle containing the
+following articles:--an iron instrument for paring nails, another
+iron instrument for scraping off the superfluous flesh of the soles
+of the feet, a piece of jhama or burnt brick for rubbing the soles of
+the feet with, and alakta [5] for painting the edges of the feet and
+toes with. Taking this bundle in her hand she stood at the gate of the
+king's palace with her two boys. She declared herself to be a barber,
+and expressed a desire to see the Suo queen, who readily gave her an
+interview. The queen was quite taken up with the two little boys, who,
+she declared, strongly reminded her of her darling Dalim Kumar. Tears
+fell profusely from her eyes at the recollection of her lost treasure;
+but she of course had not the remotest idea that the two little boys
+were the sons of her own dear Dalim. She told the supposed barber
+that she did not require her services, as, since the death of her
+son, she had given up all terrestrial vanities, and among others the
+practice of dyeing her feet red; but she added that, nevertheless,
+she would be glad now and then to see her and her two fine boys. The
+female barber, for so we must now call her, then went to the quarters
+of the Duo queen and offered her services. The queen allowed her to
+pare her nails, to scrape off the superfluous flesh of her feet,
+and to paint them with alakta and was so pleased with her skill,
+and the sweetness of her disposition, that she ordered her to wait
+upon her periodically. The female barber noticed with no little
+concern the necklace round the queen's neck. The day of her second
+visit came on, and she instructed the elder of her two sons to set
+up a loud cry in the palace, and not to stop crying till he got into
+his hands the Duo queen's necklace. The female barber, accordingly,
+went again on the appointed day to the Duo queen's apartments. While
+she was engaged in painting the queen's feet, the elder boy set up a
+loud cry. On being asked the reason of the cry, the boy, as previously
+instructed, said that he wanted the queen's necklace. The queen said
+that it was impossible for her to part with that particular necklace,
+for it was the best and most valuable of all her jewels. To gratify
+the boy, however, she took it off her neck, and put it into the
+boy's hand. The boy stopped crying and held the necklace tight in
+his hand. As the female barber after she had done her work was about
+to go away, the queen wanted the necklace back. But the boy would
+not part with it. When his mother attempted to snatch it from him,
+he wept bitterly, and showed as if his heart would break. On which
+the female barber said--"Will your Majesty be gracious enough to let
+the boy take the necklace home with him? When he falls asleep after
+drinking his milk, which he is sure to do in the course of an hour,
+I will carefully bring it back to you." The queen, seeing that the
+boy would not allow it to be taken away from him, agreed to the
+proposal of the female barber, especially reflecting that Dalim,
+whose life depended on it, had long ago gone to the abodes of death.
+
+Thus possessed of the treasure on which the life of her husband
+depended, the woman went with breathless haste to the garden-house and
+presented the necklace to Dalim, who had been restored to life. Their
+joy knew no bounds, and by the advice of their friend they determined
+the next day to go to the palace in state, and present themselves to
+the king and the Suo queen. Due preparations were made; an elephant,
+richly caparisoned, was brought for the prince Dalim Kumar, a pair
+of ponies for the two little boys, and a chaturdala [6] furnished
+with curtains of gold lace for the princess. Word was sent to the
+king and the Suo queen that the prince Dalim Kumar was not only
+alive, but that he was coming to visit his royal parents with his
+wife and sons. The king and Suo queen could hardly believe in the
+report, but being assured of its truth they were entranced with joy;
+while the Duo queen, anticipating the disclosure of all her wiles,
+became overwhelmed with grief. The procession of Dalim Kumar, which
+was attended by a band of musicians, approached the palace-gate; and
+the king and Suo queen went out to receive their long-lost son. It is
+needless to say that their joy was intense. They fell on each other's
+neck and wept. Dalim then related all the circumstances connected
+with his death. The king, inflamed with rage, ordered the Duo queen
+into his presence. A large hole, as deep as the height of a man,
+was dug in the ground. The Duo queen was put into it in a standing
+posture. Prickly thorn was heaped around her up to the crown of her
+head; and in this manner she was buried alive.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth;
+           "Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost wither?"
+           "Why does thy cow on me browse?"
+           "Why, O cow, dost thou browse?"
+           "Why does thy neat-herd not tend me?"
+           "Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the cow?"
+           "Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me rice?"
+           "Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give rice?"
+           "Why does my child cry?"
+           "Why, O child, dost thou cry?"
+           "Why does the ant bite me?"
+           "Why, O ant, dost thou bite?"
+            Koot! koot! koot!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+PHAKIR CHAND
+
+
+There was a king's son, and there was a minister's son. They loved
+each other dearly; they sat together, they stood up together, they
+walked together, they ate together, they slept together, they got up
+together. In this way they spent many years in each other's company,
+till they both felt a desire to see foreign lands. So one day they
+set out on their journey. Though very rich, the one being the son of
+a king and the other the son of his chief minister, they did not take
+any servants with them; they went by themselves on horseback. The
+horses were beautiful to look at; they were pakshirajes, or kings
+of birds. The king's son and the minister's son rode together many
+days. They passed through extensive plains covered with paddy; through
+cities, towns, and villages; through waterless, treeless deserts;
+through dense forests which were the abode of the tiger and the
+bear. One evening they were overtaken by night in a region where human
+habitations were not seen; and as it was getting darker and darker,
+they dismounted beneath a lofty tree, tied their horses to its trunk,
+and, climbing up, sat on its branches covered with thick foliage. The
+tree grew near a large tank, the water of which was as clear as the
+eye of a crow. The king's son and the minister's son made themselves
+as comfortable as they could on the tree, being determined to spend
+on its branches the livelong night. They sometimes chatted together in
+whispers on account of the lonely terrors of the region; they sometimes
+sat demurely silent for some minutes; and anon they were falling into
+a doze, when their attention was arrested by a terrible sight.
+
+A sound like the rush of many waters was heard from the middle of the
+tank. A huge serpent was seen leaping up from under the water with its
+hood of enormous size. It "lay floating many a rood"; then it swam
+ashore, and went about hissing. But what most of all attracted the
+attention of the king's son and the minister's son was a brilliant
+manikya (jewel) on the crested hood of the serpent. It shone like
+a thousand diamonds. It lit up the tank, its embankments, and the
+objects round about. The serpent doffed the jewel from its crest and
+threw it on the ground, and then it went about hissing in search of
+food. The two friends sitting on the tree greatly admired the wonderful
+brilliant, shedding ineffable lustre on everything around. They had
+never before seen anything like it; they had only heard of it as
+equalling the treasures of seven kings. Their admiration, however,
+was soon changed into sorrow and fear; for the serpent came hissing
+to the foot of the tree on the branches of which they were seated,
+and swallowed up, one by one, the horses tied to the trunk. They
+feared that they themselves would be the next victims, when, to their
+infinite relief, the gigantic cobra turned away from the tree, and went
+about roaming to a great distance. The minister's son, seeing this,
+bethought himself of taking possession of the lustrous stone. He had
+heard that the only way to hide the brilliant light of the jewel was
+to cover it with cow-dung or horse-dung, a quantity of which latter
+article he perceived lying at the foot of the tree. He came down from
+the tree softly, picked up the horse-dung, threw it upon the precious
+stone, and again climbed into the tree. The serpent, not perceiving
+the light of its head-jewel, rushed with great fury to the spot
+where it had been left. Its hissings, groans, and convulsions were
+terrible. It went round and round the jewel covered with horse-dung,
+and then breathed its last. Early next morning the king's son and the
+minister's son alighted from the tree, and went to the spot where the
+crest-jewel was. The mighty serpent lay there perfectly lifeless. The
+minister's son took up in his hand the jewel covered with horse-dung;
+and both of them went to the tank to wash it. When all the horse-dung
+had been washed off, the jewel shone as brilliantly as before. It
+lit up the entire bed of the tank, and exposed to their view the
+innumerable fishes swimming about in the waters. But what was their
+astonishment when they saw, by the light of the jewel, in the bottom
+of the tank, the lofty walls of what seemed a magnificent palace. The
+venturesome son of the minister proposed to the prince that they should
+dive into the waters and get at the palace below. They both dived into
+the waters--the jewel being in the hand of the minister's son--and
+in a moment stood at the gate of the palace. The gate was open. They
+saw no being, human or superhuman. They went inside the gate, and
+saw a beautiful garden laid out on the ample grounds round about the
+house which was in the centre. The king's son and the minister's son
+had never seen such a profusion of flowers. The rose with its many
+varieties, the jessamine, the bel, the mallika, the king of smells,
+the lily of the valley, the Champaka, and a thousand other sorts
+of sweet-scented flowers were there. And of each of these flowers
+there seemed to be a large number. Here were a hundred rose-bushes,
+there many acres covered with the delicious jessamine, while yonder
+were extensive plantations of all sorts of flowers. As all the
+plants were begemmed with flowers, and as the flowers were in full
+bloom, the air was loaded with rich perfume. It was a wilderness of
+sweets. Through this paradise of perfumery they proceeded towards
+the house, which was surrounded by banks of lofty trees. They stood
+at the door of the house. It was a fairy palace. The walls were of
+burnished gold, and here and there shone diamonds of dazzling hue
+which were stuck into the walls. They did not meet with any beings,
+human or other. They went inside, which was richly furnished. They
+went from room to room, but they did not see any one. It seemed to be
+a deserted house. At last, however, they found in one room a young lady
+lying down, apparently in sleep, on a bed of golden framework. She was
+of exquisite beauty; her complexion was a mixture of red and white;
+and her age was apparently about sixteen. The king's son and the
+minister's son gazed upon her with rapture; but they had not stood
+long when this young lady of superb beauty opened her eyes, which
+seemed like those of a gazelle. On seeing the strangers she said:
+"How have you come here, ye unfortunate men? Begone, begone! This
+is the abode of a mighty serpent, which has devoured my father,
+my mother, my brothers, and all my relatives; I am the only one
+of my family that he has spared. Flee for your lives, or else the
+serpent will put you both in its capacious maw." The minister's son
+told the princess how the serpent had breathed its last; how he and
+his friend had got possession of its head-jewel, and by its light
+had come to her palace. She thanked the strangers for delivering her
+from the infernal serpent, and begged of them to live in the house,
+and never to desert her. The king's son and the minister's son gladly
+accepted the invitation. The king's son, smitten with the charms of
+the peerless princess, married her after a short time; and as there
+was no priest there, the hymeneal knot was tied by a simple exchange
+of garlands of flowers.
+
+The king's son became inexpressibly happy in the company of the
+princess, who was as amiable in her disposition as she was beautiful
+in her person; and though the wife of the minister's son was living in
+the upper world, he too participated in his friend's happiness. Time
+thus passed merrily, when the king's son bethought himself of returning
+to his native country; and as it was fit that he should go with his
+princess in due pomp, it was determined that the minister's son
+should first ascend from the subaqueous regions, go to the king,
+and bring with him attendants, horses, and elephants for the happy
+pair. The snake-jewel was therefore had in requisition. The prince,
+with the jewel in hand, accompanied the minister's son to the upper
+world, and bidding adieu to his friend returned to his lovely wife in
+the enchanted palace. Before leaving, the minister's son appointed
+the day and the hour when he would stand on the high embankments of
+the tank with horses, elephants, and attendants, and wait upon the
+prince and the princess, who were to join him in the upper world by
+means of the jewel.
+
+Leaving the minister's son to wend his way to his country and to make
+preparations for the return of his king's son, let us see how the happy
+couple in the subterranean palace were passing their time. One day,
+while the prince was sleeping after his noonday meal, the princess,
+who had never seen the upper regions, felt the desire of visiting them,
+and the rather as the snake-jewel, which alone could give her safe
+conduct through the waters, was at that moment shedding its bright
+effulgence in the room. She took up the jewel in her hand, left the
+palace, and successfully reached the upper world. No mortal caught
+her sight. She sat on the flight of steps with which the tank was
+furnished for the convenience of bathers, scrubbed her body, washed
+her hair, disported in the waters, walked about on the water's edge,
+admired all the scenery around, and returned to her palace, where
+she found her husband still locked in the embrace of sleep. When the
+prince woke up, she did not tell him a word about her adventure. The
+following day at the same hour, when her husband was asleep, she paid
+a second visit to the upper world, and went back unnoticed by mortal
+man. As success made her bold, she repeated her adventure a third
+time. It so chanced that on that day the son of the Rajah, in whose
+territories the tank was situated, was out on a hunting excursion,
+and had pitched his tent not far from the place. While his attendants
+were engaged in cooking their noon-day meal, the Rajah's son sauntered
+about on the embankments of the tank, near which an old woman was
+gathering sticks and dried branches of trees for purposes of fuel. It
+was while the Rajah's son and the old woman were near the tank that
+the princess paid her third visit to the upper world. She rose up
+from the waters, gazed around, and seeing a man and a woman on the
+banks again went down. The Rajah's son caught a momentary glimpse of
+the princess, and so did the old woman gathering sticks. The Rajah's
+son stood gazing on the waters. He had never seen such a beauty. She
+seemed to him to be one of those deva-kanyas, heavenly goddesses,
+of whom he had read in old books, and who are said now and then to
+favour the lower world with their visits, which, like angel visits,
+are "few and far between." The unearthly beauty of the princess,
+though he had seen her only for a moment, made a deep impression on
+his heart, and distracted his mind. He stood there like a statue, for
+hours, gazing on the waters, in the hope of seeing the lovely figure
+again. But in vain. The princess did not appear again. The Rajah's
+son became mad with love. He kept muttering--"Now here, now gone! Now
+here, now gone!" He would not leave the place till he was forcibly
+removed by the attendants who had now come to him. He was taken to his
+father's palace in a state of hopeless insanity. He spoke to nobody;
+he always sobbed heavily; and the only words which proceeded out of
+his mouth--and he was muttering them every minute--were, "Now here, now
+gone! Now here, now gone!" The Rajah's grief may well be conceived. He
+could not imagine what should have deranged his son's mind. The words,
+"Now here, now gone," which ever and anon issued from his son's
+lips, were a mystery to him; he could not unravel their meaning;
+neither could the attendants throw any light on the subject. The best
+physicians of the country were consulted, but to no effect. The sons
+of �sculapius could not ascertain the cause of the madness, far less
+could they cure it. To the many inquiries of the physicians, the only
+reply made by the Rajah's son was the stereotyped words--"Now here,
+now gone! Now here, now gone!"
+
+The Rajah, distracted with grief on account of the obscuration of
+his son's intellects, caused a proclamation to be made in the capital
+by beat of drum, to the effect that, if any person could explain the
+cause of his son's madness and cure it, such a person would be rewarded
+with the hand of the Rajah's daughter, and with the possession of half
+his kingdom. The drum was beaten round most parts of the city, but no
+one touched it, as no one knew the cause of the madness of the Rajah's
+son. At last an old woman touched the drum, and declared that she would
+not only discover the cause of the madness, but cure it. This woman,
+who was the identical woman that was gathering sticks near the tank
+at the time the Rajah's son lost his reason, had a crack-brained son
+of the name of Phakir Chand, and was in consequence called Phakir's
+mother, or more familiarly Phakre's mother. When the woman was brought
+before the Rajah, the following conversation took place:--
+
+Rajah. You are the woman that touched the drum.--You know the cause
+of my son's madness?
+
+Phakir's Mother. Yes, O incarnation of justice! I know the cause,
+but I will not mention it till I have cured your son.
+
+Rajah. How can I believe that you are able to cure my son, when the
+best physicians of the land have failed?
+
+Phakir's Mother. You need not now believe, my lord, till I have
+performed the cure. Many an old woman knows secrets with which wise
+men are unacquainted.
+
+Rajah. Very well, let me see what you can do. In what time will you
+perform the cure?
+
+Phakir's Mother. It is impossible to fix the time at present; but I
+will begin work immediately with your lordship's assistance.
+
+Rajah. What help do you require from me?
+
+Phakir's Mother. Your lordship will please order a hut to be raised on
+the embankment of the tank where your son first caught the disease. I
+mean to live in that hut for a few days. And your lordship will also
+please order some of your servants to be in attendance at a distance of
+about a hundred yards from the hut, so that they might be within call.
+
+Rajah. Very well; I will order that to be immediately done. Do you
+want anything else?
+
+Phakir's Mother. Nothing else, my lord, in the way of preparations. But
+it is as well to remind your lordship of the conditions on which I
+undertake the cure. Your lordship has promised to give to the performer
+of the cure the hand of your daughter and half your kingdom. As I
+am a woman and cannot marry your daughter, I beg that, in case I
+perform the cure, my son Phakir Chand may marry your daughter and
+take possession of half your kingdom.
+
+Rajah. Agreed, agreed.
+
+A temporary hut was in a few hours erected on the embankment of the
+tank, and Phakir's mother took up her abode in it. An outpost was
+also erected at some distance for servants in attendance who might
+be required to give help to the woman. Strict orders were given by
+Phakir's mother that no human being should go near the tank excepting
+herself. Let us leave Phakir's mother keeping watch at the tank, and
+hasten down into the subterranean palace to see what the prince and
+the princess are about. After the mishap which had occurred on her
+last visit to the upper world, the princess had given up the idea of
+a fourth visit. But women generally have greater curiosity than men;
+and the princess of the underground palace was no exception to the
+general rule. One day, while her husband was asleep as usual after
+his noonday meal, she rushed out of the palace with the snake-jewel in
+her hand, and came to the upper world. The moment the upheaval of the
+waters in the middle of the tank took place, Phakir's mother, who was
+on the alert, concealed herself in the hut and began looking through
+the chinks of the matted wall. The princess, seeing no mortal near,
+came to the bank, and sitting there began to scrub her body. Phakir's
+mother showed herself outside the hut, and addressing the princess,
+said in a winning tone--"Come, my child, thou queen of beauty, come
+to me, and I will help you to bathe." So saying, she approached the
+princess, who, seeing that it was only a woman, made no resistance. The
+old woman, while in the act of washing the hair of the princess,
+noticed the bright jewel in her hand, and said--"Put the jewel here
+till you are bathed." In a moment the jewel was in the possession
+of Phakir's mother, who wrapped it up in the cloth that was round
+her waist. Knowing the princess to be unable to escape, she gave the
+signal to the attendants in waiting, who rushed to the tank and made
+the princess a captive.
+
+Great were the rejoicings of the people when the tidings reached the
+city that Phakir's mother had captured a water-nymph from the nether
+regions. The whole city came to see the "daughter of the immortals,"
+as they called the princess. When she was brought to the palace and
+confronted with the Rajah's son of obscured intellect, the latter
+said with a shout of exultation--"I have found! I have found!" The
+cloud which had settled on his brain was dissipated in a moment. The
+eyes, erewhile vacant and lustreless, now glowed with the fire of
+intelligence; his tongue, of which he had almost lost the use--the
+only words which he used to utter being, "Now here, now gone!"--was
+now relaxed: in a word, he was restored to his senses. The joy of the
+Rajah knew no bounds. There was great festivity in the city; and the
+people who showered benedictions on the head of Phakir Chand's mother,
+expected the speedy celebration of the marriage of the Rajah's son
+with the beauty of the nether world. The princess, however, told the
+Rajah, through Phakir's mother, that she had made a vow to the effect
+that she would not, for one whole year, look at the face of another
+man than that of her husband who was dwelling beneath the waters,
+and that therefore the marriage could not be performed during that
+period. Though the Rajah's son was somewhat disappointed, he readily
+agreed to the delay, believing, agreeably to the proverb, that delay
+would greatly enhance the sweetness of those pleasures which were in
+store for him.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to say that the princess spent her days and
+her nights in sorrowing and sighing. She lamented that idle curiosity
+which had led her to come to the upper world, leaving her husband
+below. When she recollected that her husband was all alone below the
+waters she wept bitter tears. She wished she could run away. But that
+was impossible, as she was immured within walls, and there were walls
+within walls. Besides, if she could get out of the palace and of the
+city, of what avail would it be? She could not gain her husband,
+as the serpent jewel was not in her possession. The ladies of the
+palace and Phakir's mother tried to divert her mind, but in vain. She
+took pleasure in nothing; she would hardly speak to any one; she wept
+day and night. The year of her vow was drawing to a close, and yet
+she was disconsolate. The marriage, however, must be celebrated. The
+Rajah consulted the astrologers, and the day and the hour in which
+the nuptial knot was to be tied were fixed. Great preparations were
+made. The confectioners of the city busied themselves day and night
+in preparing sweetmeats; milkmen took contracts for supplying the
+palace with tanks of curds; gunpowder was being manufactured for a
+grand display of fireworks; bands of musicians were placed on sheds
+erected over the palace gate, who ever and anon sent forth many
+"a bout of linked sweetness"; and the whole city assumed an air of
+mirth and festivity.
+
+It is time we should think of the minister's son, who, leaving his
+friend in the subterranean palace, had gone to his country to bring
+horses, elephants, and attendants for the return of the king's son
+and his lovely princess with due pomp. The preparations took him
+many months; and when everything was ready he started on his journey,
+accompanied by a long train of elephants, horses, and attendants. He
+reached the tank two or three days before the appointed day. Tents were
+pitched in the mango-topes adjoining the tank for the accommodation of
+men and cattle; and the minister's son always kept his eyes fixed on
+the tank. The sun of the appointed day sank below the horizon; but the
+prince and the princess dwelling beneath the waters made no sign. He
+waited two or three days longer; still the prince did not make his
+appearance. What could have happened to his friend and his beautiful
+wife? Were they dead? Had another serpent, possibly the mate of the one
+that had died, beaten the prince and the princess to death? Had they
+somehow lost the serpent-jewel? Or had they been captured when they
+were once on a visit to the upper world? Such were the reflections of
+the minister's son. He was overwhelmed with grief. Ever since he had
+come to the tank he had heard at regular intervals the sound of music
+coming from the city which was not distant. He inquired of passers-by
+what that music meant. He was told that the Rajah's son was about
+to be married to some wonderful young lady, who had come out of the
+waters of that very tank on the bank of which he was now seated, and
+that the marriage ceremony was to be performed on the day following
+the next. The minister's son immediately concluded that the wonderful
+young lady of the lake that was to be married was none other than the
+wife of his friend, the king's son. He resolved therefore to go into
+the city to learn the details of the affair, and try if possible to
+rescue the princess. He told the attendants to go home, taking with
+them the elephants and the horses; and he himself went to the city,
+and took up his abode in the house of a Brahman.
+
+After he had rested and taken his dinner, the minister's son asked
+the Brahman what the meaning was of the music that was heard in the
+city at regular intervals. The Brahman asked, "From what part of
+the world have you come that you have not heard of the wonderful
+circumstance that a young lady of heavenly beauty rose out of the
+waters of a tank in the suburbs, and that she is going to be married
+the day after to-morrow to the son of our Rajah?"
+
+Minister's Son. No, I have heard nothing. I have come from a distant
+country whither the story has not reached. Will you kindly tell me
+the particulars?
+
+Brahman. The Rajah's son went out a-hunting about this time last
+year. He pitched his tents close to a tank in the suburbs. One day,
+while the Rajah's son was walking near the tank, he saw a young
+woman, or rather goddess, of uncommon beauty rise from the waters of
+the tank. She gazed about for a minute or two and disappeared. The
+Rajah's son, however, who had seen her, was so struck with her heavenly
+beauty that he became desperately enamoured of her. Indeed, so intense
+was his passion, that his reason gave way; and he was carried home
+hopelessly mad. The only words he uttered day and night were--"Now
+here, now gone!" The Rajah sent for all the best physicians of the
+country for restoring his son to his reason; but the physicians were
+powerless. At last he caused a proclamation to be made by beat of drum
+to the effect that if any one could cure the Rajah's son, he should
+be the Rajah's son-in-law and the owner of half his kingdom. An old
+woman, who went by the name of Phakir's mother, took hold of the drum,
+and declared her ability to cure the Rajah's son. On the tank where
+the princess had appeared was raised for Phakir's mother a hut in
+which she took up her abode; and not far from her hut another hut was
+erected for the accommodation of attendants who might be required to
+help her. It seems the goddess rose from the waters; Phakir's mother
+seized her with the help of the attendants, and carried her in a palki
+to the palace. At the sight of her the Rajah's son was restored to
+his senses; and the marriage would have been celebrated at that time
+but for a vow which the goddess had made that she would not look at
+the face of any male person till the lapse of a year. The year of the
+vow is now over; and the music which you have heard is from the gate
+of the Rajah's palace. This, in brief, is the story.
+
+Minister's Son. A truly wonderful story! And has Phakir's mother,
+or rather Phakir Chand himself, been rewarded with the hand of the
+Rajah's daughter and with the possession of half the kingdom?
+
+Brahman. No, not yet. Phakir has not been got hold of. He is a
+half-witted lad, or rather quite mad. He has been away for more
+than a year from his home, and no one knows where he is. That is his
+manner; he stays away for a long time, suddenly comes home, and again
+disappears. I believe his mother expects him soon.
+
+Minister's Son. What like is he? and what does he do when he returns
+home?
+
+Brahman. Why, he is about your height, though he is somewhat younger
+than you. He puts on a small piece of cloth round his waist, rubs
+his body with ashes, takes the branch of a tree in his hand, and,
+at the door of the hut in which his mother lives, dances to the tune
+of dhoop! dhoop! dhoop! His articulation is very indistinct; and when
+his mother says--"Phakir! stay with me for some days," he invariably
+answers in his usual unintelligible manner, "No, I won't remain,
+I won't remain." And when he wishes to give an affirmative answer,
+he says, "Hoom," which means "Yes."
+
+The above conversation with the Brahman poured a flood of light into
+the mind of the minister's son. He saw how matters stood. He perceived
+that the princess of the subterranean palace must have alone ventured
+out into the tank by means of the snake-jewel; that she must have
+been captured alone without the king's son; that the snake-jewel
+must be in the possession of Phakir's mother; and that his friend,
+the king's son, must be alone below the waters without any means of
+escape. The desolate and apparently hopeless state of his friend
+filled him with unutterable grief. He was in deep musings during
+most part of the night. Is it impossible, thought he, to rescue the
+king's son from the nether regions? What if, by some means or other,
+I contrive to get the jewel from the old woman? And can I not do it
+by personating Phakir Chand himself, who is expected by his mother
+shortly? And possibly by the same means I may be able to rescue the
+princess from the Rajah's palace. He resolved to act the r�le of Phakir
+Chand the following day. In the morning he left the Brahman's house,
+went to the outskirts of the city, divested himself of his usual
+clothing, put round his waist a short and narrow piece of cloth which
+scarcely reached his knee-joints, rubbed his body well with ashes,
+took in his hand a twig which he broke off a tree, and thus accoutred,
+presented himself before the door of the hut of Phakir's mother. He
+commenced operations by dancing, in a most violent manner, to the
+tune of dhoop! dhoop! dhoop! The dancing attracted the notice of the
+old woman, who, supposing that her son had come, said--"My son Phakir,
+are you come? Come, my darling; the gods have at last become propitious
+to us." The supposed Phakir Chand uttered the monosyllable "hoom," and
+went on dancing in a still more violent manner than before, waving the
+twig in his hand. "This time you must not go away," said the old woman,
+"you must remain with me." "No, I won't remain, I won't remain," said
+the minister's son. "Remain with me, and I'll get you married to the
+Rajah's daughter. Will you marry, Phakir Chand?" The minister's son
+replied--"Hoom, hoom," and danced on like a madman. "Will you come
+with me to the Rajah's house? I'll show you a princess of uncommon
+beauty who has risen from the waters." "Hoom, hoom," was the answer
+that issued from his lips, while his feet tripped it violently to
+the sound of dhoop! dhoop! "Do you wish to see a manik, Phakir, the
+crest jewel of the serpent, the treasure of seven kings?" "Hoom,
+hoom," was the reply. The old woman brought out of the hut the
+snake-jewel, and put it into the hand of her supposed son. The
+minister's son took it, and carefully wrapped it up in the piece
+of cloth round his waist. Phakir's mother, delighted beyond measure
+at the opportune appearance of her son, went to the Rajah's house,
+partly to announce to the Rajah the news of Phakir's appearance,
+and partly to show Phakir the princess of the waters. The supposed
+Phakir and his mother found ready access to the Rajah's palace, for
+the old woman had, since the capture of the princess, become the most
+important person in the kingdom. She took him into the room where the
+princess was, and introduced him to her. It is superfluous to remark
+that the princess was by no means pleased with the company of a madcap,
+who was in a state of semi-nudity, whose body was rubbed with ashes,
+and who was ever and anon dancing in a wild manner. At sunset the old
+woman proposed to her son that they should leave the palace and go
+to their own house. But the supposed Phakir Chand refused to comply
+with the request; he said he would stay there that night. His mother
+tried to persuade him to return with her, but he persisted in his
+determination. He said he would remain with the princess. Phakir's
+mother therefore went away, after giving instructions to the guards
+and attendants to take care of her son.
+
+When all in the palace had retired to rest, the supposed Phakir, coming
+towards the princess, said in his own usual voice--"Princess! do you
+not recognise me? I am the minister's son, the friend of your princely
+husband." The princess, astonished at the announcement, said--"Who? The
+minister's son? Oh, my husband's best friend, do rescue me from this
+terrible captivity, from this worse than death. O fate! it is by my
+own fault that I am reduced to this wretched state. Oh, rescue me,
+rescue me, thou best of friends!" She then burst into tears. The
+minister's son said, "Do not be disconsolate. I will try my best
+to rescue you this very night; only you must do whatever I tell
+you." "I will do anything you tell me, minister's son; anything you
+tell me." After this the supposed Phakir left the room, and passed
+through the courtyard of the palace. Some of the guards challenged
+him, to whom he replied, "Hoom, hoom; I will just go out for a
+minute and again come in presently." They understood that it was
+the madcap Phakir. True to his word he did come back shortly, and
+went to the princess. An hour afterwards he again went out and was
+again challenged, on which he made the same reply as at the first
+time. The guards who challenged him began to mutter between their
+teeth--"This madcap of a Phakir will, we suppose, go out and come in
+all night. Let the fellow alone; let him do what he likes. Who can
+be sitting up all night for him?" The minister's son was going out
+and coming in with the view of accustoming the guards to his constant
+egress and ingress, and also of watching for a favourable opportunity
+to escape with the princess. About three o'clock in the morning the
+minister's son again passed through the courtyard, but this time no
+one challenged him, as all the guards had fallen asleep. Overjoyed at
+the auspicious circumstance, he went to the princess. "Now, princess,
+is the time for escape. The guards are all asleep. Mount on my back,
+and tie the locks of your hair round my neck, and keep tight hold
+of me." The princess did as she was told. He passed unchallenged
+through the courtyard with the lovely burden on his back, passed out
+of the gate of the palace--no one challenging him, passed on to the
+outskirts of the city, and reached the tank from which the princess
+had risen. The princess stood on her legs, rejoicing at her escape, and
+at the same time trembling. The minister's son untied the snake-jewel
+from his waist-cloth, and descending into the waters, both he and she
+found their way to the subterranean palace. The reception which the
+prince in the subaqueous palace gave to his wife and his friend may be
+easily imagined. He had nearly died of grief; but now he suffered a
+resurrection. The three were now mad with joy. During the three days
+that they remained in the palace they again and again told the story
+of the egress of the princess into the upper world, of her seizure,
+of her captivity in the palace, of the preparations for marriage, of
+the old woman, of the minister's son personating Phakir Chand, and of
+the successful deliverance. It is unnecessary to add that the prince
+and the princess expressed their gratitude to the minister's son in
+the warmest terms, declared him to be their best and greatest friend,
+and vowed to abide always, till the day of their death, by his advice,
+and to follow his counsel.
+
+Being resolved to return to their native country, the king's son,
+the minister's son, and the princess left the subterranean palace,
+and, lighted in the passage by the snake-jewel, made their way good to
+the upper world. As they had neither elephants nor horses, they were
+under the necessity of travelling on foot; and though this mode of
+travelling was troublesome to both the king's son and the minister's
+son, as they were bred in the lap of luxury, it was infinitely more
+troublesome to the princess, as the stones of the rough road
+
+
+                        "Wounded the invisible
+        Palms of her tender feet where'er they fell."
+
+
+When her feet became very sore, the king's son sometimes took her
+up on his broad shoulders, on which she sat astride; but the load,
+however lovely, was too heavy to be carried any great distance. She
+therefore, for the most part, travelled on foot.
+
+One evening they bivouacked beneath a tree, as no human habitations
+were visible. The minister's son said to the prince and princess,
+"Both of you go to sleep, and I will keep watch in order to prevent any
+danger." The royal couple were soon locked in the arms of sleep. The
+faithful son of the minister did not sleep, but sat up watching. It so
+happened that on that tree swung the nest of the two immortal birds,
+Bihangama and Bihangami, who were not only endowed with the power
+of human speech, but who could see into the future. To the no little
+astonishment of the minister's son the two prophetical birds joined
+in the following conversation:--
+
+Bihangama. The minister's son has already risked his own life for the
+safety of his friend, the king's son; but he will find it difficult
+to save the prince at last.
+
+Bihangami. Why so?
+
+Bihangama. Many dangers await the king's son. The prince's father, when
+he hears of the approach of his son, will send for him an elephant,
+some horses, and attendants. When the king's son rides on the elephant
+he will fall down and die.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one prevents the king's son from riding
+on the elephant, and makes him ride on horseback, will he not in that
+case be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, he will in that case escape that danger, but a fresh
+danger awaits him. When the king's son is in sight of his father's
+palace, and when he is in the act of passing through its lion-gate,
+the lion-gate will fall upon him and crush him to death.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one destroys the lion-gate before the
+king's son goes up to it; will not the king's son in that case
+be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, in that case he will escape that particular danger;
+but a fresh danger awaits him. When the king's son reaches the palace
+and sits at a feast prepared for him, and when he takes into his
+mouth the head of a fish cooked for him, the head of the fish will
+stick in his throat and choke him to death.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one sitting at the feast snatches the head
+of the fish from the prince's plate, and thus prevents him from putting
+it into his mouth, will not the king's son in that case be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, in that case he will escape that particular danger;
+but a fresh danger awaits him. When the prince and princess after
+dinner retire into their sleeping apartment, and they lie together
+in bed, a terrible cobra will come into the room and bite the king's
+son to death.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one lying in wait in the room cut the
+snake into pieces, will not the king's son in that case be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, in that case the life of the king's son will be
+saved; but if the man who kills the snake repeats to the king's son
+the conversation between you and me, that man will be turned into a
+marble statue.
+
+Bihangami. But is there no means of restoring the marble statue
+to life?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, the marble statue may be restored to life if it is
+washed with the life-blood of the infant which the princess will give
+birth to, immediately after it is ushered into the world.
+
+The conversation of the prophetical birds had extended thus far
+when the crows began to caw, the east put on a reddish hue, and the
+travellers beneath the tree bestirred themselves. The conversation
+stopped, but the minister's son had heard it all.
+
+The prince, the princess, and the minister's son pursued their journey
+in the morning; but they had not walked many hours when they met a
+procession consisting of an elephant, a horse, a palki, and a large
+number of attendants. These animals and men had been sent by the king,
+who had heard that his son, together with his newly married wife and
+his friend the minister's son, were not far from the capital on their
+journey homewards. The elephant, which was richly caparisoned, was
+intended for the prince; the palki the framework of which was silver
+and was gaudily adorned, was meant for the princess; and the horse for
+the minister's son. As the prince was about to mount on the elephant,
+the minister's son went up to him and said--"Allow me to ride on
+the elephant, and you please ride on horseback." The prince was not
+a little surprised at the coolness of the proposal. He thought his
+friend was presuming too much on the services he had rendered; he was
+therefore nettled, but remembering that his friend had saved both him
+and his wife, he said nothing, but quietly mounted the horse, though
+his mind became somewhat alienated from him. The procession started,
+and after some time came in sight of the palace, the lion-gate of
+which had been gaily adorned for the reception of the prince and
+the princess. The minister's son told the prince that the lion-gate
+should be broken down before the prince could enter the palace. The
+prince was astounded at the proposal, especially as the minister's
+son gave no reasons for so extraordinary a request. His mind became
+still more estranged from him; but in consideration of the services
+the minister's son had rendered, his request was complied with,
+and the beautiful lion-gate, with its gay decorations, was broken down.
+
+The party now went into the palace, where the king gave a warm
+reception to his son, to his daughter-in-law, and to the minister's
+son. When the story of their adventures was related, the king and his
+courtiers expressed great astonishment, and they all with one voice
+extolled the sagacity, prudence, and devotedness of the minister's
+son. The ladies of the palace were struck with the extraordinary
+beauty of the new-comer; her complexion was milk and vermilion mixed
+together; her neck was like that of a swan; her eyes were like those
+of a gazelle; her lips were as red as the berry bimba; her cheeks were
+lovely; her nose was straight and high; her hair reached her ankles;
+her walk was as graceful as that of a young elephant--such were the
+terms in which the connoisseurs of beauty praised the princess whom
+destiny had brought into the midst of them. They sat around her and
+put her a thousand questions regarding her parents, regarding the
+subterranean palace in which she formerly lived, and the serpent
+which had killed all her relatives. It was now time that the new
+arrivals should have their dinner. The dinner was served up in dishes
+of gold. All sorts of delicacies were there, amongst which the most
+conspicuous was the large head of a rohita fish placed in a golden
+cup near the prince's plate. While they were eating, the minister's
+son suddenly snatched the head of the fish from the prince's plate,
+and said, "Let me, prince, eat this rohita's head." The king's son was
+quite indignant. He said nothing, however. The minister's son perceived
+that his friend was in a terrible rage; but he could not help it,
+as his conduct, however strange, was necessary to the safety of his
+friend's life; neither could he clear himself by stating the reason of
+his behaviour, as in that case he himself would be transformed into
+a marble statue. The dinner over, the minister's son expressed his
+desire to go to his own house. At other times the king's son would
+not allow his friend to go away in that fashion; but being shocked at
+his strange conduct, he readily agreed to the proposal. The minister's
+son, however, had not the slightest notion of going to his own house;
+he was resolved to avert the last peril that was to threaten the life
+of his friend. Accordingly, with a sword in his hand, he stealthily
+entered the room in which the prince and the princess were to sleep
+that night, and ensconced himself under the bedstead, which was
+furnished with mattresses of down and canopied with mosquito curtains
+of the richest silk and gold lace. Soon after dinner the prince and
+princess came into the bedroom, and undressing themselves went to
+bed. At midnight, while the royal couple were asleep, the minister's
+son perceived a snake of gigantic size enter the room through one of
+the water-passages, and climb up the tester-frame of the bed. He rushed
+out of his hiding-place, killed the serpent, cut it up in pieces, and
+put the pieces in the dish for holding betel-leaves and spices. It so
+happened, however, that as the minister's son was cutting the serpent
+into pieces, a drop of blood fell on the breast of the princess, and
+the rather as the mosquito curtains had not been let down. Thinking
+that the drop of blood might injure the fair princess, he resolved
+to lick it up. But as he regarded it as a great sin to look upon a
+young woman lying asleep half naked, he blindfolded himself with
+seven-fold cloth, and licked up the drop of blood. But while he
+was in the act of licking it, the princess awoke and screamed, and
+her scream roused her husband lying beside her. The prince seeing
+the minister's son, who he thought had gone away to his own house,
+bending over the body of his wife, fell into a great rage, and would
+have got up and killed him, had not the minister's son besought him
+to restrain his anger, adding--"Friend, I have done this only in
+order to save your life." "I do not understand what you mean," said
+the prince; "ever since we came out of the subterranean palace you
+have been behaving in a most extraordinary way. In the first place,
+you prevented me from getting upon the richly caparisoned elephant,
+though my father, the king, had purposely sent it for me. I thought,
+however, that a sense of the services you had rendered to me had made
+you exceedingly vain; I therefore let the matter pass, and mounted
+the horse. In the second place, you insisted on the destruction of the
+fine lion-gate, which my father had adorned with gay decorations; and
+I let that matter also pass. Then, again, at dinner you snatched away,
+in a most shameful manner, the rohita's head which was on my plate,
+and devoured it yourself, thinking, no doubt, that you were entitled
+to higher honours than I. You then pretended that you were going
+home, for which I was not at all sorry, as you had made yourself
+very disagreeable to me. And now you are actually in my bedroom,
+bending over the naked bosom of my wife. You must have had some evil
+design; and you pretend that you have done this to save my life. I
+fancy it was not for saving my life, but for destroying my wife's
+chastity." "Oh, do not harbour such thoughts in your mind against
+me. The gods know that I have done all this for the preservation of
+your life. You would see the reasonableness of my conduct throughout
+if I had the liberty of stating my reasons." "And why are you not
+at liberty?" asked the prince; "who has shut up your mouth?" "It is
+destiny that has shut up my mouth," answered the minister's son;
+"if I were to tell it all, I should be transformed into a marble
+statue." "You would be transformed into a marble statue!" exclaimed
+the prince; "you must take me to be a simpleton to believe this
+nonsense." "Do you wish me then, friend," said the minister's son,
+"to tell you all? You must then make up your mind to see your friend
+turned into stone." "Come, out with it," said the prince, "or else you
+are a dead man." The minister's son, in order to clear himself of the
+foul accusation brought against him, deemed it his duty to reveal the
+secret at the risk of his life. He again and again warned the prince
+not to press him. But the prince remained inexorable. The minister's
+son then went on to say that, while bivouacking under a lofty tree
+one night, he had overheard a conversation between Bihangama and
+Bihangami, in which the former predicted all the dangers that were to
+threaten the life of the prince. When the minister's son had related
+the prediction concerning the mounting upon the elephant, his lower
+parts were turned into stone. He then, turning to the prince, said,
+"See, friend, my lower parts have already turned into stone." "Go on,
+go on," said the prince, "with your story." The minister's son then
+related the prophecy regarding the destruction of the lion-gate,
+when half of his body was converted into stone. He then related
+the prediction regarding the eating of the head of the fish, when
+his body up to his neck was petrified. "Now, friend," said the
+minister's son, "the whole of my body, excepting my neck and head,
+is petrified; if I tell the rest, I shall assuredly become a man of
+stone. Do you wish me still to go on?" "Go on," answered the prince,
+"go on." "Very well, I will go on to the end," said the minister's
+son; "but in case you repent after I have become turned into stone,
+and wish me to be restored to life, I will tell you of the manner
+in which it may be effected. The princess after a few months will be
+delivered of a child; if immediately after the birth of the infant you
+kill it and besmear my marble body with its blood, I shall be restored
+to life." He then related the prediction regarding the serpent in the
+bedroom; and when the last word was on his lips the rest of his body
+was turned into stone, and he dropped on the floor a marble image. The
+princess jumped out of bed, opened the vessel for betel-leaves and
+spices, and saw there pieces of a serpent. Both the prince and the
+princess now became convinced of the good faith and benevolence of
+their departed friend. They went to the marble figure, but it was
+lifeless. They set up a loud lamentation; but it was to no purpose,
+for the marble moved not. They then resolved to keep the marble figure
+concealed in a safe place, and to besmear it with the blood of their
+first-born child when it should be ushered into existence.
+
+In process of time the hour of the princess's travail came on,
+and she was delivered of a beautiful boy, the perfect image of his
+mother. Both father and mother were struck with the beauty of their
+child, and would fain have spared its life; but recollecting the vows
+they had made on behalf of their best friend, now lying in a corner of
+the room a lifeless stone, and the inestimable services he had rendered
+to both of them, they cut the child into two, and besmeared the marble
+figure of the minister's son with its blood. The marble became animated
+in a moment. The minister's son stood before the prince and princess,
+who became exceedingly glad to see their old friend again in life. But
+the minister's son, who saw the lovely new-born babe lying in a pool
+of blood, was overwhelmed with grief. He took up the dead infant,
+carefully wrapped it up in a towel, and resolved to get it restored
+to life.
+
+The minister's son, intent on the reanimation of his friend's child,
+consulted all the physicians of the country; but they said that
+they would undertake to cure any person of any disease so long as
+life was in him, but when life was extinct, the case was beyond
+their jurisdiction. The minister's son at last bethought himself
+of his own wife, who was living in a distant town, and who was a
+devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali, who, through his wife's
+intercession, might be prevailed upon to give life to the dead
+child. He, accordingly, set out on a journey to the town in which
+his wife was living in her father's house. Adjoining that house there
+was a garden where upon a tree he hung the dead child wrapped up in
+a towel. His wife was overjoyed to see her husband after so long a
+time; but to her surprise she found that he was very melancholy, that
+he spoke very little, and that he was brooding over something in his
+mind. She asked the reason of his melancholy, but he kept quiet. One
+night while they were lying together in bed, the wife got up and
+opening the door went out. The husband, who had little sleep any night
+in consequence of the weight of anxiety regarding the reanimation of
+his friend's child, perceiving his wife go out at that dead hour of
+night, determined to follow her without being noticed. She went to a
+temple of the goddess Kali, which was at no great distance from her
+house. She worshipped the goddess with flowers and sandal-wood perfume,
+and said, "O mother Kali! have mercy upon me, and deliver me out of
+all my troubles." The goddess replied, "Why, what further grievance
+have you? You long prayed for the return of your husband, and he has
+returned; what aileth thee now?" The woman answered, "True, O Mother,
+my husband has come to me, but he is very moody and melancholy,
+hardly speaks to me, takes no delight in me, only sits moping in a
+corner." To which the goddess rejoined, "Ask your husband what the
+reason of his melancholy is, and let me know it." The minister's son
+overheard the conversation between the goddess and his wife, but he
+did not make his appearance; he quietly slunk away before his wife
+and went to bed. The following day the wife asked her husband of the
+cause of his melancholy; and he related all the particulars regarding
+the killing of the infant child of the prince. Next night at the same
+dead hour the wife proceeded to Kali's temple and mentioned to the
+goddess the reason of her husband's melancholy; on which the goddess
+said, "Bring the child here and I will restore it to life." On the
+succeeding night the child was produced before the goddess Kali,
+and she called it back to life. Entranced with joy, the minister's
+son took up the reanimated child, went as fast as his legs could
+carry him to the prince and princess, and presented to them their
+child alive and well. They all rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
+and lived together happily till the day of their death.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE INDIGENT BRAHMAN
+
+
+There was a Brahman who had a wife and four children. He was
+very poor. With no resources in the world, he lived chiefly on the
+benefactions of the rich. His gains were considerable when marriages
+were celebrated or funeral ceremonies were performed; but as his
+parishioners did not marry every day, neither did they die every
+day, he found it difficult to make the two ends meet. His wife
+often rebuked him for his inability to give her adequate support,
+and his children often went about naked and hungry. But though poor
+he was a good man. He was diligent in his devotions; and there was
+not a single day in his life in which he did not say his prayers at
+stated hours. His tutelary deity was the goddess Durga, the consort
+of Siva, the creative Energy of the Universe. On no day did he either
+drink water or taste food till he had written in red ink the name
+of Durga at least one hundred and eight times; while throughout the
+day he incessantly uttered the ejaculation, "O Durga! O Durga! have
+mercy upon me." Whenever he felt anxious on account of his poverty
+and his inability to support his wife and children, he groaned
+out--"Durga! Durga! Durga!"
+
+One day, being very sad, he went to a forest many miles distant
+from the village in which he lived, and indulging his grief wept
+bitter tears. He prayed in the following manner:--"O Durga! O Mother
+Bhagavati! wilt thou not make an end of my misery? Were I alone in
+the world, I should not have been sad on account of poverty; but thou
+hast given me a wife and children. Give me, O Mother, the means to
+support them." It so happened that on that day and on that very spot
+the god Siva and his wife Durga were taking their morning walk. The
+goddess Durga, on seeing the Brahman at a distance, said to her divine
+husband--"O Lord of Kailas! do you see that Brahman? He is always
+taking my name on his lips and offering the prayer that I should
+deliver him out of his troubles. Can we not, my lord, do something
+for the poor Brahman, oppressed as he is with the cares of a growing
+family? We should give him enough to make him comfortable. As the
+poor man and his family have never enough to eat, I propose that you
+give him a handi [7] which should yield him an inexhaustible supply
+of mudki." [8] The lord of Kailas readily agreed to the proposal of
+his divine consort, and by his decree created on the spot a handi
+possessing the required quality. Durga then, calling the Brahman
+to her, said,--"O Brahman! I have often thought of your pitiable
+case. Your repeated prayers have at last moved my compassion. Here is
+a handi for you. When you turn it upside down and shake it, it will
+pour down a never-ceasing shower of the finest mudki, which will not
+end till you restore the handi to its proper position. Yourself,
+your wife, and your children can eat as much mudki as you like,
+and you can also sell as much as you like." The Brahman, delighted
+beyond measure at obtaining so inestimable a treasure, made obeisance
+to the goddess, and, taking the handi in his hand, proceeded towards
+his house as fast as his legs could carry him. But he had not gone
+many yards when he thought of testing the efficacy of the wonderful
+vessel. Accordingly he turned the handi upside down and shook it, when,
+lo, and behold! a quantity of the finest mudki he had ever seen fell
+to the ground. He tied the sweetmeat in his sheet and walked on. It
+was now noon, and the Brahman was hungry; but he could not eat without
+his ablutions and his prayers. As he saw in the way an inn, and not
+far from it a tank, he purposed to halt there that he might bathe,
+say his prayers, and then eat the much-desired mudki. The Brahman
+sat at the innkeeper's shop, put the handi near him, smoked tobacco,
+besmeared his body with mustard oil, and before proceeding to bathe
+in the adjacent tank gave the handi in charge to the innkeeper,
+begging him again and again to take especial care of it.
+
+When the Brahman went to his bath and his devotions, the innkeeper
+thought it strange that he should be so careful as to the safety of
+his earthen vessel. There must be something valuable in the handi,
+he thought, otherwise why should the Brahman take so much thought
+about it? His curiosity being excited he opened the handi, and to his
+surprise found that it contained nothing. What can be the meaning of
+this? thought the innkeeper within himself. Why should the Brahman
+care so much for an empty handi? He took up the vessel, and began
+to examine it carefully; and when, in the course of examination, he
+turned the handi upside down, a quantity of the finest mudki fell
+from it, and went on falling without intermission. The innkeeper
+called his wife and children to witness this unexpected stroke of good
+fortune. The showers of the sugared fried paddy were so copious that
+they filled all the vessels and jars of the innkeeper. He resolved
+to appropriate to himself this precious handi, and accordingly put in
+its place another handi of the same size and make. The ablutions and
+devotions of the Brahman being now over, he came to the shop in wet
+clothes reciting holy texts of the Vedas. Putting on dry clothes,
+he wrote on a sheet of paper the name of Durga one hundred and
+eight times in red ink; after which he broke his fast on the mudki
+his handi had already given him. Thus refreshed, and being about
+to resume his journey homewards, he called for his handi, which the
+innkeeper delivered to him, adding--"There, sir, is your handi; it is
+just where you put it; no one has touched it." The Brahman, without
+suspecting anything, took up the handi and proceeded on his journey;
+and as he walked on, he congratulated himself on his singular good
+fortune. "How agreeably," he thought within himself, "will my poor
+wife be surprised! How greedily the children will devour the mudki
+of heaven's own manufacture! I shall soon become rich, and lift up
+my head with the best of them all." The pains of travelling were
+considerably alleviated by these joyful anticipations. He reached his
+house, and calling his wife and children, said--"Look now at what I
+have brought. This handi that you see is an unfailing source of wealth
+and contentment. You will see what a stream of the finest mudki will
+flow from it when I turn it upside down." The Brahman's good wife,
+hearing of mudki falling from the handi unceasingly, thought that her
+husband must have gone mad; and she was confirmed in her opinion when
+she found that nothing fell from the vessel though it was turned upside
+down again and again. Overwhelmed with grief, the Brahman concluded
+that the innkeeper must have played a trick with him; he must have
+stolen the handi Durga had given him, and put a common one in its
+stead. He went back the next day to the innkeeper, and charged him
+with having changed his handi. The innkeeper put on a fit of anger,
+expressed surprise at the Brahman's impudence in charging him with
+theft, and drove him away from his shop.
+
+The Brahman then bethought himself of an interview with the goddess
+Durga who had given him the handi, and accordingly went to the forest
+where he had met her. Siva and Durga again favoured the Brahman
+with an interview. Durga said--"So, you have lost the handi I gave
+you. Here is another, take it and make good use of it." The Brahman,
+elated with joy, made obeisance to the divine couple, took up the
+vessel, and went on his way. He had not gone far when he turned it
+upside down, and shook it in order to see whether any mudki would
+fall from it. Horror of horrors! instead of sweetmeats about a score
+of demons, of gigantic size and grim visage, jumped out of the handi,
+and began to belabour the astonished Brahman with blows, fisticuffs and
+kicks. He had the presence of mind to turn up the handi and to cover
+it, when the demons forthwith disappeared. He concluded that this new
+handi had been given him only for the punishment of the innkeeper. He
+accordingly went to the innkeeper, gave him the new handi in charge,
+begged of him carefully to keep it till he returned from his ablutions
+and prayers. The innkeeper, delighted with this second godsend, called
+his wife and children, and said--"This is another handi brought here by
+the same Brahman who brought the handi of mudki. This time, I hope, it
+is not mudki but sandesa. [9] Come, be ready with baskets and vessels,
+and I'll turn the handi upside down and shake it." This was no sooner
+done than scores of fierce demons started up, who caught hold of the
+innkeeper and his family and belaboured them mercilessly. They also
+began upsetting the shop, and would have completely destroyed it,
+if the victims had not besought the Brahman, who had by this time
+returned from his ablutions, to show mercy to them and send away
+the terrible demons. The Brahman acceded to the innkeeper's request,
+he dismissed the demons by shutting up the vessel; he got the former
+handi, and with the two handis went to his native village.
+
+On reaching home the Brahman shut the door of his house, turned the
+mudki-handi upside down, and shook it; the result was an unceasing
+stream of the finest mudki that any confectioner in the country
+could produce. The man, his wife, and their children devoured the
+sweetmeat to their hearts' content; all the available earthen pots
+and pans of the house were filled with it; and the Brahman resolved
+the next day to turn confectioner, to open a shop in his house, and
+sell mudki. On the very day the shop was opened, the whole village
+came to the Brahman's house to buy the wonderful mudki. They had never
+seen such mudki in their life, it was so sweet, so white, so large, so
+luscious; no confectioner in the village or any town in the country had
+ever manufactured anything like it. The reputation of the Brahman's
+mudki extended, in a few days, beyond the bounds of the village,
+and people came from remote parts to purchase it. Cartloads of the
+sweetmeat were sold every day, and the Brahman in a short time became
+very rich. He built a large brick house, and lived like a nobleman
+of the land. Once, however, his property was about to go to wreck
+and ruin. His children one day by mistake shook the wrong handi,
+when a large number of demons dropped down and caught hold of the
+Brahman's wife and children and were striking them mercilessly, when
+happily the Brahman came into the house and turned up the handi. In
+order to prevent a similar catastrophe in future, the Brahman shut up
+the demon-handi in a private room to which his children had no access.
+
+Pure and uninterrupted prosperity, however, is not the lot of mortals;
+and though the demon-handi was put aside, what security was there
+that an accident might not befall the mudki-handi? One day, during
+the absence of the Brahman and his wife from the house, the children
+decided upon shaking the handi; but as each of them wished to enjoy
+the pleasure of shaking it there was a general struggle to get it, and
+in the m�l�e the handi fell to the ground and broke. It is needless to
+say that the Brahman, when on reaching home he heard of the disaster,
+became inexpressibly sad. The children were of course well cudgelled,
+but no flogging of children could replace the magical handi. After some
+days he again went to the forest, and offered many a prayer for Durga's
+favour. At last Siva and Durga again appeared to him, and heard how
+the handi had been broken. Durga gave him another handi, accompanied
+with the following caution--"Brahman, take care of this handi; if you
+again break it or lose it, I'll not give you another." The Brahman
+made obeisance, and went away to his house at one stretch without
+halting anywhere. On reaching home he shut the door of his house,
+called his wife to him, turned the handi upside down, and began to
+shake it. They were only expecting mudki to drop from it, but instead
+of mudki a perennial stream of beautiful sandesa issued from it. And
+such sandesa! No confectioner of Burra Bazar ever made its like. It
+was more the food of gods than of men. The Brahman forthwith set up
+a shop for selling sandesa, the fame of which soon drew crowds of
+customers from all parts of the country. At all festivals, at all
+marriage feasts, at all funeral celebrations, at all Pujas, no one
+bought any other sandesa than the Brahman's. Every day, and every
+hour, many jars of gigantic size, filled with the delicious sweetmeat,
+were sent to all parts of the country.
+
+The wealth of the Brahman excited the envy of the Zemindar of the
+village, who, having heard that the sandesa was not manufactured but
+dropped from a handi, devised a plan for getting possession of the
+miraculous vessel. At the celebration of his son's marriage he held
+a great feast, to which were invited hundreds of people. As many
+mountain-loads of sandesa would be required for the purpose, the
+Zemindar proposed that the Brahman should bring the magical handi to
+the house in which the feast was held. The Brahman at first refused
+to take it there; but as the Zemindar insisted on its being carried
+to his own house, he reluctantly consented to take it there. After
+many Himalayas of sandesa had been shaken out, the handi was taken
+possession of by the Zemindar, and the Brahman was insulted and driven
+out of the house. The Brahman, without giving vent to anger in the
+least, quietly went to his house, and taking the demon-handi in his
+hand, came back to the door of the Zemindar's house. He turned the
+handi upside down and shook it, on which a hundred demons started up
+as from the vasty deep and enacted a scene which it is impossible to
+describe. The hundreds of guests that had been bidden to the feast
+were caught hold of by the unearthly visitants and beaten; the women
+were dragged by their hair from the Zenana and dashed about amongst
+the men; while the big and burly Zemindar was driven about from room
+to room like a bale of cotton. If the demons had been allowed to do
+their will only for a few minutes longer, all the men would have been
+killed, and the very house razed to the ground. The Zemindar fell
+prostrate at the feet of the Brahman and begged for mercy. Mercy was
+shown him, and the demons were removed. After that the Brahman was
+no more disturbed by the Zemindar or by any one else; and he lived
+many years in great happiness and enjoyment.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE STORY OF THE RAKSHASAS
+
+
+There was a poor half-witted Brahman who had a wife but no children. It
+was only with difficulty he could supply the wants of himself and his
+wife. And the worst of it was that he was rather lazily inclined. He
+was averse to taking long journeys, otherwise he might always have
+had enough, in the shape of presents from rich men, to enable him
+and his wife to live comfortably. There was at that time a king in a
+neighbouring country who was celebrating the funeral obsequies of his
+mother with great pomp. Brahmans and beggars were going from different
+parts with the expectation of receiving rich presents. Our Brahman was
+requested by his wife to seize this opportunity and get a little money;
+but his constitutional indolence stood in the way. The woman, however,
+gave her husband no rest till she extorted from him the promise that
+he would go. The good woman, accordingly, cut down a plantain tree
+and burnt it to ashes, with which ashes she cleaned the clothes of
+her husband, and made them as white as any fuller could make them. She
+did this because her husband was going to the palace of a great king,
+who could not be approached by men clothed in dirty rags; besides,
+as a Brahman, he was bound to appear neat and clean. The Brahman at
+last one morning left his house for the palace of the great king. As
+he was somewhat imbecile, he did not inquire of any one which road
+he should take; but he went on and on, and proceeded whithersoever
+his two eyes directed him. He was of course not on the right road,
+indeed he had reached a region where he did not meet with a single
+human being for many miles, and where he saw sights which he had
+never seen in his life. He saw hillocks of cowries (shells used as
+money) on the roadside: he had not proceeded far from them when he
+saw hillocks of pice, then successively hillocks of four-anna pieces,
+hillocks of eight-anna pieces, and hillocks of rupees. To the infinite
+surprise of the poor Brahman, these hillocks of shining silver coins
+were succeeded by a large hill of burnished gold-mohurs, which were
+all as bright as if they had been just issued from the mint. Close
+to this hill of gold-mohurs was a large house which seemed to be
+the palace of a powerful and rich king, at the door of which stood
+a lady of exquisite beauty. The lady, seeing the Brahman, said,
+"Come, my beloved husband; you married me when I was young, and
+you never came once after our marriage, though I have been daily
+expecting you. Blessed be this day which has made me see the face of
+my husband. Come, my sweet, come in, wash your feet and rest after the
+fatigues of your journey; eat and drink, and after that we shall make
+ourselves merry." The Brahman was astonished beyond measure. He had
+no recollection of having been married in early youth to any other
+woman than the woman who was now keeping house with him. But being
+a Kulin Brahman, he thought it was quite possible that his father
+had got him married when he was a little child, though the fact had
+made no impression on his mind. But whether he remembered it or not,
+the fact was certain, for the woman declared that she was his wedded
+wife,--and such a wife! as beautiful as the goddesses of Indra's
+heaven, and no doubt as wealthy as she was beautiful. While these
+thoughts were passing through the Brahman's mind, the lady said again,
+"Are you doubting in your mind whether I am your wife? Is it possible
+that all recollection of that happy event has been effaced from your
+mind--all the pomp and circumstance of our nuptials? Come in, beloved;
+this is your own house, for whatever is mine is thine." The Brahman
+succumbed to the loving entreaties of the fair lady, and went into the
+house. The house was not an ordinary one--it was a magnificent palace,
+all the apartments being large and lofty and richly furnished. But one
+thing surprised the Brahman very much, and that was that there was
+no other person in the house besides the lady herself. He could not
+account for so singular a phenomenon; neither could he explain how
+it was that he did not meet with any human being in his morning and
+evening walks. The fact was that the lady was not a human being. She
+was a Rakshasi. [10] She had eaten up the king, the queen, and all
+the members of the royal family, and gradually all his subjects. This
+was the reason why human beings were not seen in those parts.
+
+The Rakshasi and the Brahman lived together for about a week, when
+the former said to the latter, "I am very anxious to see my sister,
+your other wife. You must go and fetch her, and we shall all live
+together happily in this large and beautiful house. You must go early
+to-morrow, and I will give you clothes and jewels for her." Next
+morning the Brahman, furnished with fine clothes and costly ornaments,
+set out for his home. The poor woman was in great distress; all the
+Brahmans and Pandits that had been to the funeral ceremony of the
+king's mother had returned home loaded with largesses; but her husband
+had not returned,--and no one could give any news of him, for no one
+had seen him there. The woman therefore concluded that he must have
+been murdered on the road by highwaymen. She was in this terrible
+suspense, when one day she heard a rumour in the village that her
+husband was seen coming home with fine clothes and costly jewels for
+his wife. And sure enough the Brahman soon appeared with his valuable
+load. On seeing his wife the Brahman thus accosted her:--"Come with
+me, my dearest wife; I have found my first wife. She lives in a
+stately palace, near which are hillocks of rupees and a large hill
+of gold-mohurs. Why should you pine away in wretchedness and misery
+in this horrible place? Come with me to the house of my first wife,
+and we shall all live together happily." When the woman heard her
+husband speak of his first wife, of hillocks of rupees and of a hill
+of gold-mohurs, she thought in her mind that her half-witted good man
+had become quite mad; but when she saw the exquisitely beautiful silks
+and satins and the ornaments set with diamonds and precious stones,
+which only queens and princesses were in the habit of putting on,
+she concluded in her mind that her poor husband had fallen into the
+meshes of a Rakshasi. The Brahman, however, insisted on his wife's
+going with him, and declared that if she did not come she was at
+liberty to pine away in poverty, but that for himself he meant to
+return forthwith to his first and rich wife. The good woman, after a
+great deal of altercation with her husband, resolved to go with him
+and judge for herself how matters stood. They set out accordingly
+the next morning, and went by the same road on which the Brahman had
+travelled. The woman was not a little surprised to see hillocks of
+cowries, of pice, of eight-anna pieces, of rupees, and last of all a
+lofty hill of gold-mohurs. She saw also an exceedingly beautiful lady
+coming out of the palace hard by, and hastening towards her. The lady
+fell on the neck of the Brahman woman, wept tears of joy, and said,
+"Welcome, beloved sister! this is the happiest day of my life! I have
+seen the face of my dearest sister!" The party then entered the palace.
+
+What with the stately mansion in which he was lodged, with the most
+delectable provisions which seemed to rise as if by enchantment, what
+with the caresses and endearments of his two wives, the one human and
+the other demoniac, who vied with each other in making him happy and
+comfortable, the Brahman had a jolly time of it. He was steeped as
+it were in an ocean of enjoyment. Some fifteen or sixteen years were
+spent by the Brahman in this state of Elysian pleasure, during which
+period his two wives presented him with two sons. The Rakshasi's son,
+who was the elder, and who looked more like a god than a human being,
+was named Sahasra Dal, literally the Thousand-Branched; and the son
+of the Brahman woman, who was a year younger, was named Champa Dal,
+that is, branch of a champaka tree. The two boys loved each other
+dearly. They were both sent to a school which was several miles
+distant, to which they used every day to go riding on two little
+ponies of extraordinary fleetness.
+
+The Brahman woman had all along suspected from a thousand little
+circumstances that her sister-in-law was not a human being but a
+Rakshasi; but her suspicion had not yet ripened into certainty, for
+the Rakshasi exercised great self-restraint on herself, and never
+did anything which human beings did not do. But the demoniac nature,
+like murder, will out. The Brahman having nothing to do, in order
+to pass his time had recourse to hunting. The first day he returned
+from the hunt, he had bagged an antelope. The antelope was laid in the
+courtyard of the palace. At the sight of the antelope the mouth of the
+raw-eating Rakshasi began to water. Before the animal was dressed for
+the kitchen, she took it away into a room, and began devouring it. The
+Brahman woman, who was watching the whole scene from a secret place,
+saw her Rakshasi sister tear off a leg of the antelope, and opening her
+tremendous jaws, which seemed to her imagination to extend from earth
+to heaven, swallow it up. In this manner the body and other limbs of
+the antelope were devoured, till only a little bit of the meat was
+kept for the kitchen. The second day another antelope was bagged,
+and the third day another; and the Rakshasi, unable to restrain her
+appetite for raw flesh, devoured these two as she had devoured the
+first. On the third day the Brahman woman expressed to the Rakshasi her
+surprise at the disappearance of nearly the whole of the antelope with
+the exception of a little bit. The Rakshasi looked fierce and said,
+"Do I eat raw flesh?" To which the Brahman woman replied, "Perhaps you
+do, for aught I know to the contrary." The Rakshasi, knowing herself
+to be discovered, looked fiercer than before, and vowed revenge. The
+Brahman woman concluded in her mind that the doom of herself, of
+her husband, and of her son was sealed. She spent a miserable night,
+believing that next day she would be killed and eaten up, and that her
+husband and son would share the same fate. Early next morning, before
+her son Champa Dal went to school, she gave him in a small golden
+vessel a little quantity of her own breast milk, and told him to be
+constantly watching its colour. "Should you," she said, "see the milk
+get a little red, then conclude that your father has been killed; and
+should you see it grow still redder, then conclude that I am killed:
+when you see this, gallop away for your life as fast as your horse
+can carry you, for if you do not, you also will be devoured."
+
+The Rakshasi on getting up from bed--and she had prevented the Brahman
+overnight from having any communication with his wife--proposed that
+she and the Brahman should go to bathe in the river, which was at
+some distance. She would take no denial; the Brahman had therefore
+to follow her as meekly as a lamb. The Brahman woman at once saw from
+the proposal that ruin was impending; but it was beyond her power to
+avert the catastrophe. The Rakshasi, on the river-side, assuming her
+own proper gigantic dimensions, took hold of the ill-fated Brahman,
+tore him limb by limb, and devoured him up. She then ran to her house,
+and seized the Brahman woman, and put her into her capacious stomach,
+clothes, hair and all. Young Champa Dal, who, agreeably to his mother's
+instructions, was diligently watching the milk in the small golden
+vessel, was horror-struck to find the milk redden a little. He set
+up a cry and said that his father was killed; a few minutes after,
+finding the milk become completely red, he cried yet louder, and
+rushing to his pony, mounted it. His half-brother, Sahasra Dal,
+surprised at Champa Dal's conduct, said, "Where are you going,
+Champa? Why are you crying? Let me accompany you." "Oh! do not come
+to me. Your mother has devoured my father and mother; don't you come
+and devour me." "I will not devour you; I'll save you." Scarcely
+had he uttered these words and galloped away after Champa Dal, when
+he saw his mother in her own Rakshasi form appearing at a distance,
+and demanding that Champa Dal should come to her. He said, "I will
+come to you, not Champa." So saying, he went to his mother, and with
+his sword, which he always wore as a young prince, cut off her head.
+
+Champa Dal had, in the meantime, galloped off a good distance, as
+he was running for his life; but Sahasra Dal, by pricking his horse
+repeatedly, soon overtook him, and told him that his mother was no
+more. This was small consolation to Champa Dal, as the Rakshasi,
+before being killed, had devoured both his father and mother; still
+he could not but feel that Sahasra Dal's friendship was sincere. They
+both rode fast, and as their horses were of the breed of pakshirajes
+(literally, kings of birds), they travelled over hundreds of miles. An
+hour or two before sundown they descried a village, to which they made
+up, and became guests in the house of one of its most respectable
+inhabitants. The two friends found the members of that respectable
+family in deep gloom. Evidently there was something agitating them
+very much. Some of them held private consultations, and others were
+weeping. The eldest lady of the house, the mother of its head, said
+aloud, "Let me go, as I am the eldest. I have lived long enough;
+at the utmost my life would be cut short only by a year or two." The
+youngest member of the house, who was a little girl, said, "Let me
+go, as I am young and useless to the family; if I die I shall not be
+missed." The head of the house, the son of the old lady, said, "I am
+the head and representative of the family; it is but reasonable that
+I should give up my life." His younger brother said, "You are the main
+prop and pillar of the family; if you go the whole family is ruined. It
+is not reasonable that you should go; let me go, as I shall not be
+much missed." The two strangers listened to all this conversation
+with no little curiosity. They wondered what it all meant. Sahasra
+Dal at last, at the risk of being thought meddlesome, ventured to
+ask the head of the house the subject of their consultations, and
+the reason of the deep misery but too visible in their countenances
+and words. The head of the house gave the following answer: "Know
+then, worthy guests, that this part of the country is infested by a
+terrible Rakshasi, who has depopulated all the regions round. This
+town, too, would have been depopulated, but that our king became a
+suppliant before the Rakshasi, and begged her to show mercy to us his
+subjects. The Rakshasi replied, 'I will consent to show mercy to you
+and to your subjects only on this condition, that you every night put
+a human being, either male or female, in a certain temple for me to
+feast upon. If I get a human being every night I will rest satisfied,
+and not commit any further depredations on your subjects.' Our king
+had no other alternative than to agree to this condition, for what
+human beings can ever hope to contend against a Rakshasi? From that
+day the king made it a rule that every family in the town should in
+its turn send one of its members to the temple as a victim to appease
+the wrath and to satisfy the hunger of the terrible Rakshasi. All the
+families in this neighbourhood have had their turn, and this night
+it is the turn for one of us to devote himself to destruction. We are
+therefore discussing who should go. You must now perceive the cause of
+our distress." The two friends consulted together for a few minutes,
+and at the conclusion of their consultations, Sahasra Dal, who was the
+spokesman of the party, said, "Most worthy host, do not any longer be
+sad: as you have been very kind to us, we have resolved to requite
+your hospitality by ourselves going to the temple and becoming the
+food of the Rakshasi. We go as your representatives." The whole
+family protested against the proposal. They declared that guests
+were like gods, and that it was the duty of the host to endure all
+sorts of privation for the comfort of the guest, and not the duty of
+the guest to suffer for the host. But the two strangers insisted on
+standing proxy to the family, who, after a great deal of yea and nay,
+at last consented to the arrangement.
+
+Immediately after candle-light, Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal, with
+their two horses, installed themselves in the temple, and shut the
+door. Sahasra told his brother to go to sleep, as he himself was
+determined to sit up the whole night and watch against the coming of
+the terrible Rakshasi. Champa was soon in a fine sleep, while Sahasra
+lay awake. Nothing happened during the early hours of the night, but
+no sooner had the gong of the king's palace announced the dead hour
+of midnight than Sahasra heard the sound as of a rushing tempest,
+and immediately concluded, from his knowledge of Rakshasas, that
+the Rakshasi was nigh. A thundering knock was heard at the door,
+accompanied with the following words:--
+
+
+           "How, mow, khow!
+            A human being I smell;
+            Who watches inside?"
+
+
+To this question Sahasra Dal made the following reply:--
+
+
+           "Sahasra Dal watcheth,
+            Champa Dal watcheth,
+            Two winged horses watch."
+
+
+On hearing this answer the Rakshasi turned away with a groan, knowing
+that Sahasra Dal had Rakshasa blood in his veins. An hour after,
+the Rakshasi returned, thundered at the door, and called out--
+
+
+           "How, mow, khow!
+            A human being I smell;
+            Who watcheth inside?"
+
+
+Sahasra Dal again replied--
+
+
+           "Sahasra Dal watcheth,
+            Champa Dal watcheth,
+            Two winged horses watch."
+
+
+The Rakshasi again groaned and went away. At two o'clock and at three
+o'clock the Rakshasi again and again made her appearance, and made
+the usual inquiry, and obtaining the same answer, went away with a
+groan. After three o'clock, however, Sahasra Dal felt very sleepy:
+he could not any longer keep awake. He therefore roused Champa,
+told him to watch, and strictly enjoined upon him, in reply to the
+query of the Rakshasi, to mention Sahasra's name first. With these
+instructions he went to sleep. At four o'clock the Rakshasi again
+made her appearance, thundered at the door, and said--
+
+
+           "How, mow, khow!
+            A human being I smell;
+            Who watches inside?"
+
+
+As Champa Dal was in a terrible fright, he forgot the instructions
+of his brother for the moment, and answered--
+
+
+           "Champa Dal watcheth,
+            Sahasra Dal watcheth,
+            Two winged horses watch."
+
+
+On hearing this reply the Rakshasi uttered a shout of exultation,
+laughed such a laugh as only demons can, and with a dreadful noise
+broke open the door. The noise roused Sahasra, who in a moment
+sprung to his feet, and with his sword, which was as supple as a
+palm-leaf, cut off the head of the Rakshasi. The huge mountain of a
+body fell to the ground, making a great noise, and lay covering many
+an acre. Sahasra Dal kept the severed head of the Rakshasi near him,
+and went to sleep. Early in the morning some wood-cutters, who were
+passing near the temple, saw the huge body on the ground. They could
+not from a distance make out what it was, but on coming near they
+knew that it was the carcase of the terrible Rakshasi, who had by
+her voracity nearly depopulated the country. Remembering the promise
+made by the king that the killer of the Rakshasi should be rewarded
+by the hand of his daughter and with a share of the kingdom, each of
+the wood-cutters, seeing no claimant at hand, thought of obtaining
+the reward. Accordingly each of them cut off a part of a limb of the
+huge carcase, went to the king, and represented himself to be the
+destroyer of the great raw-eater, and claimed the reward. The king,
+in order to find out the real hero and deliverer, inquired of his
+minister the name of the family whose turn it was on the preceding
+night to offer a victim to the Rakshasi. The head of that family, on
+being brought before the king, related how two youthful travellers,
+who were guests in his house, volunteered to go into the temple
+in the room of a member of his family. The door of the temple was
+broken open; Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal and their horses were found
+all safe; and the head of the Rakshasi, which was with them, proved
+beyond the shadow of a doubt that they had killed the monster. The
+king kept his word. He gave his daughter in marriage to Sahasra Dal
+and the sovereignty of half his dominions. Champa Dal remained with
+his friend in the king's palace, and rejoiced in his prosperity.
+
+Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal lived together happily for some time, when
+a misunderstanding arose between them in this wise. There was in the
+service of the queen-mother a certain maid-servant who was the most
+useful domestic in the palace. There was nothing which she could not
+put her hands to and perform. She had uncommon strength for a woman;
+neither was her intelligence of a mean order. She was a woman of
+immense activity and energy; and if she were absent one day from the
+palace, the affairs of the zenana would be in perfect disorder. Hence
+her services were highly valued by the queen-mother and all the ladies
+of the palace. But this woman was not a woman; she was a Rakshasi, who
+had put on the appearance of a woman to serve some purposes of her own,
+and then taken service in the royal household. At night, when every
+one in the palace was asleep, she used to assume her own real form, and
+go about in quest of food, for the quantity of food that is sufficient
+for either man or woman was not sufficient for a Rakshasi. Now Champa
+Dal, having no wife, was in the habit of sleeping outside the zenana,
+and not far from the outer gate of the palace. He had noticed her going
+about on the premises and devouring sundry goats and sheep, horses and
+elephants. The maid-servant, finding that Champa Dal was in the way of
+her supper, determined to get rid of him. She accordingly went one day
+to the queen-mother, and said, "Queen-mother! I am unable any longer
+to work in the palace." "Why? what is the matter, Dasi? [11] How can
+I get on without you? Tell me your reasons. What ails you?" "Why,"
+said the woman, "nowadays it is impossible for a poor woman like
+me to preserve my honour in the palace. There is that Champa Dal,
+the friend of your son-in-law; he always cracks indecent jokes with
+me. It is better for me to beg for my rice than to lose my honour. If
+Champa Dal remains in the palace I must go away." As the maid-servant
+was an absolute necessity in the palace, the queen-mother resolved
+to sacrifice Champa Dal to her. She therefore told Sahasra Dal that
+Champa Dal was a bad man, that his character was loose, and that
+therefore he must leave the palace. Sahasra Dal earnestly pleaded on
+behalf of his friend, but in vain; the queen-mother had made up her
+mind to drive him out of the palace. Sahasra Dal had not the courage
+to speak personally to his friend on the subject; he therefore wrote
+a letter to him, in which he simply said that for certain reasons
+Champa must leave the palace immediately. The letter was put in his
+room after he had gone to bathe. On reading the letter Champa Dal,
+exceedingly grieved, mounted his fleet horse and left the palace.
+
+As Champa's horse was uncommonly fleet, in a few hours he traversed
+thousands of miles, and at last found himself at the gateway of what
+seemed a magnificent palace. Dismounting from his horse, he entered
+the house, where he did not meet with a single creature. He went from
+apartment to apartment, but though they were all richly furnished he
+did not see a single human being. At last, in one of the side rooms,
+he found a young lady of heavenly beauty lying down on a splendid
+bedstead. She was asleep. Champa Dal looked upon the sleeping beauty
+with rapture--he had not seen any woman so beautiful. Upon the bed,
+near the head of the young lady, were two sticks, one of silver and the
+other of gold. Champa took the silver stick into his hand, and touched
+with it the body of the lady; but no change was perceptible. He then
+took up the gold stick and laid it upon the lady, when in a trice
+she woke up, sat in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who
+he was. Champa Dal briefly told his story. The young lady, or rather
+princess--for she was nothing less--said, "Unhappy man! why have you
+come here? This is the country of Rakshasas, and in this house and
+round about there live no less than seven hundred Rakshasas. They
+all go away to the other side of the ocean every morning in search of
+provisions; and they all return every evening before dusk. My father
+was formerly king in these regions, and had millions of subjects, who
+lived in flourishing towns and cities. But some years ago the invasion
+of the Rakshasas took place, and they devoured all his subjects,
+and himself and my mother, and my brothers and sisters. They devoured
+also all the cattle of the country. There is no living human being in
+these regions excepting myself; and I too should long ago have been
+devoured had not an old Rakshasi, conceiving strange affection for
+me, prevented the other Rakshasas from eating me up. You see those
+sticks of silver and gold; the old Rakshasi, when she goes away in
+the morning, kills me with the silver stick, and on her return in
+the evening re-animates me with the gold stick. I do not know how
+to advise you; if the Rakshasas see you, you are a dead man." Then
+they both talked to each other in a very affectionate manner, and
+laid their heads together to devise if possible some means of escape
+from the hands of the Rakshasas. The hour of the return of the seven
+hundred raw-eaters was fast approaching; and Keshavati--for that
+was the name of the princess, so called from the abundance of her
+hair--told Champa to hide himself in the heaps of the sacred trefoil
+which were lying in the temple of Siva in the central part of the
+palace. Before Champa went to his place of concealment, he touched
+Keshavati with the silver stick, on which she instantly died.
+
+Shortly after sunset Champa Dal heard from beneath the heaps of the
+sacred trefoil the sound as of a mighty rushing wind. Presently he
+heard terrible noises in the palace. The Rakshasas had come home
+from cruising, after having filled their stomachs, each one, with
+sundry goats, sheep, cows, horses, buffaloes, and elephants. The old
+Rakshasi, of whom we have already spoken, came to Keshavati's room,
+roused her by touching her body with the gold stick, and said--
+
+
+           "Hye, mye, khye!
+            A human being I smell."
+
+
+On which Keshavati said, "I am the only human being here; eat me if you
+like." To which the raw-eater replied, "Let me eat up your enemies;
+why should I eat you?" She laid herself down on the ground, as long
+and as high as the Vindhya Hills, and presently fell asleep. The other
+Rakshasas and Rakshasis also soon fell asleep, being all tired out on
+account of their gigantic labours in the day. Keshavati also composed
+herself to sleep; while Champa, not daring to come out of the heaps
+of leaves, tried his best to court the god of repose. At daybreak all
+the raw-eaters, seven hundred in number, got up and went as usual to
+their hunting and predatory excursions, and along with them went the
+old Rakshasi, after touching Keshavati with the silver stick. When
+Champa Dal saw that the coast was clear, he came out of the temple,
+walked into Keshavati's room, and touched her with the gold stick,
+on which she woke up. They sauntered about in the gardens, enjoying
+the cool breeze of the morning; they bathed in a lucid tank which
+was in the grounds; they ate and drank, and spent the day in sweet
+converse. They concocted a plan for their deliverance. They settled
+that Keshavati should ask the old Rakshasi on what the life of a
+Rakshasa depended, and when the secret should be made known they would
+adopt measures accordingly. As on the preceding evening, Champa, after
+touching his fair friend with the silver stick, took refuge in the
+temple beneath the heaps of the sacred trefoil. At dusk the Rakshasas
+as usual came home; and the old Rakshasi, rousing her pet, said--
+
+
+           "Hye, mye, khye!
+            A human being I smell."
+
+
+Keshavati answered, "What other human being is here excepting
+myself? Eat me up, if you like." "Why should I eat you, my darling? Let
+me eat up all your enemies." Then she laid down on the ground her huge
+body, which looked like a part of the Himalaya mountains. Keshavati,
+with a phial of heated mustard oil, went towards the feet of the
+Rakshasi, and said, "Mother, your feet are sore with walking; let me
+rub them with oil." So saying, she began to rub with oil the Rakshasi's
+feet; and while she was in the act of doing so, a few tear-drops from
+her eyes fell on the monster's leg. The Rakshasi smacked the tear-drops
+with her lips, and finding the taste briny, said, "Why are you weeping,
+darling? What aileth thee?" To which the princess replied, "Mother,
+I am weeping because you are old, and when you die I shall certainly
+be devoured by one of the Rakshasas." "When I die! Know, foolish girl,
+that we Rakshasas never die. We are not naturally immortal, but our
+life depends on a secret which no human being can unravel. Let me
+tell you what it is that you may be comforted. You know yonder tank;
+there is in the middle of it a Sphatikasthambha, [12] on the top of
+which in deep waters are two bees. If any human being can dive into
+the waters, and bring up to land the two bees from the pillar in one
+breath, and destroy them so that not a drop of their blood falls to
+the ground, then we Rakshasas shall certainly die; but if a single
+drop of blood falls to the ground, then from it will start up a
+thousand Rakshasas. But what human being will find out this secret,
+or, finding it, will be able to achieve the feat? You need not,
+therefore, darling, be sad; I am practically immortal." Keshavati
+treasured up the secret in her memory, and went to sleep.
+
+Early next morning the Rakshasas as usual went away; Champa came
+out of his hiding-place, roused Keshavati, and fell a-talking. The
+princess told him the secret she had learnt from the Rakshasi. Champa
+immediately made preparations for accomplishing the mighty deed. He
+brought to the side of the tank a knife and a quantity of ashes. He
+disrobed himself, put a drop or two of mustard oil into each of his
+ears to prevent water from entering in, and dived into the waters. In
+a moment he got to the top of the crystal pillar in the middle of the
+tank, caught hold of the two bees he found there, and came up in one
+breath. Taking the knife, he cut up the bees over the ashes, a drop
+or two of the blood fell, not on the ground, but on the ashes. When
+Champa caught hold of the bees, a terrible scream was heard at a
+distance. This was the wailing of the Rakshasas, who were all running
+home to prevent the bees from being killed; but before they could reach
+the palace, the bees had perished. The moment the bees were killed,
+all the Rakshasas died, and their carcases fell on the very spot on
+which they were standing. Champa and the princess afterwards found
+that the gateway of the palace was blocked up by the huge carcases
+of the Rakshasas--some of them having nearly succeeded in getting to
+the palace. In this manner was effected the destruction of the seven
+hundred Rakshasas.
+
+After the destruction of the seven hundred raw-eating monsters, Champa
+Dal and Keshavati got married together by the exchange of garlands of
+flowers. The princess, who had never been out of the house, naturally
+expressed a desire to see the outer world. They used every day to
+take long walks both morning and evening, and as a large river was
+hard by Keshavati wished to bathe in it. The first day they went to
+bathe, one of Keshavati's hairs came off, and as it is the custom
+with women never to throw away a hair unaccompanied with something
+else, she tied the hair to a shell which was floating on the water;
+after which they returned home. In the meantime the shell with the hair
+tied to it floated down the stream, and in course of time reached that
+ghat [13] at which Sahasra Dal and his companions were in the habit
+of performing their ablutions. The shell passed by when Sahasra Dal
+and his friends were bathing; and he, seeing it at some distance,
+said to them, "Whoever succeeds in catching hold of yonder shell
+shall be rewarded with a hundred rupees." They all swam towards it,
+and Sahasra Dal, being the fleetest swimmer, got it. On examining
+it he found a hair tied to it. But such hair! He had never seen so
+long a hair. It was exactly seven cubits long. "The owner of this
+hair must be a remarkable woman, and I must see her"--such was the
+resolution of Sahasra Dal. He went home from the river in a pensive
+mood, and instead of proceeding to the zenana for breakfast, remained
+in the outer part of the palace. The queen-mother, on hearing that
+Sahasra Dal was looking melancholy and had not come to breakfast,
+went to him and asked the reason. He showed her the hair, and said
+he must see the woman whose head it had adorned. The queen-mother
+said, "Very well, you shall have that lady in the palace as soon as
+possible. I promise you to bring her here." The queen-mother told her
+favourite maid-servant, whom she knew to be full of resources--the same
+who was a Rakshasi in disguise--that she must, as soon as possible,
+bring to the palace that lady who was the owner of the hair seven
+cubits long. The maid-servant said she would be quite able to fetch
+her. By her directions a boat was built of Hajol wood, the oars of
+which were of Mon Paban wood. The boat was launched on the stream,
+and she went on board of it with some baskets of wicker-work of
+curious workmanship; she also took with her some sweetmeats into
+which some poison had been mixed. She snapped her fingers thrice,
+and uttered the following charm:--
+
+
+           "Boat of Hajol!
+            Oars of Mon Paban!
+            Take me to the Ghat,
+            In which Keshavati bathes."
+
+
+No sooner had the words been uttered than the boat flew like lightning
+over the waters. It went on and on, leaving behind many a town and
+city. At last it stopped at a bathing-place, which the Rakshasi
+maid-servant concluded was the bathing ghat of Keshavati. She landed
+with the sweetmeats in her hand. She went to the gate of the palace,
+and cried aloud, "O Keshavati! Keshavati! I am your aunt, your mother's
+sister. I am come to see you, my darling, after so many years. Are you
+in, Keshavati?" The princess, on hearing these words, came out of her
+room, and making no doubt that she was her aunt, embraced and kissed
+her. They both wept rivers of joy--at least the Rakshasi maid-servant
+did, and Keshavati followed suit through sympathy. Champa Dal also
+thought that she was the aunt of his newly married wife. They all
+ate and drank and took rest in the middle of the day. Champa Dal,
+as was his habit, went to sleep after breakfast. Towards afternoon,
+the supposed aunt said to Keshavati, "Let us both go to the river and
+wash ourselves." Keshavati replied, "How can we go now? my husband
+is sleeping." "Never mind," said the aunt, "let him sleep on; let me
+put these sweetmeats, that I have brought, near his bedside, that he
+may eat them when he gets up." They then went to the river-side close
+to the spot where the boat was. Keshavati, when she saw from some
+distance the baskets of wicker-work in the boat, said, "Aunt, what
+beautiful things are those! I wish I could get some of them." "Come,
+my child, come and look at them; and you can have as many as you
+like." Keshavati at first refused to go into the boat, but on being
+pressed by her aunt, she went. The moment they two were on board,
+the aunt snapped her fingers thrice and said:--
+
+
+           "Boat of Hajol!
+            Oars of Mon Paban!
+            Take me to the Ghat,
+            In which Sahasra Dal bathes."
+
+
+As soon as these magical words were uttered the boat moved and flew
+like an arrow over the waters. Keshavati was frightened and began to
+cry, but the boat went on and on, leaving behind many towns and cities,
+and in a trice reached the ghat where Sahasra Dal was in the habit of
+bathing. Keshavati was taken to the palace; Sahasra Dal admired her
+beauty and the length of her hair; and the ladies of the palace tried
+their best to comfort her. But she set up a loud cry, and wanted to be
+taken back to her husband. At last when she saw that she was a captive,
+she told the ladies of the palace that she had taken a vow that she
+would not see the face of any strange man for six months. She was
+then lodged apart from the rest in a small house, the window of which
+overlooked the road; there she spent the livelong day and also the
+livelong night--for she had very little sleep--in sighing and weeping.
+
+In the meantime when Champa Dal awoke from sleep, he was distracted
+with grief at not finding his wife. He now thought that the woman,
+who pretended to be his wife's aunt, was a cheat and an impostor,
+and that she must have carried away Keshavati. He did not eat the
+sweetmeats, suspecting they might be poisoned. He threw one of
+them to a crow which, the moment it ate it, dropped down dead. He
+was now the more confirmed in his unfavourable opinion of the
+pretended aunt. Maddened with grief, he rushed out of the house,
+and determined to go whithersoever his eyes might lead him. Like a
+madman, always blubbering "O Keshavati! O Keshavati!" he travelled
+on foot day after day, not knowing whither he went. Six months were
+spent in this wearisome travelling when, at the end of that period, he
+reached the capital of Sahasra Dal. He was passing by the palace-gate
+when the sighs and wailings of a woman sitting at the window of
+a house, on the road-side, attracted his attention. One moment's
+look, and they recognised each other. They continued to hold secret
+communications. Champa Dal heard everything, including the story of
+her vow, the period of which was to terminate the following day. It
+is customary, on the fulfilment of a vow, for some learned Brahman
+to make public recitations of events connected with the vow and
+the person who makes it. It was settled that Champa Dal should take
+upon himself the functions of the reciter. Accordingly, next morning,
+when it was proclaimed by beat of drum that the king wanted a learned
+Brahman who could recite the story of Keshavati on the fulfilment
+of her vow, Champa Dal touched the drum and said that he would make
+the recitation. Next morning a gorgeous assembly was held in the
+courtyard of the palace under a huge canopy of silk. The old king,
+Sahasra Dal, all the courtiers and the learned Brahmans of the country,
+were present there. Keshavati was also there behind a screen that she
+might not be exposed to the rude gaze of the people. Champa Dal, the
+reciter, sitting on a dais, began the story of Keshavati, as we have
+related it, from the beginning, commencing with the words--"There
+was a poor and half-witted Brahman, etc." As he was going on with
+the story, the reciter every now and then asked Keshavati behind the
+screen whether the story was correct; to which question she as often
+replied, "Quite correct; go on, Brahman." During the recitation of
+the story the Rakshasi maid-servant grew pale, as she perceived that
+her real character was discovered; and Sahasra Dal was astonished
+at the knowledge of the reciter regarding the history of his own
+life. The moment the story was finished, Sahasra Dal jumped up from
+his seat, and embracing the reciter, said, "You can be none other
+than my brother Champa Dal." Then the prince, inflamed with rage,
+ordered the maid-servant into his presence. A large hole, as deep
+as the height of a man, was dug in the ground; the maid-servant was
+put into it in a standing posture; prickly thorn was heaped around
+her up to the crown of her head: in this wise was the maid-servant
+buried alive. After this Sahasra Dal and his princess, and Champa
+Dal and Keshavati, lived happily together many years.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE STORY OF SWET-BASANTA
+
+
+There was a rich merchant who had an only son whom he loved
+passionately. He gave to his son whatever he wanted. His son wanted
+a beautiful house in the midst of a large garden. The house was built
+for him, and the grounds were laid out into a fine garden. One day as
+the merchant's son was walking in his garden, he put his hand into
+the nest of a small bird called toontooni, and found in it an egg,
+which he took and put in an almirah which was dug into the wall of
+his house. He closed the door of the almirah, and thought no more of
+the egg.
+
+Though the merchant's son had a house of his own, he had no separate
+establishment; at any rate he kept no cook, for his mother used to
+send him regularly his breakfast and dinner every day. The egg which
+he deposited in the wall-almirah one day burst, and out of it came a
+beautiful infant, a girl. But the merchant's son knew nothing about
+it. He had forgotten everything about the egg, and the door of the
+wall-almirah had been kept closed, though not locked, ever since the
+day the egg was put there. The child grew up within the wall-almirah
+without the knowledge of the merchant's son or of any one else. When
+the child could walk, it had the curiosity one day to open the door;
+and seeing some food on the floor (the breakfast of the merchant's son
+sent by his mother), it came out, and ate a little of it, and returned
+to its cell in the wall-almirah. As the mother of the merchant's
+son sent him always more than he could himself eat, he perceived no
+diminution in the quantity. The girl of the wall-almirah used every
+day to come out and eat a part of the food, and after eating used
+to return to her place in the almirah. But as the girl got older and
+older, she began to eat more and more; hence the merchant's son began
+to perceive a diminution in the quantity of his food. Not dreaming of
+the existence of the wall-almirah girl, he wondered that his mother
+should send him such a small quantity of food. He sent word to his
+mother, complaining of the insufficiency of his meals, and of the
+slovenly manner in which the food was served up in the dish; for the
+girl of the wall-almirah used to finger the rice, curry, and other
+articles of food, and as she always went in a hurry back into the
+almirah that she might not be perceived by any one, she had no time
+to put the rice and the other things into proper order after she had
+eaten part of them. The mother was astonished at her son's complaint,
+for she gave always a much larger quantity than she knew her son could
+consume, and the food was served up on a silver plate neatly by her
+own hand. But as her son repeated the same complaint day after day,
+she began to suspect foul play. She told her son to watch and see
+whether any one ate part of it unperceived. Accordingly, one day when
+the servant brought the breakfast and laid it in a clean place on the
+floor, the merchant's son, instead of going to bathe as it had hitherto
+been his custom, hid himself in a secret place and began to watch. In
+a few minutes he saw the door of the wall-almirah open; a beautiful
+damsel of sweet sixteen stepped out of it, sat on the carpet spread
+before the breakfast, and began to eat. The merchant's son came out
+of his hiding-place, and the damsel could not escape. "Who are you,
+beautiful creature? You do not seem to be earth-born. Are you one
+of the daughters of the gods?" asked the merchant's son. The girl
+replied, "I do not know who I am. This I know, that one day I found
+myself in yonder almirah, and have been ever since living in it." The
+merchant's son thought it strange. He now remembered that sixteen years
+before he had put in the almirah an egg he had found in the nest of
+a toontooni bird. The uncommon beauty of the wall-almirah girl made
+a deep impression on the mind of the merchant's son, and he resolved
+in his mind to marry her. The girl no more went into the almirah, but
+lived in one of the rooms of the spacious house of the merchant's son.
+
+The next day the merchant's son sent word to his mother to the effect
+that he would like to get married. His mother reproached herself
+for not having long before thought of her son's marriage, and sent
+a message to her son to the effect that she and his father would
+the next day send ghataks [14] to different countries to seek for a
+suitable bride. The merchant's son sent word that he had secured for
+himself a most lovable young lady, and that if his parents had no
+objections he would produce her before them. Accordingly the young
+lady of the wall-almirah was taken to the merchant's house; and the
+merchant and his wife were so struck with the matchless beauty, grace,
+and loveliness of the stranger, that, without asking any questions
+as to her birth, the nuptials were celebrated.
+
+In course of time the merchant's son had two sons; the elder he
+named Swet and the younger Basanta. The old merchant died and so
+did his wife. Swet and Basanta grew up fine lads, and the elder was
+in due time married. Some time after Swet's marriage his mother,
+the wall-almirah lady, also died, and the widower lost no time in
+marrying a young and beautiful wife. As Swet's wife was older than
+his stepmother, she became the mistress of the house. The stepmother,
+like all stepmothers, hated Swet and Basanta with a perfect hatred;
+and the two ladies were naturally often at loggerheads with each other.
+
+It so happened one day that a fisherman brought to the merchant (we
+shall no longer call him the merchant's son, as his father had died)
+a fish of singular beauty. It was unlike any other fish that had
+been seen. The fish had marvellous qualities ascribed to it by the
+fisherman. If any one eats it, said he, when he laughs maniks [15]
+will drop from his mouth, and when he weeps pearls will drop from his
+eyes. The merchant, hearing of the wonderful properties of the fish,
+bought it at one thousand rupees, and put it into the hands of Swet's
+wife, who was the mistress of the house, strictly enjoining on her
+to cook it well and to give it to him alone to eat. The mistress,
+or house-mother, who had overheard the conversation between her
+father-in-law and the fisherman, secretly resolved in her mind to
+give the cooked fish to her husband and to his brother to eat, and to
+give to her father-in-law instead a frog daintily cooked. When she had
+finished cooking both the fish and the frog, she heard the noise of a
+squabble between her stepmother-in-law and her husband's brother. It
+appears that Basanta, who was but a lad yet, was passionately fond
+of pigeons, which he tamed. One of these pigeons had flown into the
+room of his stepmother, who had secreted it in her clothes. Basanta
+rushed into the room, and loudly demanded the pigeon. His stepmother
+denied any knowledge of the pigeon, on which the elder brother,
+Swet, forcibly took out the bird from her clothes and gave it to
+his brother. The stepmother cursed and swore, and added, "Wait,
+when the head of the house comes home I will make him shed the blood
+of you both before I give him water to drink." Swet's wife called
+her husband and said to him, "My dearest lord, that woman is a most
+wicked woman, and has boundless influence over my father-in-law. She
+will make him do what she has threatened. Our life is in imminent
+danger. Let us first eat a little, and let us all three run away
+from this place." Swet forthwith called Basanta to him, and told him
+what he had heard from his wife. They resolved to run away before
+nightfall. The woman placed before her husband and her brother-in-law
+the fish of wonderful properties, and they ate of it heartily. The
+woman packed up all her jewels in a box. As there was only one horse,
+and it was of uncommon fleetness, the three sat upon it; Swet held
+the reins, the woman sat in the middle with the jewel-box in her lap,
+and Basanta brought up the rear.
+
+The horse galloped with the utmost swiftness. They passed through
+many a plain and many a noted town, till after midnight they found
+themselves in a forest not far from the bank of a river. Here
+the most untoward event took place. Swet's wife began to feel the
+pains of child-birth. They dismounted, and in an hour or two Swet's
+wife gave birth to a son. What were the two brothers to do in this
+forest? A fire must be kindled to give heat both to the mother and
+the new-born baby. But where was the fire to be got? There were no
+human habitations visible. Still fire must be procured--and it was
+the month of December--or else both the mother and the baby would
+certainly perish. Swet told Basanta to sit beside his wife, while he
+set out in the darkness of the night in search of fire.
+
+Swet walked many a mile in darkness. Still he saw no human
+habitations. At last the genial light of Sukra [16] somewhat illumined
+his path, and he saw at a distance what seemed a large city. He was
+congratulating himself on his journey's end and on his being able to
+obtain fire for the benefit of his poor wife lying cold in the forest
+with the new-born babe, when on a sudden an elephant, gorgeously
+caparisoned, shot across his path, and gently taking him up by his
+trunk, placed him on the rich howdah [17] on its back. It then walked
+rapidly towards the city. Swet was quite taken aback. He did not
+understand the meaning of the elephant's action, and wondered what
+was in store for him. A crown was in store for him. In that kingdom,
+the chief city of which he was approaching, every morning a king was
+elected, for the king of the previous day was always found dead in
+the morning in the room of the queen. What caused the death of the
+king no one knew; neither did the queen herself (for every successive
+king took her to wife) know the cause. And the elephant who took
+hold of Swet was the king-maker. Early in the morning it went about,
+sometimes to distant places, and whosoever was brought on its back was
+acknowledged king by the people. The elephant majestically marched
+through the crowded streets of the city, amid the acclamations of
+the people, the meaning of which Swet did not understand, entered
+the palace, and placed him on the throne. He was proclaimed king
+amid the rejoicings of some and the lamentations of others. In the
+course of the day he heard of the strange fatality which overtook
+every night the elected king of those realms, but being possessed of
+great discretion and courage, he took every precaution to avert the
+dreadful catastrophe. Yet he hardly knew what expedients to adopt,
+as he was unacquainted with the nature of the danger. He resolved,
+however, upon two things, and these were, to go armed into the
+queen's bedchamber, and to sit up awake the whole night. The queen
+was young and of exquisite beauty, and so guileless and benevolent
+was the expression of her face that it was impossible from looking
+at her to suppose that she could use any foul means of taking away
+the life of her nightly consort. In the queen's chamber Swet spent a
+very agreeable evening; as the night advanced the queen fell asleep,
+but Swet kept awake, and was on the alert, looking at every creek
+and corner of the room, and expecting every minute to be murdered. In
+the dead of night he perceived something like a thread coming out of
+the left nostril of the queen. The thread was so thin that it was
+almost invisible. As he watched it he found it several yards long,
+and yet it was coming out. When the whole of it had come out, it
+began to grow thick, and in a few minutes it assumed the form of a
+huge serpent. In a moment Swet cut off the head of the serpent, the
+body of which wriggled violently. He sat quiet in the room, expecting
+other adventures. But nothing else happened. The queen slept longer
+than usual as she had been relieved of the huge snake which had made
+her stomach its den. Early next morning the ministers came expecting
+as usual to hear of the king's death; but when the ladies of the
+bedchamber knocked at the door of the queen they were astonished
+to see Swet come out. It was then known to all the people how that
+every night a terrible snake issued from the queen's nostrils, how
+it devoured the king every night, and how it had at last been killed
+by the fortunate Swet. The whole country rejoiced in the prospect
+of a permanent king. It is a strange thing, nevertheless it is true,
+that Swet did not remember his poor wife with the new-born babe lying
+in the forest, nor his brother attending on her. With the possession
+of the throne he seemed to forget the whole of his past history.
+
+Basanta, to whom his brother had entrusted his wife and child, sat
+watching for many a weary hour, expecting every moment to see Swet
+return with fire. The whole night passed away without his return. At
+sunrise he went to the bank of the river which was close by, and
+anxiously looked about for his brother, but in vain. Distressed beyond
+measure, he sat on the river side and wept. A boat was passing by in
+which a merchant was returning to his country. As the boat was not
+far from the shore the merchant saw Basanta weeping; and what struck
+the attention of the merchant was the heap of what looked like pearls
+near the weeping man. At the request of the merchant the boatman took
+his vessel towards the bank; the merchant went to the weeping man,
+and found that the heap was a heap of real pearls of the finest
+lustre: and what astonished him most of all was that the heap was
+increasing every second, for the tear-drops that were falling from
+his eyes fell to the ground not as tears but as pearls. The merchant
+stowed away the heap of pearls into his boat, and with the help of his
+servants caught hold of Basanta himself, put him on board the vessel,
+and tied him to a post. Basanta, of course, resisted; but what could
+he do against so many? Thinking of his brother, his brother's wife
+and baby, and his own captivity, Basanta wept more bitterly than
+before, which mightily pleased the merchant, as the more tears his
+captive shed the richer he himself became. When the merchant reached
+his native town he confined Basanta in a room, and at stated hours
+every day scourged him in order to make him shed tears, every one of
+which was converted into a bright pearl. The merchant one day said
+to his servants, "As the fellow is making me rich by his weeping,
+let us see what he gives me by laughing." Accordingly he began to
+tickle his captive, on which Basanta laughed, and as he laughed a
+great many maniks dropped from his mouth. After this poor Basanta
+was alternately whipped and tickled all the day and far into the
+night; and the merchant, in consequence, became the wealthiest man
+in the land. Leaving Basanta subjected to the alternate processes
+of castigation and titillation, let us attend to the fortunes of the
+poor wife of Swet, alone in the forest, with a child just born.
+
+Swet's wife, apparently deserted by her husband and her brother-in-law,
+was overwhelmed with grief. A woman, but a few hours since delivered
+of a child--and her first child, alone, and in a forest, far from the
+habitations of men,--her case was indeed pitiable. She wept rivers of
+tears. Excessive grief, however, brought her relief. She fell asleep
+with the new-born baby in her arms. It so happened that at that
+hour the Kotwal (prefect of the police) of the country was passing
+that way. He had been very unfortunate with regard to his offspring;
+every child his wife presented him with died shortly after birth, and
+he was now going to bury the last infant on the banks of the river. As
+he was going, he saw in the forest a woman sleeping with a baby in her
+arms. It was a lively and beautiful boy. The Kotwal coveted the lovely
+infant. He quietly took it up, put in its place his own dead child,
+and returning home, told his wife that the child had not really died
+and had revived. Swet's wife, unconscious of the deceit practised
+upon her by the Kotwal, on waking found her child dead. The distress
+of her mind may be imagined. The whole world became dark to her. She
+was distracted with grief, and in her distraction she formed the
+resolution of committing suicide. The river was not far from the spot,
+and she determined to drown herself in it. She took in her hand the
+bundle of jewels and proceeded to the river-side. An old Brahman was
+at no great distance, performing his morning ablutions. He noticed
+the woman going into the water, and naturally thought that she was
+going to bathe; but when he saw her going far into deep waters, some
+suspicion arose in his mind. Discontinuing his devotions, he bawled
+out and ordered the woman to come to him. Swet's wife seeing that it
+was an old man that was calling her, retraced her steps and came to
+him. On being asked what she was about to do, she said that she was
+going to make an end of herself, and that as she had some jewels with
+her she would be obliged if he would accept them as a present. At the
+request of the old Brahman she related to him her whole story. The
+upshot was, that she was prevented from drowning herself, and that
+she was received into the Brahman's family, where she was treated by
+the Brahman's wife as her own daughter.
+
+Years passed on. The reputed son of the Kotwal grew up a vigorous,
+robust lad. As the house of the old Brahman was not far from the
+Kotwal's, the Kotwal's son used accidentally to meet the handsome
+strange woman who passed for the Brahman's daughter. The lad liked
+the woman, and wanted to marry her. He spoke to his father about
+the woman, and the father spoke to the Brahman. The Brahman's rage
+knew no bounds. What! the infidel Kotwal's son aspiring to the hand
+of a Brahman's daughter! A dwarf may as well aspire to catch hold of
+the moon! But the Kotwal's son determined to have her by force. With
+this wicked object he one day scaled the wall that encompassed the
+Brahman's house, and got upon the thatched roof of the Brahman's
+cow-house. While he was reconnoitering from that lofty position, he
+heard the following conversation between two calves in the cow-house:--
+
+First Calf. Men accuse us of brutish ignorance and immorality; but
+in my opinion men are fifty times worse.
+
+Second Calf. What makes you say so, brother? Have you witnessed to-day
+any instance of human depravity?
+
+First Calf. Who can be a greater monster of crime than the same lad
+who is at this moment standing on the thatched roof of this hut over
+our head?
+
+Second Calf. Why, I thought it was only the son of our Kotwal; and
+I never heard that he was exceptionally vicious.
+
+First Calf. You never heard, but now you hear from me. This wicked
+lad is now wishing to get married to his own mother!
+
+The First Calf then related to the inquisitive Second Calf in full
+the story of Swet and Basanta; how they and Swet's wife fled from
+the vengeance of their stepmother; how Swet's wife was delivered of a
+child in the forest by the river-side; how Swet was made king by the
+elephant, and how he succeeded in killing the serpent which issued out
+of the queen's nostrils; how Basanta was carried away by the merchant,
+confined in a dungeon, and alternately flogged and tickled for pearls
+and maniks; how the Kotwal exchanged his dead child for the living
+one of Swet; how Swet's wife was prevented from drowning herself in
+the river by the Brahman; how she was received into the Brahman's
+family and treated as his daughter; how the Kotwal's son grew up a
+hardy, lusty youth, and fell in love with her; and how at that very
+moment he was intent on accomplishing his brutal object. All this
+story the Kotwal's son heard from the thatched roof of the cow-house,
+and was struck with horror. He forthwith got down from the thatch,
+and went home and told his father that he must have an interview
+with the king. Notwithstanding his reputed father's protestations
+to the contrary, he had an interview with the king, to whom he
+repeated the whole story as he had overheard it from the thatch of
+the cow-house. The king now remembered his poor wife's case. She
+was brought from the house of the Brahman, whom he richly rewarded,
+and put her in her proper position as the queen of the kingdom;
+the reputed son of the Kotwal was acknowledged as his own son, and
+proclaimed the heir-apparent to the throne; Basanta was brought out
+of the dungeon, and the wicked merchant who had maltreated him was
+buried alive in the earth surrounded with thorns. After this, Swet,
+his wife and son, and Basanta, lived together happily for many years.
+
+
+            Now my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE EVIL EYE OF SANI
+
+
+Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck, and Lakshmi,
+the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in heaven. Sani said
+he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said she was higher in
+rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of heaven were equally
+ranged on either side, the contending deities agreed to refer the
+matter to some human being who had a name for wisdom and justice. Now,
+there lived at that time upon earth a man of the name of Sribatsa,
+[18] who was as wise and just as he was rich. Him, therefore, both the
+god and the goddess chose as the settler of their dispute. One day,
+accordingly, Sribatsa was told that Sani and Lakshmi were wishing to
+pay him a visit to get their dispute settled. Sribatsa was in a fix. If
+he said Sani was higher in rank than Lakshmi, she would be angry with
+him and forsake him. If he said Lakshmi was higher in rank than Sani,
+Sani would cast his evil eye upon him. Hence he made up his mind not to
+say anything directly, but to leave the god and the goddess to gather
+his opinion from his action. He got two stools made, the one of gold
+and the other of silver, and placed them beside him. When Sani and
+Lakshmi came to Sribatsa, he told Sani to sit upon the silver stool,
+and Lakshmi upon the gold stool. Sani became mad with rage, and said
+in an angry tone to Sribatsa, "Well, as you consider me lower in rank
+than Lakshmi, I will cast my eye on you for three years; and I should
+like to see how you fare at the end of that period." The god then went
+away in high dudgeon. Lakshmi, before going away, said to Sribatsa,
+"My child, do not fear. I'll befriend you." The god and the goddess
+then went away.
+
+Sribatsa said to his wife, whose name was Chintamani, "Dearest, as the
+evil eye of Sani will be upon me at once, I had better go away from the
+house; for if I remain in the house with you, evil will befall you and
+me; but if I go away, it will overtake me only." Chintamani said, "That
+cannot be; wherever you go, I will go, your lot shall be my lot." The
+husband tried hard to persuade his wife to remain at home; but it was
+of no use. She would go with her husband. Sribatsa accordingly told
+his wife to make an opening in their mattress, and to stow away in
+it all the money and jewels they had. On the eve of leaving their
+house, Sribatsa invoked Lakshmi, who forthwith appeared. He then
+said to her, "Mother Lakshmi! as the evil eye of Sani is upon us,
+we are going away into exile; but do thou befriend us, and take
+care of our house and property." The goddess of good luck answered,
+"Do not fear; I'll befriend you; all will be right at last." They
+then set out on their journey. Sribatsa rolled up the mattress and
+put it on his head. They had not gone many miles when they saw a
+river before them. It was not fordable; but there was a canoe there
+with a man sitting in it. The travellers requested the ferryman to
+take them across. The ferryman said, "I can take only one at a time;
+but you are three--yourself, your wife, and the mattress." Sribatsa
+proposed that first his wife and the mattress should be taken across,
+and then he; but the ferryman would not hear of it. "Only one at a
+time," repeated he; "first let me take across the mattress." When the
+canoe with the mattress was in the middle of the stream, a fierce gale
+arose, and carried away the mattress, the canoe, and the ferryman,
+no one knows whither. And it was strange the stream also disappeared,
+for the place, where they saw a few minutes since the rush of waters,
+had now become firm ground. Sribatsa then knew that this was nothing
+but the evil eye of Sani.
+
+Sribatsa and his wife, without a pice in their pocket, went to a
+village which was hard by. It was dwelt in for the most part by
+wood-cutters, who used to go at sunrise to the forest to cut wood,
+which they sold in a town not far from the village. Sribatsa proposed
+to the wood-cutters that he should go along with them to cut wood. They
+agreed. So he began to fell trees as well as the best of them; but
+there was this difference between Sribatsa and the other wood-cutters,
+that whereas the latter cut any and every sort of wood, the former cut
+only precious wood like sandal-wood. The wood-cutters used to bring
+to market large loads of common wood, and Sribatsa only a few pieces
+of sandal-wood, for which he got a great deal more money than the
+others. As this was going on day after day, the wood-cutters through
+envy plotted together, and drove away from the village Sribatsa and
+his wife.
+
+The next place they went to was a village of weavers, or rather
+cotton-spinners. Here Chintamani, the wife of Sribatsa, made herself
+useful by spinning cotton. And as she was an intelligent and skilful
+woman, she spun finer thread than the other women; and she got more
+money. This roused the envy of the native women of the village. But
+this was not all. Sribatsa, in order to gain the good grace of
+the weavers, asked them to a feast, the dishes of which were all
+cooked by his wife. As Chintamani excelled in cooking, the barbarous
+weavers of the village were quite charmed by the delicacies set
+before them. When the men went to their homes, they reproached their
+wives for not being able to cook so well as the wife of Sribatsa,
+and called them good-for-nothing women. This thing made the women of
+the village hate Chintamani the more. One day Chintamani went to the
+river-side to bathe along with the other women of the village. A boat
+had been lying on the bank stranded on the sand for many days; they
+had tried to move it, but in vain. It so happened that as Chintamani
+by accident touched the boat, it moved off to the river. The boatmen,
+astonished at the event, thought that the woman had uncommon power,
+and might be useful on similar occasions in future. They therefore
+caught hold of her, put her in the boat, and rowed off. The women of
+the village, who were present, did not offer any resistance as they
+hated Chintamani. When Sribatsa heard how his wife had been carried
+away by boatmen, he became mad with grief. He left the village, went to
+the river-side, and resolved to follow the course of the stream till
+he should meet the boat where his wife was a prisoner. He travelled
+on and on, along the side of the river, till it became dark. As there
+were no huts to be seen, he climbed into a tree for the night. Next
+morning as he got down from the tree he saw at the foot of it a cow
+called a Kapila-cow, which never calves, but which gives milk at all
+hours of the day whenever it is milked. Sribatsa milked the cow, and
+drank its milk to his heart's content. He was astonished to find that
+the cow-dung which lay on the ground was of a bright yellow colour;
+indeed, he found it was pure gold. While it was in a soft state he
+wrote his own name upon it, and when in the course of the day it
+became hardened, it looked like a brick of gold--and so it was. As
+the tree grew on the river-side, and as the Kapila-cow came morning
+and evening to supply him with milk, Sribatsa resolved to stay there
+till he should meet the boat. In the meantime the gold-bricks were
+increasing in number every day, for the cow both morning and evening
+deposited there the precious article. He put the gold-bricks, upon
+all of which his name was engraved, one upon another in rows, so that
+from a distance they looked like a hillock of gold.
+
+Leaving Sribatsa to arrange his gold-bricks under the tree on the
+river-side we must follow the fortunes of his wife. Chintamani was a
+woman of great beauty; and thinking that her beauty might be her ruin,
+she, when seized by the boatmen, offered to Lakshmi the following
+prayer----"O Mother Lakshmi! have pity upon me. Thou hast made me
+beautiful, but now my beauty will undoubtedly prove my ruin by the loss
+of honour and chastity. I therefore beseech thee, gracious Mother, to
+make me ugly, and to cover my body with some loathsome disease, that
+the boatmen may not touch me." Lakshmi heard Chintamani's prayer; and
+in the twinkling of an eye, while she was in the arms of the boatmen,
+her naturally beautiful form was turned into a vile carcase. The
+boatmen, on putting her down in the boat, found her body covered
+with loathsome sores which were giving out a disgusting stench. They
+therefore threw her into the hold of the boat amongst the cargo,
+where they used morning and evening to send her a little boiled rice
+and some water. In that hold Chintamani had a miserable life of it;
+but she greatly preferred that misery to the loss of chastity. The
+boatmen went to some port, sold the cargo, and were returning to their
+country when the sight of what seemed a hillock of gold, not far from
+the river-side, attracted their attention. Sribatsa, whose eyes were
+ever directed towards the river, was delighted when he saw a boat turn
+towards the bank, as he fondly imagined his wife might be in it. The
+boatmen went to the hillock of gold, when Sribatsa said that the gold
+was his. They put all the gold-bricks on board their vessel, took
+Sribatsa prisoner, and put him into the hold not far from the woman
+covered with sores. They of course immediately recognised each other,
+in spite of the change Chintamani had undergone, but thought it prudent
+not to speak to each other. They communicated their ideas, therefore,
+by signs and gestures. Now, the boatmen were fond of playing at dice,
+and as Sribatsa appeared to them from his looks to be a respectable
+man, they always asked him to join in the game. As he was an expert
+player, he almost always won the game, on which the boatmen, envying
+his superior skill, threw him overboard. Chintamani had the presence
+of mind, at that moment, to throw into the water a pillow which she
+had for resting her head upon. Sribatsa took hold of the pillow,
+by means of which he floated down the stream till he was carried
+at nightfall to what seemed a garden on the water's edge. There he
+stuck among the trees, where he remained the whole night, wet and
+shivering. Now, the garden belonged to an old widow who was in former
+years the chief flower-supplier to the king of that country. Through
+some cause or other a blight seemed to have come over her garden, as
+almost all the trees and plants ceased flowering; she had therefore
+given up her place as the flower-supplier of the royal household. On
+the morning following the night on which Sribatsa had stuck among
+the trees, however, the old woman on getting up from her bed could
+scarcely believe her eyes when she saw the whole garden ablaze with
+flowers. There was not a single tree or plant which was not begemmed
+with flowers. Not understanding the cause of such a miraculous sight,
+she took a walk through the garden, and found on the river's brink,
+stuck among the trees, a man shivering and almost dying with cold. She
+brought him to her cottage, lighted a fire to give him warmth, and
+showed him every attention, as she ascribed the wonderful flowering
+of her trees to his presence. After making him as comfortable as
+she could, she ran to the king's palace, and told his chief servants
+that she was again in a position to supply the palace with flowers;
+so she was restored to her former office as the flower-woman of the
+royal household. Sribatsa, who stopped a few days with the woman,
+requested her to recommend him to one of the king's ministers for a
+berth. He was accordingly sent for to the palace, and as he was at
+once found to be a man of intelligence, the king's minister asked
+him what post he would like to have. Agreeably to his wish he was
+appointed collector of tolls on the river. While discharging his
+duties as river toll-gatherer, in the course of a few days he saw the
+very boat in which his wife was a prisoner. He detained the boat, and
+charged the boatmen with the theft of gold-bricks which he claimed as
+his own. At the mention of gold-bricks the king himself came to the
+river-side, and was astonished beyond measure to see bricks made of
+gold, every one of which had the inscription--Sribatsa. At the same
+time Sribatsa rescued from the boatmen his wife, who, the moment she
+came out of the vessel, became as lovely as before. The king heard
+the story of Sribatsa's misfortunes from his lips, entertained him
+in a princely style for many days, and at last sent him and his wife
+to their own country with presents of horses and elephants. The evil
+eye of Sani was now turned away from Sribatsa, and he again became
+what he formerly was, the Child of Fortune.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE BOY WHOM SEVEN MOTHERS SUCKLED
+
+
+Once on a time there reigned a king who had seven queens. He was
+very sad, for the seven queens were all barren. A holy mendicant,
+however, one day told the king that in a certain forest there grew
+a tree, on a branch of which hung seven mangoes; if the king himself
+plucked those mangoes and gave one to each of the queens they would
+all become mothers. So the king went to the forest, plucked the seven
+mangoes that grew upon one branch, and gave a mango to each of the
+queens to eat. In a short time the king's heart was filled with joy,
+as he heard that the seven queens were all with child.
+
+One day the king was out hunting, when he saw a young lady of peerless
+beauty cross his path. He fell in love with her, brought her to his
+palace, and married her. This lady was, however, not a human being,
+but a Rakshasi; but the king of course did not know it. The king became
+dotingly fond of her; he did whatever she told him. She said one day
+to the king, "You say that you love me more than any one else. Let
+me see whether you really love me so. If you love me, make your seven
+other queens blind, and let them be killed." The king became very sad
+at the request of his best-beloved queen, the more so as the seven
+queens were all with child. But there was nothing for it but to comply
+with the Rakshasi-queen's request. The eyes of the seven queens were
+plucked out of their sockets, and the queens themselves were delivered
+up to the chief minister to be destroyed. But the chief minister was
+a merciful man. Instead of killing the seven queens he hid them in a
+cave which was on the side of a hill. In course of time the eldest
+of the seven queens gave birth to a child. "What shall I do with
+the child," said she, "now that we are blind and are dying for want
+of food? Let me kill the child, and let us all eat of its flesh." So
+saying she killed the infant, and gave to each of her sister-queens a
+part of the child to eat. The six ate their portion, but the seventh
+or youngest queen did not eat her share, but laid it beside her. In a
+few days the second queen also was delivered of a child, and she did
+with it as her eldest sister had done with hers. So did the third,
+the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth queen. At last the seventh
+queen gave birth to a son; but she, instead of following the example
+of her sister-queens, resolved to nurse the child. The other queens
+demanded their portions of the newly-born babe. She gave each of them
+the portion she had got of the six children which had been killed,
+and which she had not eaten but laid aside. The other queens at once
+perceived that their portions were dry, and could not therefore be
+the parts of the child just born. The seventh queen told them that she
+had made up her mind not to kill the child but to nurse it. The others
+were glad to hear this, and they all said that they would help her in
+nursing the child. So the child was suckled by seven mothers, and it
+became after some years the hardiest and strongest boy that ever lived.
+
+In the meantime the Rakshasi-wife of the king was doing infinite
+mischief to the royal household and to the capital. What she ate at
+the royal table did not fill her capacious stomach. She therefore,
+in the darkness of night, gradually ate up all the members of the
+royal family, all the king's servants and attendants, all his horses,
+elephants, and cattle; till none remained in the palace except she
+herself and her royal consort. After that she used to go out in
+the evenings into the city and eat up a stray human being here and
+there. The king was left unattended by servants; there was no person
+left to cook for him, for no one would take his service. At last the
+boy who had been suckled by seven mothers, and who had now grown up to
+a stalwart youth, volunteered his services. He attended on the king,
+and took every care to prevent the queen from swallowing him up, for
+he went away home long before nightfall; and the Rakshasi-queen never
+seized her victims except at night. Hence the queen determined in
+some other way to get rid of the boy. As the boy always boasted that
+he was equal to any work, however hard, the queen told him that she
+was suffering from some disease which could be cured only by eating a
+certain species of melon, which was twelve cubits long, but the stone
+of which was thirteen cubits long, and that that fruit could be had
+only from her mother, who lived on the other side of the ocean. She
+gave him a letter of introduction to her mother, in which she requested
+her to devour the boy the moment he put the letter into her hands. The
+boy, suspecting foul play, tore up the letter and proceeded on his
+journey. The dauntless youth passed through many lands, and at last
+stood on the shore of the ocean, on the other side of which was the
+country of the Rakshasis. He then bawled as loud as he could, and
+said, "Granny! granny! come and save your daughter; she is dangerously
+ill." An old Rakshasi on the other side of the ocean heard the words,
+crossed the ocean, came to the boy, and on hearing the message took the
+boy on her back and re-crossed the ocean. So the boy was in the country
+of the Rakshasis. The twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit stone
+was given to the boy at once, and he was told to perform the journey
+back. But the boy pleaded fatigue, and begged to be allowed to rest
+one day. To this the old Rakshasi consented. Observing a stout club
+and a rope hanging in the Rakshasi's room, the boy inquired what
+they were there for. She replied, "Child, by that club and rope I
+cross the ocean. If any one takes the club and the rope in his hands,
+and addresses them in the following magical words--
+
+
+           "O stout club! O strong rope!
+            Take me at once to the other side,"
+
+
+then immediately the club and rope will take him to the other side
+of the ocean." Observing a bird in a cage hanging in one corner of
+the room, the boy inquired what it was. The old Rakshasi replied,
+"It contains a secret, child, which must not be disclosed to mortals,
+and yet how can I hide it from my own grandchild? That bird, child,
+contains the life of your mother. If the bird is killed, your mother
+will at once die." Armed with these secrets, the boy went to bed that
+night. Next morning the old Rakshasi, together with all the other
+Rakshasis, went to distant countries for forage. The boy took down
+the cage from the ceiling, as well as the club and rope. Having well
+secured the bird, he addressed the club and rope thus--
+
+
+           "O stout club! O strong rope!
+            Take me at once to the other side."
+
+
+In the twinkling of an eye the boy was put on this side of the
+ocean. He then retraced his steps, came to the queen, and gave her,
+to her astonishment, the twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit
+stone; but the cage with the bird in it he kept carefully concealed.
+
+In the course of time the people of the city came to the king and said,
+"A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace every evening,
+and seizes the passengers in the streets and swallows them up. This
+has been going on for so long a time that the city has become almost
+desolate." The king could not make out what this monstrous bird
+was. The king's servant, the boy, replied that he knew the monstrous
+bird, and that he would kill it provided the queen stood beside
+the king. By royal command the queen was made to stand beside the
+king. The boy then took the bird from the cage which he had brought
+from the other side of the ocean, on seeing which she fell into a
+fainting fit. Turning to the king the boy said, "Sire, you will soon
+perceive who the monstrous bird is that devours your subjects every
+evening. As I tear off each limb of this bird, the corresponding limb
+of the man-devourer will fall off." The boy then tore off one leg of
+the bird in his hand; immediately, to the astonishment of the whole
+assembly, for the citizens were all present, one of the legs of the
+queen fell off. And when the boy squeezed the throat of the bird,
+the queen gave up the ghost. The boy then related his own history
+and that of his mother and his stepmothers. The seven queens, whose
+eyesight was miraculously restored, were brought back to the palace;
+and the boy that was suckled by seven mothers was recognised by the
+king as his rightful heir. So they lived together happily.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, &c.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE STORY OF PRINCE SOBUR
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived a certain merchant who had seven
+daughters. One day the merchant put to his daughters the question:
+"By whose fortune do you get your living?" The eldest daughter
+answered--"Papa, I get my living by your fortune." The same answer
+was given by the second daughter, the third, the fourth, the fifth,
+and the sixth; but his youngest daughter said--"I get my living by my
+own fortune." The merchant got very angry with the youngest daughter,
+and said to her--"As you are so ungrateful as to say that you get
+your living by your own fortune, let me see how you fare alone. This
+very day you shall leave my house without a pice in your pocket." He
+forthwith called his palki-bearers, and ordered them to take away the
+girl and leave her in the midst of a forest. The girl begged hard to
+be allowed to take with her her work-box containing her needles and
+threads. She was allowed to do so. She then got into the palki, which
+the bearers lifted on their shoulders. The bearers had not gone many
+hundred yards to the tune of "Hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon!" when
+an old woman bawled out to them and bid them stop. On coming up to
+the palki, she said, "Where are you taking away my daughter?" for she
+was the nurse of the merchant's youngest child. The bearers replied,
+"The merchant has ordered us to take her away and leave her in the
+midst of a forest; and we are going to do his bidding." "I must go with
+her," said the old woman. "How will you be able to keep pace with us,
+as we must needs run?" said the bearers. "Anyhow I must go where my
+daughter goes," rejoined the old woman. The upshot was that, at the
+entreaty of the merchant's youngest daughter, the old woman was put
+inside the palki along with her. In the afternoon the palki-bearers
+reached a dense forest. They went far into it; and towards sunset
+they put down the girl and the old woman at the foot of a large tree,
+and retraced their steps homewards.
+
+The case of the merchant's youngest daughter was truly pitiable. She
+was scarcely fourteen years old; she had been bred in the lap of
+luxury; and she was now here at sundown in the heart of what seemed
+an interminable forest, with not a penny in her pocket, and with no
+other protection than what could be given her by an old, decrepit,
+imbecile woman. The very trees of the forest looked upon her with
+pity. The gigantic tree, at whose foot she was mingling her tears
+with those of the old woman, said to her (for trees could speak in
+those days)--"Unhappy girl! I much pity you. In a short time the wild
+beasts of the forest will come out of their lairs and roam about for
+their prey; and they are sure to devour you and your companion. But
+I can help you; I will make an opening for you in my trunk. When you
+see the opening go into it; I will then close it up; and you will
+remain safe inside; nor can the wild beasts touch you." In a moment
+the trunk of the tree was split into two. The merchant's daughter
+and the old woman went inside the hollow, on which the tree resumed
+its natural shape. When the shades of night darkened the forest the
+wild beasts came out of their lairs. The fierce tiger was there; the
+wild bear was there; the hard-skinned rhinoceros was there; the bushy
+bear was there; the musty elephant was there; and the horned buffalo
+was there. They all growled round about the tree, for they got the
+scent of human blood. The merchant's daughter and the old woman heard
+from within the tree the growl of the beasts. The beasts came dashing
+against the tree; they broke its branches; they pierced its trunk with
+their horns; they scratched its bark with their claws: but in vain. The
+merchant's daughter and her old nurse were safe within. Towards dawn
+the wild beasts went away. After sunrise the good tree said to her two
+inmates, "Unhappy women, the wild beasts have gone into their lairs
+after greatly tormenting me. The sun is up; you can now come out." So
+saying the tree split itself into two, and the merchant's daughter
+and the old woman came out. They saw the extent of the mischief done
+by the wild beasts to the tree. Many of its branches had been broken
+down; in many places the trunk had been pierced; and in other places
+the bark had been stripped off. The merchant's daughter said to the
+tree, "Good mother, you are truly good to give us shelter at such
+a fearful cost. You must be in great pain from the torture to which
+the wild beasts subjected you last night." So saying she went to the
+tank which was near the tree, and bringing thence a quantity of mud,
+she besmeared the trunk with it, especially those parts which had
+been pierced and scratched. After she had done this, the tree said,
+"Thank you, my good girl, I am now greatly relieved of my pain. I am,
+however, concerned not so much about myself as about you both. You
+must be hungry, not having eaten the whole of yesterday. And what can I
+give you? I have no fruit of my own to give you. Give to the old woman
+whatever money you have, and let her go into the city hard by and
+buy some food." They said they had no money. On searching, however,
+in the work-box she found five cowries. [19] The tree then told the
+old woman to go with the cowries to the city and buy some khai. [20]
+The old woman went to the city, which was not far, and said to one
+confectioner, "Please give me five cowries' worth of khai." The
+confectioner laughed at her and said, "Be off, you old hag, do you
+think khai can be had for five cowries?" She tried another shop,
+and the shopkeeper, thinking the woman to be in great distress,
+compassionately gave her a large quantity of khai for the five cowries.
+
+When the old woman returned with the khai, the tree said to the
+merchant's daughter, "Each of you eat a little of the khai, lay by
+more than half, and strew the rest on the embankments of the tank all
+round." They did as they were bidden, though they did not understand
+the reason why they were told to scatter the khai on the sides of the
+tank. They spent the day in bewailing their fate, and at night they
+were housed inside the trunk of the tree as on the previous night. The
+wild beasts came as before, further mutilated the tree, and tortured
+it as in the preceding night. But during the night a scene was being
+enacted on the embankments of the tank of which the two women saw the
+outcome only on the following morning. Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous
+plumes came to the embankments to eat the khai which had been strewed
+on them; and as they strove with each other for the tempting food
+many of their plumes fell off their bodies. Early in the morning the
+tree told the two women to gather the plumes together, out of which
+the merchant's daughter made a beautiful fan. This fan was taken into
+the city to the palace, where the son of the king admired it greatly
+and paid for it a large sum of money. As each morning a quantity of
+plumes was collected, every day one fan was made and sold. So that
+in a short time the two women got rich. The tree then advised them
+to employ men in building a house for them to live in. Accordingly
+bricks were burnt, trees were cut down for beams and rafters, bricks
+were reduced to powder, lime was manufactured, and in a few months
+a stately, palace-like house was built for the merchant's daughter
+and her old nurse. It was thought advisable to lay out the adjoining
+grounds as a garden, and to dig a tank for supplying them with water.
+
+In the meantime the merchant himself with his wife and six daughters
+had been frowned upon by the goddess of wealth. By a sudden stroke of
+misfortune he lost all his money, his house and property were sold,
+and he, his wife, and six daughters, were turned adrift penniless into
+the world. It so happened that they lived in a village not far from the
+place where the two strange women had built a palace and were digging
+a tank. As the once rich merchant was now supporting his family by
+the pittance which he obtained every day for his manual labour, he
+bethought himself of employing himself as a day labourer in digging
+the tank of the strange lady on the skirts of the forest. His wife
+said she would also go to dig the tank with him. So one day while
+the strange lady was amusing herself from the window of her palace
+with looking at the labourers digging her tank, to her utter surprise
+she saw her father and mother coming towards the palace, apparently
+to engage themselves as day labourers. Tears ran down her cheeks as
+she looked at them, for they were clothed in rags. She immediately
+sent servants to bring them inside the house. The poor man and woman
+were frightened beyond measure. They saw that the tank was all ready;
+and as it was customary in those days to offer a human sacrifice when
+the digging was over, they thought that they were called inside in
+order to be sacrificed. Their fears increased when they were told to
+throw away their rags and to put on fine clothes which were given to
+them. The strange lady of the palace, however, soon dispelled their
+fears; for she told them that she was their daughter, fell on their
+necks and wept. The rich daughter related her adventures, and the
+father felt she was right when she said that she lived upon her own
+fortune and not on that of her father. She gave her father a large
+fortune, which enabled him to go to the city in which he formerly
+lived, and to set himself up again as a merchant.
+
+The merchant now bethought himself of going in his ship to distant
+countries for purposes of trade. All was ready. He got on board,
+ready to start, but, strange to say, the ship would not move. The
+merchant was at a loss what to make of this. At last the idea occurred
+to him that he had asked each of his six daughters, who were living
+with him, what thing she wished he should bring for her; but he had
+not asked that question of his seventh daughter who had made him
+rich. He therefore immediately despatched a messenger to his youngest
+daughter, asking her what she wished her father to bring for her on
+his return from his mercantile travels. When the messenger arrived
+she was engaged in her devotions, and hearing that a messenger had
+arrived from her father she said to him "Sobur," meaning "wait." The
+messenger understood that she wanted her father to bring for her
+something called Sobur. He returned to the merchant and told him that
+she wanted him to bring for her Sobur. The ship now moved of itself,
+and the merchant started on his travels. He visited many ports,
+and by selling his goods obtained immense profit. The things his
+six daughters wanted him to bring for them he easily got, but Sobur,
+the thing which he understood his youngest daughter wished to have,
+he could get nowhere. He asked at every port whether Sobur could be
+had there, but the merchants all told him that they had never heard
+of such an article of commerce. At the last port he went through the
+streets bawling out--"Wanted Sobur! wanted Sobur!" The cry attracted
+the notice of the son of the king of that country whose name was
+Sobur. The prince, hearing from the merchant that his daughter wanted
+Sobur, said that he had the article in question, and bringing out a
+small box of wood containing a magical fan with a looking-glass in
+it, said--"This is Sobur which your daughter wishes to have." The
+merchant having obtained the long-wished-for Sobur weighed anchor,
+and sailed for his native land. On his arrival he sent to his youngest
+daughter the said wonderful box. The daughter, thinking it to be a
+common wooden box, laid it aside. Some days after when she was at
+leisure she bethought herself of opening the box which her father
+had sent her. When she opened it she saw in it a beautiful fan,
+and in it a looking-glass. As she shook the fan, in a moment the
+Prince Sobur stood before her, and said--"You called me, here I
+am. What's your wish?" The merchant's daughter, astonished at the
+sudden appearance of a prince of such exquisite beauty, asked who he
+was, and how he had made his appearance there. The prince told her
+of the circumstances under which he gave the box to her father, and
+informed her of the secret that whenever the fan would be shaken he
+would make his appearance. The prince lived for a day or two in the
+house of the merchant's daughter, who entertained him hospitably. The
+upshot was, that they fell in love with each other, and vowed to
+each other to be husband and wife. The prince returned to his royal
+father and told him that he had selected a wife for himself. The
+day for the wedding was fixed. The merchant and his six daughters
+were invited. The nuptial knot was tied. But there was death in the
+marriage-bed. The six daughters of the merchant, envying the happy
+lot of their youngest sister, had determined to put an end to the
+life of her newly-wedded husband. They broke several bottles, reduced
+the broken pieces into fine powder, and scattered it profusely on the
+bed. The prince, suspecting no danger, laid himself down in the bed;
+but he had scarcely been there two minutes when he felt acute pain
+through his whole system, for the fine bottle-powder had gone through
+every pore of his body. As the prince became restless through pain,
+and was shrieking aloud, his attendants hastily took him away to his
+own country.
+
+The king and queen, the parents of Prince Sobur, consulted all the
+physicians and surgeons of the kingdom; but in vain. The young prince
+was day and night screaming with pain, and no one could ascertain
+the disease, far less give him relief. The grief of the merchant's
+daughter may be imagined. The marriage knot had been scarcely tied
+when her husband was attacked, as she thought, by a terrible disease
+and carried away many hundreds of miles off. Though she had never seen
+her husband's country she determined to go there and nurse him. She
+put on the garb of a Sannyasi, and with a dagger in her hand set
+out on her journey. Of tender years, and unaccustomed to make long
+journeys on foot, she soon got weary and sat under a tree to rest. On
+the top of the tree was the nest of the divine bird Bihangama and
+his mate Bihangami. They were not in their nest at the time, but two
+of their young ones were in it. Suddenly the young ones on the top
+of the tree gave a scream which roused the half-drowsy merchant's
+daughter whom we shall now call the young Sannyasi. He saw near
+him a huge serpent raising its hood and about to climb into the
+tree. In a moment he cut the serpent into two, on which the young
+birds left off screaming. Shortly after the Bihangama and Bihangami
+came sailing through the air; and the latter said to the former--"I
+suppose our offspring as usual have been devoured by our great enemy
+the serpent. Ah me! I do not hear the cries of my young ones." On
+nearing the nest, however, they were agreeably surprised to find
+their offspring alive. The young ones told their dams how the young
+Sannyasi under the tree had destroyed the serpent. And sure enough
+the snake was lying there cut into two.
+
+The Bihangami then said to her mate--"The young Sannyasi has saved
+our offspring from death, I wish we could do him some service in
+return." The Bihangama replied, "We shall presently do her service,
+for the person under the tree is not a man but a woman. She got married
+only last night to Prince Sobur, who, a few hours after, when jumping
+into his bed, had every pore of his body pierced with fine particles
+of ground bottles which had been spread over his bed by his envious
+sisters-in-law. He is still suffering pain in his native land, and,
+indeed, is at the point of death. And his heroic bride taking the garb
+of a Sannyasi is going to nurse him." "But," asked the Bihangami, "is
+there no cure for the prince?" "Yes, there is," replied the Bihangama:
+"if our dung which is lying on the ground round about, and which is
+hardened, be reduced to powder, and applied by means of a brush to
+the body of the prince after bathing him seven times with seven jars
+of water and seven jars of milk, Prince Sobur will undoubtedly get
+well." "But," asked the Bihangami, "how can the poor daughter of the
+merchant walk such a distance? It must take her many days, by which
+time the poor prince will have died." "I can," replied the Bihangama,
+"take the young lady on my back, and put her in the capital of Prince
+Sobur, and bring her back, provided she does not take any presents
+there." The merchant's daughter, in the garb of a Sannyasi, heard
+this conversation between the two birds, and begged the Bihangama
+to take her on his back. To this the bird readily consented. Before
+mounting on her aerial car she gathered a quantity of birds' dung
+and reduced it to fine powder. Armed with this potent drug she got
+up on the back of the kind bird, and sailing through the air with the
+rapidity of lightning, soon reached the capital of Prince Sobur. The
+young Sannyasi went up to the gate of the palace, and sent word to
+the king that he was acquainted with potent drugs and would cure the
+prince in a few hours. The king, who had tried all the best doctors
+in the kingdom without success, looked upon the Sannyasi as a mere
+pretender, but on the advice of his councillors agreed to give him
+a trial. The Sannyasi ordered seven jars of water and seven jars of
+milk to be brought to him. He poured the contents of all the jars on
+the body of the prince. He then applied, by means of a feather, the
+dung-powder he had already prepared to every pore of the prince's
+body. Thereafter seven jars of water and seven jars of milk were
+again six times poured upon him. When the prince's body was wiped,
+he felt perfectly well. The king ordered that the richest treasures
+he had should be presented to the wonderful doctor; but the Sannyasi
+refused to take any. He only wanted a ring from the prince's finger to
+preserve as a memorial. The ring was readily given him. The merchant's
+daughter hastened to the sea-shore where the Bihangama was awaiting
+her. In a moment they reached the tree of the divine birds. Hence
+the young bride walked to her house on the skirts of the forest. The
+following day she shook the magical fan, and forthwith Prince Sobur
+appeared before her. When the lady showed him the ring, he learnt with
+infinite surprise that his own wife was the doctor that cured him. The
+prince took away his bride to his palace in his far-off kingdom,
+forgave his sisters-in-law, lived happily for scores of years, and
+was blessed with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+THE ORIGIN OF OPIUM [21]
+
+
+Once on a time there lived on the banks of the holy Ganga a Rishi,
+[22] who spent his days and nights in the performance of religious
+rites and in meditation upon God. From sunrise to sunset he sat on the
+river bank engaged in devotion, and at night he took shelter in a hut
+of palm-leaves which his own hand had raised in a bush hard by. There
+were no men and women for miles round. In the hut, however, there was a
+mouse, which used to live upon the leavings of the Rishi's supper. As
+it was not in the nature of the sage to hurt any living thing, our
+mouse never ran away from him, but, on the contrary, went to him,
+touched his feet, and played with him. The Rishi, partly in kindness to
+the little brute, and partly to have some one by to talk to at times,
+gave the mouse the power of speech. One night the mouse, standing on
+its hind-legs and joining together its fore-legs reverently, said to
+the Rishi, "Holy sage, you have been so kind as to give me the power
+to speak like men. If it will not displease your reverence, I have one
+more boon to ask." "What is it?" said the Rishi. "What is it, little
+mousie? Say what you want." The mouse answered--"When your reverence
+goes in the day to the river-side for devotion, a cat comes to the
+hut to catch me. And had it not been for fear of your reverence, the
+cat would have eaten me up long ago; and I fear it will eat me some
+day. My prayer is that I may be changed into a cat that I may prove a
+match for my foe." The Rishi became propitious to the mouse, and threw
+some holy water on its body, and it was at once changed into a cat.
+
+Some nights after, the Rishi asked his pet, "Well, little puss,
+how do you like your present life?" "Not much, your reverence,"
+answered the cat. "Why not?" demanded the sage. "Are you not strong
+enough to hold your own against all the cats in the world?" "Yes,"
+rejoined the cat. "Your reverence has made me a strong cat, able to
+cope with all the cats in the world. But I do not now fear cats; I
+have got a new foe. Whenever your reverence goes to the river-side,
+a pack of dogs comes to the hut, and sets up such a loud barking
+that I am frightened out of my life. If your reverence will not be
+displeased with me, I beg you to change me into a dog." The Rishi said,
+"Be turned into a dog," and the cat forthwith became a dog.
+
+Some days passed, when one night the dog said thus to the Rishi:
+"I cannot thank your reverence enough for your kindness to me. I was
+but a poor mouse, and you not only gave me speech but turned me into a
+cat; and again you were kind enough to change me into a dog. As a dog,
+however, I suffer a great deal of trouble, I do not get enough food:
+my only food is the leavings of your supper, but that is not sufficient
+to fill the maw of such a large beast as you have made me. O how I
+envy those apes who jump about from tree to tree, and eat all sorts
+of delicious fruits! If your reverence will not get angry with me,
+I pray that I be changed into an ape." The kind-hearted sage readily
+granted his pet's wish, and the dog became an ape.
+
+Our ape was at first wild with joy. He leaped from one tree to
+another, and sucked every luscious fruit he could find. But his
+joy was short-lived. Summer came on with its drought. As a monkey
+he found it hard to drink water out of a river or of a pool; and
+he saw the wild boars splashing in the water all the day long. He
+envied their lot, and exclaimed, "O how happy those boars are! All
+day their bodies are cooled and refreshed by water. I wish I were a
+boar." Accordingly at night he recounted to the Rishi the troubles of
+the life of an ape and the pleasures of that of a boar, and begged
+of him to change him into a boar. The sage, whose kindness knew no
+bounds, complied with his pet's request, and turned him into a wild
+boar. For two whole days our boar kept his body soaking wet, and on
+the third day, as he was splashing about in his favourite element,
+whom should he see but the king of the country riding on a richly
+caparisoned elephant. The king was out hunting, and it was only by a
+lucky chance that our boar escaped being bagged. He dwelt in his own
+mind on the dangers attending the life of a wild boar, and envied the
+lot of the stately elephant who was so fortunate as to carry about
+the king of the country on his back. He longed to be an elephant,
+and at night besought the Rishi to make him one.
+
+Our elephant was roaming about in the wilderness, when he saw the king
+out hunting. The elephant went towards the king's suite with the view
+of being caught. The king, seeing the elephant at a distance, admired
+it on account of its beauty, and gave orders that it should be caught
+and tamed. Our elephant was easily caught, and taken into the royal
+stables, and was soon tamed. It so chanced that the queen expressed
+a wish to bathe in the waters of the holy Ganga. The king, who wished
+to accompany his royal consort, ordered that the newly-caught elephant
+should be brought to him. The king and queen mounted on his back. One
+would suppose that the elephant had now got his wishes, as the king
+had mounted on his back. But no. There was a fly in the ointment. The
+elephant, who looked upon himself as a lordly beast, could not brook
+the idea that a woman, though a queen, should ride on his back. He
+thought himself degraded. He jumped up so violently that both the
+king and queen fell to the ground. The king carefully picked up the
+queen, took her in his arms, asked her whether she had been much
+hurt, wiped off the dust from her clothes with his handkerchief, and
+tenderly kissed her a hundred times. Our elephant, after witnessing
+the king's caresses, scampered off to the woods as fast as his legs
+could carry him. As he ran he thought within himself thus: "After
+all, I see that a queen is the happiest of all creatures. Of what
+infinite regard is she the object! The king lifted her up, took her
+in his arms, made many tender inquiries, wiped off the dust from her
+clothes with his own royal hands, and kissed her a hundred times! O
+the happiness of being a queen! I must tell the Rishi to make me a
+queen!" So saying the elephant, after traversing the woods, went at
+sunset to the Rishi's hut, and fell prostrate on the ground at the feet
+of the holy sage. The Rishi said, "Well, what's the news? Why have
+you left the king's stud?" "What shall I say to your reverence? You
+have been very kind to me; you have granted every wish of mine. I
+have one more boon to ask, and it will be the last. By becoming an
+elephant I have got only my bulk increased, but not my happiness. I
+see that of all creatures a queen is the happiest in the world. Do,
+holy father, make me a queen." "Silly child," answered the Rishi,
+"how can I make you a queen? Where can I get a kingdom for you,
+and a royal husband to boot? All I can do is to change you into an
+exquisitely beautiful girl, possessed of charms to captivate the
+heart of a prince, if ever the gods grant you an interview with some
+great prince! "Our elephant agreed to the change; and in a moment the
+sagacious beast was transformed into a beautiful young lady, to whom
+the holy sage gave the name of Postomani, or the poppy-seed lady.
+
+Postomani lived in the Rishi's hut, and spent her time in tending
+the flowers and watering the plants. One day, as she was sitting at
+the door of the hut during the Rishi's absence, she saw a man dressed
+in a very rich garb come towards the cottage. She stood up and asked
+the stranger who he was, and what he had come there for. The stranger
+answered that he had come a-hunting in those parts, that he had been
+chasing in vain a deer, that he felt thirsty, and that he came to
+the hut of the hermit for refreshment.
+
+Postomani. Stranger, look upon this cot as your own house. I'll do
+everything I can to make you comfortable; I am only sorry we are too
+poor suitably to entertain, a man of your rank, for if I mistake not
+you are the king of this country.
+
+The king smiled. Postomani then brought out a water-pot, and made
+as if she would wash the feet of her royal guest with her own hands,
+when the king said, "Holy maid, do not touch my feet, for I am only
+a Kshatriya, and you are the daughter of a holy sage."
+
+Postomani. Noble sir, I am not the daughter of the Rishi, neither
+am I a Brahmani girl; so there can be no harm in my touching your
+feet. Besides, you are my guest, and I am bound to wash your feet.
+
+King. Forgive my impertinence. What caste do you belong to?
+
+Postomani. I have heard from the sage that my parents were Kshatriyas.
+
+King. May I ask you whether your father was a king, for your uncommon
+beauty and your stately demeanour show that you are a born princess.
+
+Postomani, without answering the question, went inside the hut,
+brought out a tray of the most delicious fruits, and set it before the
+king. The king, however, would not touch the fruits till the maid had
+answered his questions. When pressed hard Postomani gave the following
+answer: "The holy sage says that my father was a king. Having been
+overcome in battle, he, along with my mother, fled into the woods. My
+poor father was eaten up by a tiger, and my mother at that time was
+brought to bed of me, and she closed her eyes as I opened mine. Strange
+to say, there was a bee-hive on the tree at the foot of which I lay;
+drops of honey fell into my mouth and kept alive the spark of life
+till the kind Rishi found me and brought me into his hut. This is
+the simple story of the wretched girl who now stands before the king."
+
+King. Call not yourself wretched. You are the loveliest and most
+beautiful of women. You would adorn the palace of the mightiest
+sovereign.
+
+The upshot was, that the king made love to the girl and they were
+joined in marriage by the Rishi. Postomani was treated as the favourite
+queen, and the former queen was in disgrace. Postomani's happiness,
+however, was short-lived. One day as she was standing by a well,
+she became giddy, fell into the water, and died. The Rishi then
+appeared before the king and said: "O king, grieve not over the
+past. What is fixed by fate must come to pass. The queen, who has
+just been drowned, was not of royal blood. She was born a mouse; I
+then changed her successively, according to her own wish, into a cat,
+a dog, an ape, a boar, an elephant, and a beautiful girl. Now that
+she is gone, do you again take into favour your former queen. As
+for my reputed daughter, through the favour of the gods I'll make
+her name immortal. Let her body remain in the well; fill the well up
+with earth. Out of her flesh and bones will grow a tree which shall
+be called after her Posto, that is, the Poppy tree. From this tree
+will be obtained a drug called opium, which will be celebrated as a
+powerful medicine through all ages, and which will always be either
+swallowed or smoked as a wonderful narcotic to the end of time. The
+opium swallower or smoker will have one quality of each of the animals
+to which Postomani was transformed. He will be mischievous like a
+mouse, fond of milk like a cat, quarrelsome like a dog, filthy like
+an ape, savage like a boar, and high-tempered like a queen."
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+STRIKE BUT HEAR
+
+
+Once upon a time there reigned a king who had three sons. His subjects
+one day came to him and said, "O incarnation of justice! the kingdom
+is infested with thieves and robbers. Our property is not safe. We
+pray your majesty to catch hold of these thieves and punish them." The
+king said to his sons, "O my sons, I am old, but you are all in the
+prime of manhood. How is it that my kingdom is full of thieves? I
+look to you to catch hold of these thieves." The three princes then
+made up their minds to patrol the city every night. With this view
+they set up a station in the outskirts of the city, where they kept
+their horses. In the early part of the night the eldest prince rode
+upon his horse and went through the whole city, but did not see a
+single thief. He came back to the station. About midnight the second
+prince got upon his horse and rode through every part of the city,
+but he did not see or hear of a single thief. He came also back to
+the station. Some hours after midnight the youngest prince went the
+rounds, and when he came near the gate of the palace where his father
+lived, he saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace. The prince
+accosted the woman, and asked who she was and where she was going
+at that hour of the night. The woman answered, "I am Rajlakshmi,
+[23] the guardian deity of this palace. The king will be killed this
+night. I am therefore not needed here. I am going away." The prince
+did not know what to make of this message. After a moment's reflection
+he said to the goddess, "But suppose the king is not killed to-night,
+then have you any objection to return to the palace and stay there?" "I
+have no objection," replied the goddess. The prince then begged the
+goddess to go in, promising to do his best to prevent the king from
+being killed. Then the goddess entered the palace again, and in a
+moment went the prince knew not whither.
+
+The prince went straight into the bedroom of his royal father. There he
+lay immersed in deep sleep. His second and young wife, the stepmother
+of our prince, was sleeping in another bed in the room. A light
+was burning dimly. What was his surprise when the prince saw a huge
+cobra going round and round the golden bedstead on which his father
+was sleeping. The prince with his sword cut the serpent in two. Not
+satisfied with killing the cobra, he cut it up into a hundred pieces,
+and put them inside the pan dish [24] which was in the room. While the
+prince was cutting up the serpent a drop of blood fell on the breast
+of his stepmother who was sleeping hard by. The prince was in great
+distress. He said to himself, "I have saved my father but killed my
+mother." How was the drop of blood to be taken out of his mother's
+breast? He wrapped round his tongue a piece of cloth sevenfold, and
+with it licked up the drop of blood. But while he was in the act of
+doing this, his stepmother woke up, and opening her eyes saw that
+it was her stepson, the youngest prince. The young prince rushed
+out of the room. The queen, intending to ruin the youngest prince,
+whom she hated, called out to her husband, "My lord, my lord, are
+you awake? are you awake? Rouse yourself up. Here is a nice piece of
+business." The king on awaking inquired what the matter was. "The
+matter, my lord? Your worthy son, the youngest prince, of whom you
+speak so highly, was just here. I caught him in the act of touching
+my breast. Doubtless he came with a wicked intent. And this is your
+worthy son!" The king was horror-struck. The prince went to the
+station to his brothers, but told them nothing.
+
+Early in the morning the king called his eldest son to him and said,
+"If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless,
+how should he be punished?" The eldest prince replied, "Doubtless such
+a man's head should be cut off; but before you kill, you should see
+whether the man is really faithless." "What do you mean?" inquired
+the king. "Let your majesty be pleased to listen," answered the prince.
+
+"Once on a time there lived a goldsmith who had a grown-up son. And
+this son had a wife who had the rare faculty of understanding the
+language of beasts; but neither her husband nor any one else knew
+that she had this uncommon gift. One night she was lying in bed
+beside her husband in their house, which was close to a river, when
+she heard a jackal howl out, 'There goes a carcase floating on the
+river; is there any one who will take off the diamond ring from the
+finger of the dead man and give me the corpse to eat?' The woman
+understood the jackal's language, got up from bed and went to the
+river-side. The husband, who was not asleep, followed his wife at
+some distance so as not to be observed by her. The woman went into
+the water, tugged the floating corpse towards the shore, and saw the
+diamond ring on the finger. Unable to loosen it with her hand, as the
+fingers of the dead body had swelled, she bit it off with her teeth,
+and put the dead body upon land. She then went to her bed, whither
+she had been preceded by her husband. The young goldsmith lay beside
+his wife almost petrified with fear, for he concluded after what he
+saw that his wife was not a human being but a Rakshasi. He spent the
+rest of the night in tossing in his bed, and early in the morning
+spoke to his father in the following manner: 'Father, the woman whom
+thou hast given me to wife is not a real woman but a Rakshasi. Last
+night as I was lying in bed with her, I heard outside the house,
+towards the river-side, a jackal set up a fearful howl. On this she,
+thinking that I was asleep, got up from bed, opened the door, and
+went out to the river-side. Surprised to see her go out alone at
+the dead hour of night, I suspected evil and followed her, but so
+that she could not see me. What did she do, do you think? O horror of
+horrors! She went into the stream, dragged towards the shore the dead
+body of a man which was floating by, and began to eat it! I saw this
+with mine own eyes. I then returned home while she was feasting upon
+the carcase, and jumped into bed. In a few minutes she also returned,
+bolted the door, and lay beside me. O my father, how can I live with
+a Rakshasi? She will certainly kill me and eat me up one night.' The
+old goldsmith was not a little shocked to hear this account. Both
+father and son agreed that the woman should be taken into the forest
+and there left to be devoured by wild beasts. Accordingly the young
+goldsmith spoke to his wife thus: 'My dear love, you had better not
+cook much this morning; only boil rice and burn a brinjal, for I must
+take you to-day to see your father and mother, who are dying to see
+you.' At the mention of her father's house she became full of joy,
+and finished the cooking in no time. The husband and wife snatched a
+hasty breakfast and started on their journey. The way lay through a
+dense jungle, in which the goldsmith bethought himself of leaving his
+wife alone to be eaten up by wild beasts. But while they were passing
+through this jungle the woman heard a serpent hiss, the meaning of
+which hissing, as understood by her, was as follows: 'O passer-by, how
+thankful should I be to you if you would catch hold of that croaking
+frog in yonder hole, which is full of gold and precious stones,
+and give me the frog to swallow, and you take the gold and precious
+stones.' The woman forthwith made for the frog, and began digging
+the hole with a stick. The young goldsmith was now quaking with fear,
+thinking his Rakshasi-wife was about to kill him. She called out to
+him and said, 'Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold and
+these precious stones.' The goldsmith, not knowing what to make of it,
+timidly went to the place, and to his infinite surprise saw the gold
+and the precious stones. They took up as much as they could. On the
+husband's asking his wife how she came to know of the existence of all
+this riches, she said that she understood the language of animals,
+and that the snake coiled up hard by had informed her of it. The
+goldsmith, on finding out what an accomplished wife he was blessed
+with, said to her, 'My love, it has got very late to-day; it would be
+impossible to reach your father's house before nightfall, and we may
+be devoured by wild beasts in the jungle; I propose therefore that
+we both return home.' It took them a long time to reach home, for
+they were laden with a large quantity of gold and precious stones. On
+coming near the house, the goldsmith said to his wife, 'My dear, you
+go by the back door, while I go by the front door and see my father
+in his shop and show him all this gold and these precious stones.' So
+she entered the house by the back door, and the moment she entered
+she was met by the old goldsmith, who had come that minute into the
+house for some purpose with a hammer in his hand. The old goldsmith,
+when he saw his Rakshasi daughter-in-law, concluded in his mind that
+she had killed and swallowed up his son. He therefore struck her on
+the head with the hammer, and she immediately died. That moment the
+son came into the house, but it was too late. Hence it is that I told
+your majesty that before you cut off a man's head you should inquire
+whether the man is really guilty."
+
+The king then called his second son to him, and said, "If a man to
+whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless, how should he
+be punished?" The second prince replied, "Doubtless such a man's head
+should be cut off, but before you kill you should see whether the
+man is really faithless." "What do you mean?" inquired the king. "Let
+your majesty be pleased to listen," answered the prince.
+
+"Once on a time there reigned a king who was very fond of going out
+a-hunting. Once while he was out hunting his horse took him into
+a dense forest far from his followers. He rode on and on, and did
+not see either villages or towns. He became very thirsty, but he
+could see neither pond, lake, nor stream. At last he found something
+dripping from the top of a tree. Concluding it to be rain-water which
+had rested in some cavity of the tree, he stood on horseback under
+the tree and caught the dripping contents in a small cup. It was,
+however, no rain-water. A huge cobra, which was on the top of the
+tree, was dashing in rage its fangs against the tree; and its poison
+was coming out and was falling in drops. The king, however, thought
+it was rain-water; though his horse knew better. When the cup was
+nearly filled with the liquid snake-poison, and the king was about
+to drink it off, the horse, to save the life of his royal master,
+so moved about that the cup fell from the king's hand and all the
+liquid spilled about. The king became very angry with his horse,
+and with his sword gave a cut to the horse's neck, and the horse died
+immediately. Hence it is that I told your majesty that before you cut
+off a man's head you should inquire whether the man is really guilty."
+
+The king then called to him his third and youngest son, and said,
+"If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless,
+how should he be punished?" The youngest prince replied, "Doubtless
+such a man's head should be cut off, but before you kill you should
+see whether the man is really faithless." "What do you mean?" inquired
+the king. "Let your majesty be pleased to listen," answered the prince.
+
+"Once on a time there reigned a king who had in his palace a remarkable
+bird of the Suka species. One day as the Suka went out to the fields
+for an airing, he saw his dad and dam, who pressed him to come and
+spend some days with them in their nest in some far-off land. The
+Suka answered he would be very happy to come, but he could not go
+without the king's leave; he added that he would speak to the king
+that very day, and would be ready to go the following morning if his
+dad and dam would come to that very spot. The Suka spoke to the king,
+and the king gave leave with reluctance as he was very fond of the
+bird. So the next morning the Suka met his dad and dam at the place
+appointed, and went with them to his paternal nest on the top of some
+high tree in a far-off land. The three birds lived happily together
+for a fortnight, at the end of which period the Suka said to his
+dad and dam, 'My beloved parents, the king granted me leave only
+for a fortnight, and to-day the fortnight is over: to-morrow I must
+start for the city of the king.' His dad and dam readily agreed to the
+reasonable proposal, and told him to take a present to the king. After
+laying their heads together for some time they agreed that the present
+should be a fruit of the tree of Immortality. So early next morning
+the Suka plucked a fruit off the tree of Immortality, and carefully
+catching it in his beak, started on his aerial journey. As he had a
+heavy weight to carry, the Suka was not able to reach the city of
+the king that day, and was benighted on the road. He took shelter
+in a tree, and was at a loss to know where to keep the fruit. If
+he kept it in his beak it was sure, he thought, to fall out when he
+fell asleep. Fortunately he saw a hole in the trunk of the tree in
+which he had taken shelter, and accordingly put the fruit in it. It
+so happened that in that hole there was a snake; in the course of the
+night the snake darted its fangs on the fruit, and thus besmeared it
+with its poison. Early before crow-cawing the Suka, suspecting nothing,
+took up the fruit of Immortality in its beak, and began his aerial
+voyage. The Suka reached the palace while the king was sitting with
+his ministers. The king was delighted to see his pet bird come again,
+and greatly admired the beautiful fruit which the Suka had brought as
+a present. The fruit was very fair to look at; it was the loveliest
+fruit in all the earth; and as its name implies it makes the eater
+of it immortal. The king was going to eat it, but his courtiers said
+that it was not advisable for the king to eat it, as it might be a
+poisonous fruit. He accordingly threw it to a crow which was perched
+on the wall; the crow ate a part of it; but in a moment the crow fell
+down and died. The king, imagining that the Suka had intended to take
+away his life, took hold of the bird and killed it. The king ordered
+the stone of the deadly fruit, as it was thought to be, to be planted
+in a garden outside the city. The stone in course of time became
+a large tree bearing lovely fruit. The king ordered a fence to be
+put round the tree, and placed a guard lest people should eat of the
+fruit and die. There lived in that city an old Brahman and his wife,
+who used to live upon charity. The Brahman one day mourned his hard
+lot, and told his wife that instead of leading the wretched life of
+a beggar he would eat the fruit of the poisonous tree in the king's
+garden and thus end his days. So that very night he got up from his
+bed in order to get into the king's garden. His wife, suspecting her
+husband's intention, followed him, resolved also to eat of the fruit
+and die with her husband. As at that dead hour of night the guard
+was asleep, the old Brahman plucked a fruit and ate it. The woman
+said to her husband, 'If you die what is the use of my life? I'll
+also eat and die.' So saying she plucked a fruit and ate it. Thinking
+that the poison would take some time to produce its due effect, they
+both went home and lay in bed, supposing that they would never rise
+again. To their infinite surprise next morning they found themselves
+to be not only alive, but young and vigorous. Their neighbours could
+scarcely recognise them--they had become so changed. The old Brahman
+had become handsome and vigorous, no grey hairs, no wrinkles on his
+cheeks; and as for his wife, she had become as beautiful as any lady
+in the king's household. The king, hearing of this wonderful change,
+sent for the old Brahman, who told him all the circumstances. The
+king then greatly lamented the sad fate of his pet bird, and blamed
+himself for having killed it without fully inquiring into the case.
+
+"Hence it is," continued the youngest prince, "that I told your majesty
+that before you cut off a man's head you should inquire whether the
+man is really guilty. I know your majesty thinks that last night
+I entered your chamber with wicked intent. Be pleased to hear me
+before you strike. Last night as I was on my rounds I saw a female
+figure come out of the palace. On challenging her she said that she
+was Rajlakshmi, the guardian deity of the palace; and that she was
+leaving the palace as the king would be killed that night. I told her
+to come in, and that I would prevent the king from being killed. I
+went straight into your bedroom, and saw a large cobra going round
+and round your golden bedstead. I killed the cobra, cut it up into a
+hundred pieces, and put them in the pan dish. But while I was cutting
+up the snake, a drop of its blood fell on the breast of my mother;
+and then I thought that while I had saved my father I had killed
+my mother. I wrapped round my tongue a piece of cloth sevenfold
+and licked up the drop of blood. While I was licking up the blood,
+my mother opened her eyes and noticed me. This is what I have done;
+now cut off my head if your majesty wishes it."
+
+The king filled with joy and gratitude embraced his son, and from
+that time loved him more even than he had loved him before.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF TWO THIEVES AND OF THEIR SONS
+
+
+PART I
+
+Once on a time there lived two thieves in a village who earned their
+livelihood by stealing. As they were well-known thieves, every act
+of theft in the village was ascribed to them whether they committed
+it or not; they therefore left the village, and, being resolved to
+support themselves by honest labour, went to a neighbouring town for
+service. Both of them were engaged by a householder; the one had to
+tend a cow, and the other to water a champaka plant. The elder thief
+began watering the plant early in the morning, and as he had been
+told to go on pouring water till some of it collected itself round
+the foot of the plant he went on pouring bucketful after bucketful:
+but to no purpose. No sooner was the water poured on the foot of the
+plant than it was forthwith sucked up by the thirsty earth; and it
+was late in the afternoon when the thief, tired with drawing water,
+laid himself down on the ground, and fell asleep. The younger thief
+fared no better. The cow which he had to tend was the most vicious
+in the whole country. When taken out of the village for pasturage it
+galloped away to a great distance with its tail erect; it ran from one
+paddy-field to another, and ate the corn and trod upon it; it entered
+into sugar-cane plantations and destroyed the sweet cane;--for all
+which damage and acts of trespass the neat-herd was soundly rated by
+the owners of the fields. What with running after the cow from field
+to field, from pool to pool; what with the abusive language poured
+not only upon him, but upon his forefathers up to the fourteenth
+generation, by the owners of the fields in which the corn had been
+destroyed,--the younger thief had a miserable day of it. After a
+world of trouble he succeeded about sunset in catching hold of the
+cow, which he brought back to the house of his master. The elder
+thief had just roused himself from sleep when he saw the younger one
+bringing in the cow. Then the elder said to the younger--"Brother,
+why are you so late in coming from the fields?"
+
+Younger. What shall I say, brother? I took the cow to that part of the
+meadow where there is a tank, near which there is a large tree. I let
+the cow loose, and it began to graze about without giving the least
+trouble. I spread my gamchha [25] upon the grass under the tree;
+and there was such a delicious breeze that I soon fell asleep, and
+I did not wake till after sunset; and when I awoke I saw my good cow
+grazing contentedly at the distance of a few paces. But how did you
+fare, brother?
+
+Elder. Oh, as for me, I had a jolly time of it. I had poured only
+one bucketful of water on the plant, when a large quantity rested
+round it. So my work was done, and I had the whole day to myself. I
+laid myself down on the ground; I meditated on the joys of this new
+mode of life; I whistled; I sang; and at last fell asleep. And I am
+up only this moment.
+
+When this talk was ended, the elder thief, believing that what the
+younger thief had said was true, thought that tending the cow was more
+comfortable than watering the plant; and the younger thief, for the
+same reason, thought that watering the plant was more comfortable
+than tending the cow: each therefore resolved to exchange his own
+work for that of the other.
+
+Elder. Well, brother, I have a wish to tend the cow. Suppose to-morrow
+you take my work, and I yours. Have you any objection?
+
+Younger. Not the slightest, brother. I shall be glad to take up your
+work, and you are quite welcome to take up mine. Only let me give
+you a bit of advice. I felt it rather uncomfortable to sleep nearly
+the whole of the day on the bare ground. If you take a charpoy [26]
+with you, you will have a merry time of it.
+
+Early the following morning the elder thief went out with the cow to
+the fields, not forgetting to take with him a charpoy for his ease and
+comfort; and the younger thief began watering the plant. The latter
+had thought that one bucketful, or at the outside two bucketfuls,
+of water would be enough. But what was his surprise when he found
+that even a hundred bucketfuls were not sufficient to saturate the
+ground around the roots of the plant. He was dead tired with drawing
+water. The sun was almost going down, and yet his work was not over. At
+last he gave it up through sheer weariness.
+
+The elder thief in the fields was in no better case. He took the
+cow beside the tank which the younger thief had spoken of, put his
+charpoy under the large tree hard by, and then let the cow loose. As
+soon as the cow was let loose it went scampering about in the meadow,
+jumping over hedges and ditches, running through paddy-fields, and
+injuring sugar-cane plantations. The elder thief was not a little
+put about. He had to run about the whole day, and to be insulted by
+the people whose fields had been trespassed upon. But the worst of
+it was, that our thief had to run about the meadow with the charpoy
+on his head, for he could not put it anywhere for fear it should be
+taken away. When the other neat-herds who were in the meadow saw the
+elder thief running about in breathless haste after the cow with the
+charpoy on his head, they clapped their hands and raised shouts of
+derision. The poor fellow, hungry and angry, bitterly repented of
+the exchange he had made. After infinite trouble, and with the help
+of the other neat-herds, he at last caught hold of the precious cow,
+and brought it home long after the village lamps had been lit.
+
+When the two thieves met in the house of their master, they merely
+laughed at each other without speaking a word. Their dinner over,
+they laid themselves to rest, when there took place the following
+conversation:--
+
+Younger. Well, how did you fare, brother?
+
+Elder. Just as you fared, and perhaps some degrees better.
+
+Younger. I am of opinion that our former trade of thieving was
+infinitely preferable to this sort of honest labour, as people call it.
+
+Elder. What doubt is there of that? But, by the gods, I have never
+seen a cow which can be compared to this. It has no second in the
+world in point of viciousness.
+
+Younger. A vicious cow is not a rare thing. I have seen some cows
+as vicious. But have you ever seen a plant like this champaka plant
+which you were told to water? I wonder what becomes of all the water
+that is poured round about it. Is there a tank below its roots?
+
+Elder. I have a good mind to dig round it and see what is beneath it.
+
+Younger. We had better do so this night when the good man of the
+house and his wife are asleep.
+
+At about midnight the two thieves took spades and shovels and began
+digging round the plant. After digging a good deal the younger thief
+lighted upon some hard thing against which the shovel struck. The
+curiosity of both was excited. The younger thief saw that it was
+a large jar; he thrust his hand into it and found that it was full
+of gold mohurs. But he said to the elder thief--"Oh, it is nothing;
+it is only a large stone." The elder thief, however, suspected that
+it was something else; but he took care not to give vent to his
+suspicion. Both agreed to give up digging as they had found nothing;
+and they went to sleep. An hour or two after, when the elder thief
+saw that the younger thief was asleep, he quietly got up and went
+to the spot which had been digged. He saw the jar filled with gold
+mohurs. Digging a little near it, he found another jar also filled
+with gold mohurs. Overjoyed to find the treasure, he resolved to secure
+it. He took up both the jars, went to the tank which was near, and from
+which water used to be drawn for the plant, and buried them in the mud
+of its bank. He then returned to the house, and quietly laid himself
+down beside the younger thief, who was then fast asleep. The younger
+thief, who had first found the jar of gold mohurs, now woke, and softly
+stealing out of bed, went to secure the treasure he had seen. On going
+to the spot he did not see any jar; he therefore naturally thought
+that his companion the elder thief had secreted it somewhere. He went
+to his sleeping partner, with a view to discover if possible by any
+marks on his body the place where the treasure had been hidden. He
+examined the person of his friend with the eye of a detective, and
+saw mud on his feet and near the ankles. He immediately concluded
+the treasure must have been concealed somewhere in the tank. But in
+what part of the tank? on which bank? His ingenuity did not forsake
+him here. He walked round all the four banks of the tank. When he
+walked round three sides, the frogs on them jumped into the water;
+but no frogs jumped from the fourth bank. He therefore concluded that
+the treasure must have been buried on the fourth bank. In a little
+he found the two jars filled with gold mohurs; he took them up, and
+going into the cow-house brought out the vicious cow he had tended,
+and put the two jars on its back. He left the house and started for
+his native village.
+
+When the elder thief at crow-cawing got up from sleep, he was surprised
+not to find his companion beside him. He hastened to the tank and
+found that the jars were not there. He went to the cow-house, and did
+not see the vicious cow. He immediately concluded the younger thief
+must have run away with the treasure on the back of the cow. And where
+could he think of going? He must be going to his native village. No
+sooner did this process of reasoning pass through his mind than he
+resolved forthwith to set out and overtake the younger thief. As
+he passed through the town, he invested all the money he had in a
+costly pair of shoes covered with gold lace. He walked very fast,
+avoiding the public road and making short cuts. He descried the
+younger thief trudging on slowly with his cow. He went before him
+in the highway about a distance of 200 yards, and threw down on the
+road one shoe. He walked on another 200 yards and threw the other
+shoe at a place near which was a large tree; amid the thick leaves of
+that tree he hid himself. The younger thief coming along the public
+road saw the first shoe and said to himself--"What a beautiful shoe
+that is! It is of gold lace. It would have suited me in my present
+circumstances now that I have got rich. But what shall I do with one
+shoe?" So he passed on. In a short time he came to the place where
+the other shoe was lying. The younger thief said within himself--"Ah,
+here is the other shoe! What a fool I was, that I did not pick up
+the one I first saw! However it is not too late. I'll tie the cow to
+yonder tree and go for the other shoe." He tied the cow to the tree,
+and taking up the second shoe went for the first, lying at a distance
+of about 200 yards. In the meantime the elder thief got down from
+the tree, loosened the cow, and drove it towards his native village,
+avoiding the king's highway. The younger thief on returning to the
+tree found that the cow was gone. He of course concluded that it
+could have been done only by the elder thief. He walked as fast as
+his legs could carry him, and reached his native village long before
+the elder thief with the cow. He hid himself near the door of the
+elder thief's house. The moment the elder thief arrived with the
+cow, the younger thief accosted him, saying--"So you are come safe,
+brother. Let us go in and divide the money." To this proposal the
+elder thief readily agreed. In the inner yard of the house the two
+jars were taken down from the back of the cow; they went to a room,
+bolted the door, and began dividing. Two mohurs were taken up by
+the hand, one was put in one place, and the other in another; and
+they went on doing that till the jars became empty. But last of all
+one gold mohur remained. The question was--Who was to take it? Both
+agreed that it should be changed the next morning, and the silver cash
+equally divided. But with whom was the single mohur to remain? There
+was not a little wrangling about the matter. After a great deal of yea
+and nay, it was settled that it should remain with the elder thief,
+and that next morning it should be changed and equally divided.
+
+At night the elder thief said to his wife and the other women of
+the house, "Look here, ladies, the younger thief will come to-morrow
+morning to demand the share of the remaining gold mohur; but I don't
+mean to give it to him. You do one thing to-morrow. Spread a cloth on
+the ground in the yard. I will lay myself on the cloth pretending to
+be dead; and to convince people that I am dead, put a tulasi [27]
+plant near my head. And when you see the younger thief coming to
+the door, you set up a loud cry and lamentation. Then he will of
+course go away, and I shall not have to pay his share of the gold
+mohur." To this proposal the women readily agreed. Accordingly the
+next day, about noon, the elder thief laid himself down in the yard
+like a corpse with the sacred basil near his head. When the younger
+thief was seen coming near the house, the women set up a loud cry,
+and when he came nearer and nearer, wondering what it all meant,
+they said, "Oh, where did you both go? What did you bring? What
+did you do to him? Look, he is dead!" So saying they rent the air
+with their cries. The younger thief, seeing through the whole, said,
+"Well, I am sorry my friend and brother is gone. I must now attend to
+his funeral. You all go away from this place, you are but women. I'll
+see to it that the remains are well burnt." He brought a quantity of
+straw and twisted it into a rope, which he fastened to the legs of the
+deceased man, and began tugging him, saying that he was going to take
+him to the place of burning. While the elder thief was being dragged
+through the streets, his body was getting dreadfully scratched and
+bruised, but he held his peace, being resolved to act his part out,
+and thus escape giving the share of the gold mohur. The sun had
+gone down when the younger thief with the corpse reached the place
+of burning. But as he was making preparations for a funeral pile,
+he remembered that he had not brought fire with him. If he went
+for fire leaving the elder thief behind, he would undoubtedly run
+away. What then was to be done? At last he tied the straw rope to the
+branch of a tree, and kept the pretended corpse hanging in the air,
+and he himself climbed into the tree and sat on that branch, keeping
+tight hold of the rope lest it should break, and the elder thief run
+away. While they were in this state, a gang of robbers passed by. On
+seeing the corpse hanging, the head of the gang said, "This raid of
+ours has begun very auspiciously. Brahmans and Pandits say that if
+on starting on a journey one sees a corpse, it is a good omen. Well,
+we have seen a corpse, it is therefore likely that we shall meet with
+success this night. If we do, I propose one thing: on our return let
+us first burn this dead body and then return home." All the robbers
+agreed to this proposal. The robbers then entered into the house of
+a rich man in the village, put its inmates to the sword, robbed it of
+all its treasures, and withal managed it so cleverly that not a mouse
+stirred in the village. As they were successful beyond measure, they
+resolved on their return to burn the dead body they had seen. When they
+came to the place of burning they found the corpse hanging as before,
+for the elder thief had not yet opened his mouth lest he should be
+obliged to give half of the gold mohur. The thieves dug a hollow
+in the ground, brought fuel, and laid it upon the hollow. They took
+down the corpse from the tree, and laid it upon the pile; and as they
+were going to set it on fire, the corpse gave out an unearthly scream
+and jumped up. That very moment the younger thief jumped down from
+the tree with a similar scream. The robbers were frightened beyond
+measure. They thought that a Dana (evil spirit) had possessed the
+corpse, and that a ghost jumped down from the tree. They ran away in
+great fear, leaving behind them the money and the jewels which they had
+obtained by robbery. The two thieves laughed heartily, took up all the
+riches of the robbers, went home, and lived merrily for a long time.
+
+
+
+
+PART II
+
+The elder thief and the younger thief had one son each. As they had
+been so far successful in life by practising the art of thieving, they
+resolved to train up their sons to the same profession. There was in
+the village a Professor of the Science of Roguery, who took pupils,
+and gave them lessons in that difficult science. The two thieves
+put their sons under this renowned Professor. The son of the elder
+thief distinguished himself very much, and bade fair to surpass his
+father in the art of stealing. The lad's cleverness was tested in the
+following manner. Not far from the Professor's house there lived a
+poor man in a hut, upon the thatch of which climbed a creeper of the
+gourd kind. In the middle of the thatch, which was also its topmost
+part, there was a splendid gourd, which the man and his wife watched
+day and night. They certainly slept at night, but then the thatch was
+so old and rickety that if even a mouse went up to it bits of straw
+and particles of earth used to fall inside the hut, and the man and
+his wife slept right below the spot where the gourd was; so that it
+was next to impossible to steal the gourd without the knowledge of
+its owners. The Professor said to his pupils--for he had many--that
+any one who stole the gourd without being caught would be pronounced
+the dux of the school. Our elder thief's son at once accepted the
+offer. He said he would steal away the gourd if he were allowed the use
+of three things, namely, a string, a cat, and a knife. The Professor
+allowed him the use of these three things. Two or three hours after
+nightfall, the lad, furnished with the three things mentioned above,
+sat behind the thatch under the eaves, listening to the conversation
+carried on by the man and his wife lying in bed inside the hut. In
+a short time the conversation ceased. The lad then concluded that
+they must both have fallen asleep. He waited half an hour longer,
+and hearing no sound inside, gently climbed up on the thatch. Chips of
+straw and particles of earth fell upon the couple sleeping inside. The
+woman woke up, and rousing her husband said, "Look there, some one is
+stealing the gourd!" That moment the lad squeezed the throat of the
+cat, and puss immediately gave out her usual "Mew! mew! mew!" The
+husband said, "Don't you hear the cat mewing? There is no thief;
+it is only a cat." The lad in the meantime cut the gourd from the
+plant with his knife, and tied the string which he had with him to
+its stalk. But how was he to get down without being discovered and
+caught, especially as the man and the woman were now awake? The woman
+was not convinced that it was only a cat; the shaking of the thatch,
+and the constant falling of bits of straw and particles of dust, made
+her think that it was a human being that was upon the thatch. She was
+telling her husband to go out and see whether a man was not there;
+but he maintained that it was only a cat. While the man and woman
+were thus disputing with each other, the lad with great force threw
+down the cat upon the ground, on which the poor animal purred most
+vociferously; and the man said aloud to his wife, "There it is; you
+are now convinced that it was only a cat." In the meantime, during
+the confusion created by the clamour of the cat and the loud talk
+of the man, the lad quietly came down from the thatch with the gourd
+tied to the string. Next morning the lad produced the gourd before his
+teacher, and described to him and to his admiring comrades the manner
+in which he had committed the theft. The Professor was in ecstasy,
+and remarked, "The worthy son of a worthy father." But the elder
+thief, the father of our hopeful genius, was by no means satisfied
+that his son was as yet fit to enter the world. He wanted to prove
+him still further. Addressing his son he said, "My son, if you can
+do what I tell you, I'll think you fit to enter the world. If you
+can steal the gold chain of the queen of this country from her neck,
+and bring it to me, I'll think you fit to enter the world." The gifted
+son readily agreed to do the daring deed.
+
+The young thief--for so we shall now call the son of the elder
+thief--made a reconnaissance of the palace in which the king and queen
+lived. He reconnoitred all the four gates, and all the outer and inner
+walls as far as he could; and gathered incidentally a good deal of
+information, from people living in the neighbourhood, regarding the
+habits of the king and queen, in what part of the palace they slept,
+what guards there were near the bedchamber, and who, if any, slept
+in the antechamber. Armed with all this knowledge the young thief
+fixed upon one dark night for doing the daring deed. He took with
+him a sword, a hammer and some large nails, and put on very dark
+clothes. Thus accoutred he went prowling about the Lion gate of the
+palace. Before the zenana [28] could be got at, four doors, including
+the Lion gate, had to be passed; and each of these doors had a guard
+of sixteen stalwart men. The same men, however, did not remain all
+night at their post. As the king had an infinite number of soldiers
+at his command, the guards at the doors were relieved every hour; so
+that once every hour at each door there were thirty-two men present,
+consisting of the relieving party and of the relieved. The young thief
+chose that particular moment of time for entering each of the four
+doors. At the time of relief when he saw the Lion gate crowded with
+thirty-two men, he joined the crowd without being taken notice of; he
+then spent the hour preceding the next relief in the large open space
+and garden between two doors; and he could not be taken notice of, as
+the night as well as his clothes was pitch dark. In a similar manner
+he passed the second door, the third door, and the fourth door. And
+now the queen's bedchamber stared him in the face. It was in the third
+loft; there was a bright light in it; and a low voice was heard as
+that of a woman saying something in a humdrum manner. The young thief
+thought that the voice must be the voice of a maid-servant reciting
+a story, as he had learnt was the custom in the palace every night,
+for composing the king and queen to sleep. But how to get up into the
+third loft? The inner doors were all closed, and there were guards
+everywhere. But the young thief had with him nails and a hammer: why
+not drive the nails into the wall and climb up by them? True; but the
+driving of nails into the wall would make a great noise which would
+rouse the guards, and possibly the king and queen,--at any rate the
+maid-servant reciting stories would give the alarm. Our erratic genius
+had considered that matter well before engaging in the work. There is
+a water-clock in the palace which shows the hours; and at the end of
+every hour a very large Chinese gong is struck, the sound of which
+is so loud that it is not only heard all over the palace, but over
+most part of the city; and the peculiarity of the gong, as of every
+Chinese gong, was that nearly one minute must elapse after the first
+stroke before the second stroke could be made, to allow the gong to
+give out the whole of its sound. The thief fixed upon the minutes
+when the gong was struck at the end of every hour for driving nails
+into the wall. At ten o'clock when the gong was struck ten times, the
+thief found it easy to drive ten nails into the wall. When the gong
+stopped, the thief also stopped, and either sat or stood quiet on the
+ninth nail catching hold of the tenth which was above the other. At
+eleven o'clock he drove into the wall in a similar manner eleven nails,
+and got a little higher than the second story; and by twelve o'clock
+he was in the loft where the royal bedchamber was. Peeping in he saw
+a drowsy maid-servant drowsily reciting a story, and the king and
+queen apparently asleep. He went stealthily behind the story-telling
+maid-servant and took his seat. The queen was lying down on a richly
+furnished bedstead of gold beside the king. The massive chain of gold
+round the neck of the queen was gleaming in candle-light. The thief
+quietly listened to the story of the drowsy maid-servant. She was
+becoming more and more sleepy. She stopped for a second, nodded her
+head, and again resumed the story. It was plain she was under the
+influence of sleep. In a moment the thief cut off the head of the
+maid-servant with his sword, and himself went on reciting for some
+minutes the story which the woman was telling. The king and queen were
+unconscious of any change as to the person of the story-teller, for
+they were both in deep sleep. He stripped the murdered woman of her
+clothes, put them on himself, tied up his own clothes in a bundle,
+and walking softly, gently took off the chain from the neck of the
+queen. He then went through the rooms down stairs, ordered the inner
+guard to open the door, as she was obliged to go out of the palace
+for purposes of necessity. The guards, seeing that it was the queen's
+maid-servant, readily allowed her to go out. In the same manner, and
+with the same pretext, he got through the other doors, and at last
+out into the street. That very night, or rather morning, the young
+thief put into his father's hand the gold chain of the queen. The
+elder thief could scarcely believe his own eyes. It was so like a
+dream. His joy knew no bounds. Addressing his son he said--"Well done,
+my son; you are not only as clever as your father, but you have beaten
+me hollow. The gods give you long life, my son."
+
+Next morning when the king and queen got up from bed, they were
+shocked to see the maid-servant lying in a pool of blood. The queen
+also found that her gold chain was not round her neck. They could not
+make out how all this could have taken place. How could any thief
+manage to elude the vigilance of so many guards? How could he get
+into the queen's bedchamber? And how could he again escape? The king
+found from the reports of the guards that a person calling herself
+the royal maid-servant had gone out of the palace some hours before
+dawn. All sorts of inquiries were made, but in vain. Proclamation
+was made in the city; a large reward was offered to any one who
+would give information tending to the apprehension of the thief and
+murderer. But no one responded to the call. At last the king ordered
+a camel to be brought to him. On the back of the animal was placed
+two large bags filled with gold mohurs. The man taking charge of the
+bags upon the camel was ordered to go through every part of the city
+making the following challenge:--"As the thief was daring enough to
+steal away a gold chain from the neck of the queen, let him further
+show his daring by stealing the gold mohurs from the back of this
+camel." Two days and nights the camel paraded through the city, but
+nothing happened. On the third night as the camel-driver was going
+his rounds he was accosted by a sannyasi, [29] who sat on a tiger's
+skin before a fire, and near whom was a monstrous pair of tongs. This
+sannyasi was no other than the young thief in disguise. The sannyasi
+said to the camel-driver--"Brother, why are you going through the city
+in this manner? Who is there so daring as to steal from the back of the
+king's camel? Come down, friend, and smoke with me." The camel-driver
+alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began smoking. The
+mendicant supplied him not only with tobacco, but with ganja and other
+intoxicating drugs, so that in a short time the camel-driver became
+quite intoxicated and fell asleep. The young thief led away the camel
+with the treasure on its back in the dead of night, through narrow
+lanes and bye-paths to his own house. That very night the camel was
+killed, and its carcase buried in deep pits in the earth, and the
+thing was so managed that no one could discover any trace of it.
+
+The next morning when the king heard that the camel-driver was
+lying drunk in the street, and that the camel had been made away
+with together with the treasure, he was almost beside himself with
+anger. Proclamation was made in the city to the effect that whoever
+caught the thief would get the reward of a lakh of rupees. The son of
+the younger thief--who, by the way, was in the same school of roguery
+with the son of the elder thief, though he did not distinguish himself
+so much--now came to the front and said that he would apprehend the
+thief. He of course suspected that the son of the elder thief must
+have done it--for who so daring and clever as he? In the evening of
+the following day the son of the younger thief disguised himself as a
+woman, and coming to that part of the town where the young thief lived,
+began to weep very much, and went from door to door saying--"O sirs,
+can any of you give me a bit of camel's flesh, for my son is dying,
+and the doctors say nothing but eating camel's meat can save his
+life. O for pity's sake, do give me a bit of camel's flesh." At last
+he went to the house of the young thief, and begged of the wife--for
+the young thief himself was out--to tell him where he could get hold
+of camel's flesh, as his son would assuredly perish if it could not
+be got. Saying this he rent the air with his cries, and fell down at
+the feet of the young thief's wife. Woman as she was, though the wife
+of a thief, she felt pity for the supposed woman, and said--"Wait,
+and I will try and get some camel's flesh for your son." So saying,
+she secretly went to the spot where the dead camel had been buried,
+brought a small quantity of flesh, and gave it to the party. The son
+of the younger thief was now entranced with joy. He went and told the
+king that he had succeeded in tracing the thief, and would be ready to
+deliver him up at night if the king would send some constables with
+him. At night the elder thief and his son were captured, the body
+of the camel dug out, and all the treasures in the house seized. The
+following morning the king sat in judgment. The son of the elder thief
+confessed that he had stolen the queen's gold chain, and killed the
+maid-servant, and had taken away the camel; but he added that the
+person who had detected him and his father--the younger thief--were
+also thieves and murderers, of which fact he gave undoubted proofs. As
+the king had promised to give a lakh of rupees to the detective, that
+sum was placed before the son of the younger thief. But soon after he
+ordered four pits to be dug in the earth in which were buried alive,
+with all sorts of thorns and thistles, the elder thief and the younger
+thief, and their two sons.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE GHOST-BRAHMAN
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman, who not being a Kulin,
+found it the hardest thing in the world to get married. He went to
+rich people and begged of them to give him money that he might marry a
+wife. And a large sum of money was needed, not so much for the expenses
+of the wedding, as for giving to the parents of the bride. He begged
+from door to door, flattered many rich folk, and at last succeeded in
+scraping together the sum needed. The wedding took place in due time;
+and he brought home his wife to his mother. After a short time he said
+to his mother--"Mother, I have no means to support you and my wife; I
+must therefore go to distant countries to get money somehow or other. I
+may be away for years, for I won't return till I get a good sum. In
+the meantime I'll give you what I have; you make the best of it, and
+take care of my wife." The Brahman receiving his mother's blessing set
+out on his travels. In the evening of that very day, a ghost assuming
+the exact appearance of the Brahman came into the house. The newly
+married woman, thinking it was her husband, said to him--"How is it
+that you have returned so soon? You said you might be away for years;
+why have you changed your mind?" The ghost said--"To-day is not a
+lucky day, I have therefore returned home; besides, I have already
+got some money." The mother did not doubt but that it was her son. So
+the ghost lived in the house as if he was its owner, and as if he was
+the son of the old woman and the husband of the young woman. As the
+ghost and the Brahman were exactly like each other in everything, like
+two peas, the people in the neighbourhood all thought that the ghost
+was the real Brahman. After some years the Brahman returned from his
+travels; and what was his surprise when he found another like him in
+the house. The ghost said to the Brahman--"Who are you? what business
+have you to come to my house?" "Who am I?" replied the Brahman, "let
+me ask who you are. This is my house; that is my mother, and this
+is my wife." The ghost said--"Why herein is a strange thing. Every
+one knows that this is my house, that is my wife, and yonder is
+my mother; and I have lived here for years. And you pretend this
+is your house, and that woman is your wife. Your head must have got
+turned, Brahman." So saying the ghost drove away the Brahman from his
+house. The Brahman became mute with wonder. He did not know what to
+do. At last he bethought himself of going to the king and of laying
+his case before him. The king saw the ghost-Brahman as well as the
+Brahman, and the one was the picture of the other; so he was in a
+fix, and did not know how to decide the quarrel. Day after day the
+Brahman went to the king and besought him to give him back his house,
+his wife, and his mother; and the king, not knowing what to say every
+time, put him off to the following day. Every day the king tells him
+to--"Come to-morrow"; and every day the Brahman goes away from the
+palace weeping and striking his forehead with the palm of his hand,
+and saying--"What a wicked world this is! I am driven from my own
+house, and another fellow has taken possession of my house and of my
+wife! And what a king this is! He does not do justice."
+
+Now, it came to pass that as the Brahman went away every day from
+the court outside the town, he passed a spot at which a great
+many cowboys used to play. They let the cows graze on the meadow,
+while they themselves met together under a large tree to play. And
+they played at royalty. One cowboy was elected king; another, prime
+minister or vizier; another, kotwal, or prefect of the police; and
+others, constables. Every day for several days together they saw
+the Brahman passing by weeping. One day the cowboy king asked his
+vizier whether he knew why the Brahman wept every day. On the vizier
+not being able to answer the question, the cowboy king ordered one of
+his constables to bring the Brahman to him. One of them went and said
+to the Brahman--"The king requires your immediate attendance." The
+Brahman replied--"What for? I have just come from the king, and he
+put me off till to-morrow. Why does he want me again?" "It is our king
+that wants you--our neat-herd king," rejoined the constable. "Who is
+neat-herd king?" asked the Brahman. "Come and see," was the reply. The
+neat-herd king then asked the Brahman why he every day went away
+weeping. The Brahman then told him his sad story. The neat-herd king,
+after hearing the whole, said, "I understand your case; I will give
+you again all your rights. Only go to the king and ask his permission
+for me to decide your case." The Brahman went back to the king of the
+country, and begged his Majesty to send his case to the neat-herd king,
+who had offered to decide it. The king, whom the case had greatly
+puzzled, granted the permission sought. The following morning was
+fixed for the trial. The neat-herd king, who saw through the whole,
+brought with him next day a phial with a narrow neck. The Brahman
+and the ghost-Brahman both appeared at the bar. After a great deal
+of examination of witnesses and of speech-making, the neat-herd king
+said--"Well, I have heard enough. I'll decide the case at once. Here
+is this phial. Whichever of you will enter into it shall be declared
+by the court to be the rightful owner of the house the title of
+which is in dispute. Now, let me see, which of you will enter." The
+Brahman said--"You are a neat-herd, and your intellect is that of
+a neat-herd. What man can enter into such a small phial?" "If you
+cannot enter," said the neat-herd king, "then you are not the rightful
+owner. What do you say, sir, to this?" turning to the ghost-Brahman
+and addressing him. "If you can enter into the phial, then the
+house and the wife and the mother become yours." "Of course I will
+enter," said the ghost. And true to his word, to the wonder of all,
+he made himself into a small creature like an insect, and entered
+into the phial. The neat-herd king forthwith corked up the phial,
+and the ghost could not get out. Then, addressing the Brahman, the
+neat-herd king said, "Throw this phial into the bottom of the sea,
+and take possession of your house, wife, and mother." The Brahman
+did so, and lived happily for many years and begat sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+THE MAN WHO WISHED TO BE PERFECT
+
+
+Once on a time a religious mendicant came to a king who had no issue,
+and said to him, "As you are anxious to have a son, I can give to the
+queen a drug, by swallowing which she will give birth to twin sons;
+but I will give the medicine on this condition, that of those twins you
+will give one to me, and keep the other yourself." The king thought
+the condition somewhat hard, but as he was anxious to have a son to
+bear his name, and inherit his wealth and kingdom, he at last agreed
+to the terms. Accordingly the queen swallowed the drug, and in due
+time gave birth to two sons. The twin brothers became one year old,
+two years old, three years old, four years old, five years old, and
+still the mendicant did not appear to claim his share; the king and
+queen therefore thought that the mendicant, who was old, was dead, and
+dismissed all fears from their minds. But the mendicant was not dead,
+but living; he was counting the years carefully. The young princes
+were put under tutors, and made rapid progress in learning, as well
+as in the arts of riding and shooting with the bow; and as they were
+uncommonly handsome, they were admired by all the people. When the
+princes were sixteen years old the mendicant made his appearance at the
+palace gate, and demanded the fulfilment of the king's promise. The
+hearts of the king and of the queen were dried up within them. They
+had thought that the mendicant was no more in the land of the living;
+but what was their surprise when they saw him standing at the gate
+in flesh and blood, and demanding one of the young princes for
+himself? The king and queen were plunged into a sea of grief. There
+was nothing for it, however, but to part with one of the princes;
+for the mendicant might by his curse turn into ashes not only both
+the princes, but also the king, queen, palace, and the whole of the
+kingdom to boot. But which one was to be given away? The one was as
+dear as the other. A fearful struggle arose in the hearts of the king
+and queen. As for the young princes, each of them said, "I'll go,"
+"I'll go." The younger one said to the elder, "You are older, if
+only by a few minutes; you are the pride of my father; you remain
+at home, I'll go with the mendicant." The elder said to the younger,
+"You are younger than I am; you are the joy of my mother; you remain
+at home, I'll go with the mendicant." After a great deal of yea and
+nay, after a great deal of mourning and lamentation, after the queen
+had wetted her clothes with her tears, the elder prince was let go
+with the mendicant. But before the prince left his father's roof he
+planted with his own hands a tree in the courtyard of the palace, and
+said to his parents and brother, "This tree is my life. When you see
+the tree green and fresh, then know that it is well with me; when you
+see the tree fade in some parts, then know that I am in an ill case;
+and when you see the whole tree fade, then know that I am dead and
+gone." Then kissing and embracing the king and queen and his brother,
+he followed the mendicant.
+
+As the mendicant and the prince were wending their way towards the
+forest they saw some dog's whelps on the roadside. One of the whelps
+said to its dam, "Mother, I wish to go with that handsome young man,
+who must be a prince." The dam said, "Go"; and the prince gladly
+took the puppy as his companion. They had not gone far when upon
+a tree on the roadside they saw a hawk and its young ones. One of
+the young ones said to its dam, "Mother, I wish to go with that
+handsome young man, who must be the son of a king." The hawk said,
+"Go"; and the prince gladly took the young hawk as his companion. So
+the mendicant, the prince, with the puppy and the young hawk, went
+on their journey. At last they went into the depth of the forest far
+away from the houses of men, where they stopped before a hut thatched
+with leaves. That was the mendicant's cell. The mendicant said to
+the prince, "You are to live in this hut with me. Your chief work
+will be to cull flowers from the forest for my devotions. You can
+go on every side except the north. If you go towards the north evil
+will betide you. You can eat whatever fruit or root you like; and
+for your drink, you will get it from the brook." The prince disliked
+neither the place nor his work. At dawn he used to cull flowers in
+the forest and give them to the mendicant; after which the mendicant
+went away somewhere the whole day and did not return till sundown;
+so the prince had the whole day to himself. He used to walk about in
+the forest with his two companions--the puppy and the young hawk. He
+used to shoot arrows at the deer, of which there was a great number;
+and thus made the best of his time. One day as he pierced a stag with
+an arrow, the wounded stag ran towards the north, and the prince, not
+thinking of the mendicant's behest, followed the stag, which entered
+into a fine-looking house that stood close by. The prince entered,
+but instead of finding the deer he saw a young woman of matchless
+beauty sitting near the door with a dice-table set before her. The
+prince was rooted to the spot while he admired the heaven-born
+beauty of the lady. "Come in, stranger," said the lady; "chance has
+brought you here, but don't go away without having with me a game of
+dice." The prince gladly agreed to the proposal. As it was a game of
+risk they agreed that if the prince lost the game he should give his
+young hawk to the lady; and that if the lady lost it, she should give
+to the prince a young hawk just like that of the prince. The lady won
+the game; she therefore took the prince's young hawk and kept it in a
+hole covered with a plank. The prince offered to play a second time,
+and the lady agreeing to it, they fell to it again, on the condition
+that if the lady won the game she should take the prince's puppy,
+and if she lost it she should give to the prince a puppy just like
+that of the prince. The lady won again, and stowed away the puppy in
+another hole with a plank upon it. The prince offered to play a third
+time, and the wager was that, if the prince lost the game, he should
+give himself up to the lady to be done to by her anything she pleased;
+and that if he won, the lady should give him a young man exactly like
+himself. The lady won the game a third time; she therefore caught hold
+of the prince and put him in a hole covered over with a plank. Now,
+the beautiful lady was not a woman at all; she was a Rakshasi who
+lived upon human flesh, and her mouth watered at the sight of the
+tender body of the young prince. But as she had had her food that
+day she reserved the prince for the meal of the following day.
+
+Meantime there was great weeping in the house of the prince's
+father. His brother used every day to look at the tree planted in
+the courtyard by his own hand. Hitherto he had found the leaves of
+a living green colour; but suddenly he found some leaves fading. He
+gave the alarm to the king and queen, and told them how the leaves
+were fading. They concluded that the life of the elder prince must
+be in great danger. The younger prince therefore resolved to go to
+the help of his brother, but before going he planted a tree in the
+courtyard of the palace, similar to the one his brother had planted,
+and which was to be the index of the manner of his life. He chose
+the swiftest steed in the king's stables, and galloped towards the
+forest. In the way he saw a dog with a puppy, and the puppy thinking
+that the rider was the same that had taken away his fellow-cub--for
+the two princes were exactly like each other--said, "As you have
+taken away my brother, take me also with you." The younger prince
+understanding that his brother had taken away a puppy, he took up
+that cub as a companion. Further on, a young hawk, which was perched
+on a tree on the roadside, said to the prince, "You have taken away
+my brother; take me also, I beseech you"; on which the younger prince
+readily took it up. With these companions he went into the heart of the
+forest, where he saw a hut which he supposed to be the mendicant's. But
+neither the mendicant nor his brother was there. Not knowing what to
+do or where to go, he dismounted from his horse, allowed it to graze,
+while he himself sat inside the house. At sunset the mendicant returned
+to his hut, and seeing the younger prince, said, "I am glad to see
+you. I told your brother never to go towards the north, for evil in
+that case would betide him; but it seems that, disobeying my orders,
+he has gone to the north and has fallen into the toils of a Rakshasi
+who lives there. There is no hope of rescuing him; perhaps he has
+already been devoured." The younger prince forthwith went towards
+the north, where he saw a stag which he pierced with an arrow. The
+stag ran into a house which stood by, and the younger prince followed
+it. He was not a little astonished when, instead of seeing a stag,
+he saw a woman of exquisite beauty. He immediately concluded, from
+what he had heard from the mendicant, that the pretended woman was none
+other than the Rakshasi in whose power his brother was. The lady asked
+him to play a game of dice with her. He complied with the request,
+and on the same conditions on which the elder prince had played. The
+younger prince won; on which the lady produced the young hawk from the
+hole and gave it to the prince. The joy of the two hawks on meeting
+each other was great. The lady and the prince played a second time,
+and the prince won again. The lady therefore brought to the prince
+the young puppy lying in the hole. They played a third time, and the
+prince won a third time. The lady demurred to producing a young man
+exactly like the prince, pretending that it was impossible to get one;
+but on the prince insisting upon the fulfilment of the condition,
+his brother was produced. The joy of the two brothers on meeting each
+other was great. The Rakshasi said to the princes, "Don't kill me,
+and I will tell you a secret which will save the life of the elder
+prince." She then told them that the mendicant was a worshipper of the
+goddess Kali, who had a temple not far off; that he belonged to that
+sect of Hindus who seek perfection from intercourse with the spirits of
+departed men; that he had already sacrificed at the altar of Kali six
+human victims whose skulls could be seen in niches inside her temple;
+that he would become perfect when the seventh victim was sacrificed;
+and that the elder prince was intended for the seventh victim. The
+Rakshasi then told the prince to go immediately to the temple to find
+out the truth of what she had said. To the temple they accordingly
+went. When the elder prince went inside the temple, the skulls in the
+niches laughed a ghastly laugh. Horror-struck at the sight and sound,
+he inquired the cause of the laughter; and the skulls told him that
+they were glad because they were about to get another added to their
+number. One of the skulls, as spokesman of the rest, said, "Young
+prince, in a few days the mendicant's devotions will be completed, and
+you will be brought into this temple and your head will be cut off, and
+you will keep company with us. But there is one way by which you can
+escape that fate and do us good." "Oh, do tell me," said the prince,
+"what that way is, and I promise to do you all the good I can." The
+skull replied, "When the mendicant brings you into this temple to offer
+you up as a sacrifice, before cutting off your head he will tell you
+to prostrate yourself before Mother Kali, and while you prostrate
+yourself he will cut off your head. But take our advice, when he
+tells you to bow down before Kali, you tell him that as a prince you
+never bowed down to any one, that you never knew what bowing down was,
+and that the mendicant should show it to you by himself doing it in
+your presence. And when he bows down to show you how it is done, you
+take up your sword and separate his head from his body. And when you
+do that we shall all be restored to life, as the mendicant's vows will
+be unfulfilled." The elder prince thanked the skulls for their advice,
+and went into the hut of the mendicant along with his younger brother.
+
+In the course of a few days the mendicant's devotions were
+completed. On the following day he told the prince to go along with
+him to the temple of Kali, for what reason he did not mention; but the
+prince knew it was to offer him up as a victim to the goddess. The
+younger prince also went with them, but he was not allowed to go
+inside the temple. The mendicant then stood in the presence of Kali
+and said to the prince, "Bow down to the goddess." The prince replied,
+"I have not, as a prince, bowed to any one; I do not know how to
+perform the act of prostration. Please show me the way first, and
+I'll gladly do it." The mendicant then prostrated himself before the
+goddess; and while he was doing so the prince at one stroke of his
+sword separated his head from his body. Immediately the skulls in the
+niches of the temple laughed aloud, and the goddess herself became
+propitious to the prince and gave him that virtue of perfection which
+the mendicant had sought to obtain. The skulls were again united to
+their respective bodies and became living men, and the two princes
+returned to their country.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+A GHOSTLY WIFE
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a Brahman who had married a wife, and who
+lived in the same house with his mother. Near his house was a tank,
+on the embankment of which stood a tree, on the boughs of which lived
+a ghost of the kind called Sankchinni. [30] One night the Brahman's
+wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a
+Sankchinni who stood near; on which the she-ghost got very angry with
+the woman, seized her by the throat, climbed into her tree, and thrust
+her into a hole in the trunk. There the woman lay almost dead with
+fear. The ghost put on the clothes of the woman and went into the house
+of the Brahman. Neither the Brahman nor his mother had any inkling
+of the change. The Brahman thought his wife returned from the tank,
+and the mother thought that it was her daughter-in-law. Next morning
+the mother-in-law discovered some change in her daughter-in-law. Her
+daughter-in-law, she knew, was constitutionally weak and languid, and
+took a long time to do the work of the house. But she had apparently
+become quite a different person. All of a sudden she had become very
+active. She now did the work of the house in an incredibly short
+time. Suspecting nothing, the old woman said nothing either to her
+son or to her daughter-in-law; on the contrary, she inly rejoiced
+that her daughter-in-law had turned over a new leaf. But her surprise
+became every day greater and greater. The cooking of the household
+was done in much less time than before. When the mother-in-law
+wanted the daughter-in-law to bring anything from the next room, it
+was brought in much less time than was required in walking from one
+room to the other. The ghost, instead of going inside the next room,
+would stretch a long arm--for ghosts can lengthen or shorten any
+limb of their bodies--from the door and get the thing. One day the
+old woman observed the ghost doing this. She ordered her to bring a
+vessel from some distance, and the ghost unconsciously stretched her
+hand to several yards' distance, and brought it in a trice. The old
+woman was struck with wonder at the sight. She said nothing to her,
+but spoke to her son. Both mother and son began to watch the ghost
+more narrowly. One day the old woman knew that there was no fire in
+the house, and she knew also that her daughter-in-law had not gone
+out of doors to get it; and yet, strange to say, the hearth in the
+kitchen-room was quite in a blaze. She went in, and, to her infinite
+surprise, found that her daughter-in-law was not using any fuel for
+cooking, but had thrust into the oven her foot, which was blazing
+brightly. The old mother told her son what she had seen, and they both
+concluded that the young woman in the house was not his real wife but
+a she-ghost. The son witnessed those very acts of the ghost which his
+mother had seen. An Ojha [31] was therefore sent for. The exorcist
+came, and wanted in the first instance to ascertain whether the woman
+was a real woman or a ghost. For this purpose he lighted a piece of
+turmeric and set it below the nose of the supposed woman. Now this
+was an infallible test, as no ghost, whether male or female, can put
+up with the smell of burnt turmeric. The moment the lighted turmeric
+was taken near her, she screamed aloud and ran away from the room. It
+was now plain that she was either a ghost or a woman possessed by a
+ghost. The woman was caught hold of by main force and asked who she
+was. At first she refused to make any disclosures, on which the Ojha
+took up his slippers and began belabouring her with them. Then the
+ghost said with a strong nasal accent--for all ghosts speak through
+the nose--that she was a Sankchinni, that she lived on a tree by the
+side of the tank, that she had seized the young Brahmani and put her
+in the hollow of her tree because one night she had touched her, and
+that if any person went to the hole the woman would be found. The
+woman was brought from the tree almost dead; the ghost was again
+shoebeaten, after which process, on her declaring solemnly that she
+would not again do any harm to the Brahman and his family, she was
+released from the spell of the Ojha and sent away; and the wife of
+the Brahman recovered slowly. After which the Brahman and his wife
+lived many years happily together and begat many sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+THE STORY OF A BRAHMADAITYA [32]
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman who had a wife. As he had
+no means of livelihood, he used every day to beg from door to door,
+and thus got some rice which they boiled and ate, together with some
+greens which they gleaned from the fields. After some time it chanced
+that the village changed its owner, and the Brahman bethought himself
+of asking some boon of the new laird. So one morning the Brahman
+went to the laird's house to pay him court. It so happened that at
+that time the laird was making inquiries of his servants about the
+village and its various parts. The laird was told that a certain
+banyan-tree in the outskirts of the village was haunted by a number
+of ghosts; and that no man had ever the boldness to go to that tree
+at night. In bygone days some rash fellows went to the tree at night,
+but the necks of them all were wrung, and they all died. Since that
+time no man had ventured to go to the tree at night, though in the
+day some neat-herds took their cows to the spot. The new laird on
+hearing this said, that if any one would go at night to the tree, cut
+one of its branches and bring it to him, he would make him a present
+of a hundred bighas [33] of rent-free land. None of the servants of
+the laird accepted the challenge, as they were sure they would be
+throttled by the ghosts. The Brahman, who was sitting there, thought
+within himself thus--"I am almost starved to death now, as I never get
+my bellyful. If I go to the tree at night and succeed in cutting off
+one of its branches I shall get one hundred bighas of rent-free land,
+and become independent for life. If the ghosts kill me, my case will
+not be worse, for to die of hunger is no better than to be killed by
+ghosts." He then offered to go to the tree and cut off a branch that
+night. The laird renewed his promise, and said to the Brahman that if
+he succeeded in bringing one of the branches of that haunted tree at
+night he would certainly give him one hundred bighas of rent-free land.
+
+In the course of the day when the people of the village heard of the
+laird's promise and of the Brahman's offer, they all pitied the poor
+man. They blamed him for his foolhardiness, as they were sure the
+ghosts would kill him, as they had killed so many before. His wife
+tried to dissuade him from the rash undertaking; but in vain. He said
+he would die in any case; but there was some chance of his escaping,
+and of thus becoming independent for life. Accordingly, one hour after
+sundown, the Brahman set out. He went to the outskirts of the village
+without the slightest fear as far as a certain vakula-tree (Mimusops
+Elengi), from which the haunted tree was about one rope distant. But
+under the vakula-tree the Brahman's heart misgave him. He began to
+quake with fear, and the heaving of his heart was like the upward and
+downward motion of the paddy-husking pedal. The vakula-tree was the
+haunt of a Brahmadaitya, who, seeing the Brahman stop under the tree,
+spoke to him, and said, "Are you afraid, Brahman? Tell me what you wish
+to do, and I'll help you. I am a Brahmadaitya." The Brahman replied,
+"O blessed spirit, I wish to go to yonder banyan-tree, and cut off
+one of its branches for the zemindar, who has promised to give me one
+hundred bighas of rent-free land for it. But my courage is failing
+me. I shall thank you very much for helping me." The Brahmadaitya
+answered, "Certainly I'll help you, Brahman. Go on towards the tree,
+and I'll come with you." The Brahman, relying on the supernatural
+strength of his invisible patron, who is the object of the fear and
+reverence of common ghosts, fearlessly walked towards the haunted tree,
+on reaching which he began to cut a branch with the bill which was
+in his hand. But the moment the first stroke was given, a great many
+ghosts rushed towards the Brahman, who would have been torn to pieces
+but for the interference of the Brahmadaitya. The Brahmadaitya said in
+a commanding tone, "Ghosts, listen. This is a poor Brahman. He wishes
+to get a branch of this tree which will be of great use to him. It is
+my will that you let him cut a branch." The ghosts, hearing the voice
+of the Brahmadaitya, replied, "Be it according to thy will, lord. At
+thy bidding we are ready to do anything. Let not the Brahman take
+the trouble of cutting; we ourselves will cut a branch for him." So
+saying, in the twinkling of an eye, the ghosts put into the hands of
+the Brahman a branch of the tree, with which he went as fast as his
+legs could carry him to the house of the zemindar. The zemindar and
+his people were not a little surprised to see the branch; but he said,
+"Well, I must see to-morrow whether this branch is a branch of the
+haunted tree or not; if it be, you will get the promised reward."
+
+Next morning the zemindar himself went along with his servants to the
+haunted tree, and found to their infinite surprise that the branch in
+their hands was really a branch of that tree, as they saw the part
+from which it had been cut off. Being thus satisfied, the zemindar
+ordered a deed to be drawn up, by which he gave to the Brahman for
+ever one hundred bighas of rent-free land. Thus in one night the
+Brahman became a rich man.
+
+It so happened that the fields, of which the Brahman became the owner,
+were covered with ripe paddy, ready for the sickle. But the Brahman
+had not the means to reap the golden harvest. He had not a pice in
+his pocket for paying the wages of the reapers. What was the Brahman
+to do? He went to his spirit-friend the Brahmadaitya, and said,
+"Oh, Brahmadaitya, I am in great distress. Through your kindness I
+got the rent-free land all covered with ripe paddy. But I have not
+the means of cutting the paddy, as I am a poor man. What shall I
+do?" The kind Brahmadaitya answered, "Oh, Brahman, don't be troubled
+in your mind about the matter. I'll see to it that the paddy is not
+only cut, but that the corn is threshed and stored up in granaries,
+and the straw piled up in ricks. Only you do one thing. Borrow from
+men in the village one hundred sickles, and put them all at the foot
+of this tree at night. Prepare also the exact spot on which the grain
+and the straw are to be stored up."
+
+The joy of the Brahman knew no bounds. He easily got a hundred sickles,
+as the husbandmen of the village, knowing that he had become rich,
+readily lent him what he wanted. At sunset he took the hundred sickles
+and put them beneath the vakula-tree. He also selected a spot of ground
+near his hut for his magazine of paddy and for his ricks of straw;
+and washed the spot with a solution of cow-dung and water. After
+making these preparations he went to sleep.
+
+In the meantime, soon after nightfall, when the villagers had all
+retired to their houses, the Brahmadaitya called to him the ghosts
+of the haunted tree, who were one hundred in number, and said to
+them, "You must to-night do some work for the poor Brahman whom I
+am befriending. The hundred bighas of land which he has got from the
+zemindar are all covered with standing ripe corn. He has not the means
+to reap it. This night you all must do the work for him. Here are,
+you see, a hundred sickles; let each of you take a sickle in hand and
+come to the field I shall show him. There are a hundred of you. Let
+each ghost cut the paddy of one bigha, bring the sheaves on his back
+to the Brahman's house, thresh the corn, put the corn in one large
+granary, and pile up the straw in separate ricks. Now, don't lose
+time. You must do it all this very night." The hundred ghosts at once
+said to the Brahmadaitya, "We are ready to do whatever your lordship
+commands us." The Brahmadaitya showed the ghosts the Brahman's house,
+and the spot prepared for receiving the grain and the straw, and
+then took them to the Brahman's fields, all waving with the golden
+harvest. The ghosts at once fell to it. A ghost harvest-reaper is
+different from a human harvest-reaper. What a man cuts in a whole day,
+a ghost cuts in a minute. Mash, mash, mash, the sickles went round,
+and the long stalks of paddy fell to the ground. The reaping over,
+the ghosts took up the sheaves on their huge backs and carried them
+all to the Brahman's house. The ghosts then separated the grain from
+the straw, stored up the grain in one huge store-house, and piled
+up the straw in many a fantastic rick. It was full two hours before
+sunrise when the ghosts finished their work and retired to rest on
+their tree. No words can tell either the joy of the Brahman and his
+wife when early next morning they opened the door of their hut, or
+the surprise of the villagers, when they saw the huge granary and the
+fantastic ricks of straw. The villagers did not understand it. They
+at once ascribed it to the gods.
+
+A few days after this the Brahman went to the vakula-tree and
+said to the Brahmadaitya, "I have one more favour to ask of you,
+Brahmadaitya. As the gods have been very gracious to me, I wish to feed
+one thousand Brahmans; and I shall thank you for providing me with the
+materials of the feast." "With the greatest pleasure," said the polite
+Brahmadaitya; "I'll supply you with the requirements of a feast for
+a thousand Brahmans; only show me the cellars in which the provisions
+are to be stored away." The Brahman improvised a store-room. The day
+before the feast the store-room was overflowing with provisions. There
+were one hundred jars of ghi (clarified butter), one hill of flour, one
+hundred jars of sugar, one hundred jars of milk, curds, and congealed
+milk, and the other thousand and one things required in a great
+Brahmanical feast. The next morning one hundred Brahman pastrycooks
+were employed; the thousand Brahmans ate their fill; but the host,
+the Brahman of the story, did not eat. He thought he would eat with
+the Brahmadaitya. But the Brahmadaitya, who was present there though
+unseen, told him that he could not gratify him on that point, as by
+befriending the Brahman the Brahmadaitya's allotted period had come
+to an end, and the pushpaka [34] chariot had been sent to him from
+heaven. The Brahmadaitya, being released from his ghostly life, was
+taken up into heaven; and the Brahman lived happily for many years,
+begetting sons and grandsons.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+THE STORY OF A HIRAMAN [35]
+
+
+There was a fowler who had a wife. The fowler's wife said to her
+husband one day, "My dear, I'll tell you the reason why we are always
+in want. It is because you sell every bird you catch by your rods,
+whereas if we sometimes eat some of the birds you catch, we are sure
+to have better luck. I propose therefore that whatever bird or birds
+you bag to-day we do not sell, but dress and eat." The fowler agreed
+to his wife's proposal, and went out a-bird-catching. He went about
+from wood to wood with his limed rods, accompanied by his wife, but in
+vain. Somehow or other they did not succeed in catching any bird till
+near sundown. But just as they were returning homewards they caught
+a beautiful hiraman. The fowler's wife, taking the bird in her hand
+and feeling it all over, said, "What a small bird this is! how much
+meat can it have? There is no use in killing it." The hiraman said,
+"Mother, do not kill me, but take me to the king, and you will
+get a large sum of money by selling me." The fowler and his wife
+were greatly taken aback on hearing the bird speak, and they asked
+the bird what price they should set upon it. The hiraman answered,
+"Leave that to me; take me to the king and offer me for sale; and when
+the king asks my price, say, 'The bird will tell its own price,' and
+then I'll mention a large sum." The fowler accordingly went the next
+day to the king's palace, and offered the bird for sale. The king,
+delighted with the beauty of the bird, asked the fowler what he would
+take for it. The fowler said, "O great king, the bird will tell its
+own price." "What! can the bird speak?" asked the king. "Yes, my lord;
+be pleased to ask the bird its price," replied the fowler. The king,
+half in jest and half in seriousness, said, "Well, hiraman, what is
+your price?" The hiraman answered, "Please your majesty, my price is
+ten thousand rupees. Do not think that the price is too high. Count
+out the money for the fowler, for I'll be of the greatest service to
+your majesty." "What service can you be of to me, hiraman?" asked
+the king. "Your majesty will see that in due time," replied the
+hiraman. The king, surprised beyond measure at hearing the hiraman
+talk, and talk so sensibly, took the bird, and ordered his treasurer
+to tell down the sum of ten thousand rupees to the fowler.
+
+The king had six queens, but he was so taken up with the bird that
+he almost forgot that they lived; at any rate, his days and nights
+were spent in the company, not of the queens, but of the bird. The
+hiraman not only replied intelligently to every question the king
+put, but it recited to him the names of the three hundred and thirty
+millions of the gods of the Hindu pantheon, the hearing of which is
+always regarded as an act of piety. The queens felt that they were
+neglected by the king, became jealous of the bird, and determined to
+kill it. It was long before they got an opportunity, as the bird was
+the king's inseparable companion. One day the king went out a-hunting,
+and he was to be away from the palace for two days. The six queens
+determined to avail themselves of the opportunity and put an end to
+the life of the bird. They said to one another, "Let us go and ask
+the bird which of us is the ugliest in his estimation, and she whom
+he pronounces the ugliest shall strangle the bird." Thus resolved,
+they all went into the room where the bird was; but before the queens
+could put any questions the bird so sweetly and so piously recited
+the names of the gods and goddesses, that the hearts of them all
+were melted into tenderness, and they came away without accomplishing
+their purpose. The following day, however, their evil genius returned,
+and they called themselves a thousand fools for having been diverted
+from their purpose. They therefore determined to steel their hearts
+against all pity, and to kill the bird without delay. They all went
+into the room, and said to the bird, "O hiraman, you are a very wise
+bird, we hear, and your judgments are all right; will you please tell
+us which of us is the handsomest and which the ugliest?" The bird,
+knowing the evil design of the queens, said to them, "How can I
+answer your questions remaining in this cage? In order to pronounce
+a correct judgment I must look minutely on every limb of you all,
+both in front and behind. If you wish to know my opinion you must
+set me free." The women were at first afraid of setting the bird
+free lest it should fly away; but on second thoughts they set it
+free after shutting all the doors and windows of the room. The bird,
+on examining the room, saw that it had a water-passage through which
+it was possible to escape. When the question was repeated several
+times by the queens, the bird said, "The beauty of not one of you
+can be compared to the beauty of the little toe of the lady that
+lives beyond the seven oceans and the thirteen rivers." The queens,
+on hearing their beauty spoken of in such slighting terms, became
+exceedingly furious, and rushed towards the bird to tear it in pieces;
+but before they could get at it, it escaped through the water-passage,
+and took shelter in a wood-cutter's hut which was hard by.
+
+The next day the king returned home from hunting, and not finding
+the hiraman on its perch became mad with grief. He asked the queens,
+and they told him that they knew nothing about it. The king wept day
+and night for the bird, as he loved it much. His ministers became
+afraid lest his reason should give way, for he used every hour of
+the day to weep, saying, "O my hiraman! O my hiraman! where art thou
+gone?" Proclamation was made by beat of drum throughout the kingdom
+to the effect that if any person could produce before the king his pet
+hiraman he would be rewarded with ten thousand rupees. The wood-cutter,
+rejoiced at the idea of becoming independent for life, produced the
+precious bird and obtained the reward. The king, on hearing from
+the parrot that the queens had attempted to kill it, became mad with
+rage. He ordered them to be driven away from the palace and put in
+a desert place without food. The king's order was obeyed, and it was
+rumoured after a few days that the poor queens were all devoured by
+wild beasts.
+
+After some time the king said to the parrot, "Hiraman, you said to
+the queens that the beauty of none of them could be compared to the
+beauty of even the little toe of the lady who lives on the other side
+of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers. Do you know of any means by
+which I can get at that lady?"
+
+Hiraman. Of course I do. I can take your majesty to the door of
+the palace in which that lady of peerless beauty lives; and if your
+majesty will abide by my counsel, I will undertake to put that lady
+into your arms.
+
+King. I will do whatever you tell me. What do you wish me to do?
+
+Hiraman. What is required is a pakshiraj. [36] If you can procure a
+horse of that species, you can ride upon it, and in no time we shall
+cross the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, and stand at the door of
+the lady's palace.
+
+King. I have, as you know, a large stud of horses; we can now go and
+see if there are any pakshirajes amongst them.
+
+The king and the hiraman went to the royal stables and examined all
+the horses. The hiraman passed by all the fine-looking horses and
+those of high mettle, and alighted upon a wretched-looking lean pony,
+and said, "Here is the horse I want. It is a horse of the genuine
+pakshiraj breed, but it must be fed full six months with the finest
+grain before it can answer our purpose." The king accordingly put
+that pony in a stable by itself and himself saw every day that it
+was fed with the finest grain that could be got in the kingdom. The
+pony rapidly improved in appearance, and at the end of six months the
+hiraman pronounced it fit for service. The parrot then told the king
+to order the royal silversmith to make some khais [37] of silver. A
+large quantity of silver khais was made in a short time. When about
+to start on their a�rial journey the hiraman said to the king,
+"I have one request to make. Please whip the horse only once at
+starting. If you whip him more than once, we shall not be able to
+reach the palace, but stick mid-way. And when we return homewards
+after capturing the lady, you are also to whip the horse only once;
+if you whip him more than once, we shall come only half the way and
+remain there." The king then got upon the pakshiraj with the hiraman
+and the silver khais and gently whipped the animal once. The horse
+shot through the air with the speed of lightning, passed over many
+countries, kingdoms, and empires, crossed the oceans and thirteen
+rivers, and alighted in the evening at the gate of a beautiful palace.
+
+Now, near the palace-gate there stood a lofty tree. The hiraman told
+the king to put the horse in the stable hard by, and then to climb
+into the tree and remain there concealed. The hiraman took the silver
+khais, and with its beak began dropping khai after khai from the foot
+of the tree, all through the corridors and passages, up to the door
+of the bedchamber of the lady of peerless beauty. After doing this,
+the hiraman perched upon the tree where the king was concealed. Some
+hours after midnight, the maid-servant of the lady, who slept in
+the same room with her, wishing to come out, opened the door and
+noticed the silver khais lying there. She took up a few of them,
+and not knowing what they were, showed them to her lady. The lady,
+admiring the little silver bullets, and wondering how they could have
+got there, came out of her room and began picking them up. She saw a
+regular stream of them apparently issuing from near the door of her
+room, and proceeding she knew not how far. She went on picking up
+in a basket the bright, shining khais all through the corridors and
+passages, till she came to the foot of the tree. No sooner did the
+lady of peerless beauty come to the foot of the tree than the king,
+agreeably to instructions previously given to him by the hiraman,
+alighted from the tree and caught hold of the lady. In a moment
+she was put upon the horse along with himself. At that moment the
+hiraman sat upon the shoulder of the king, the king gently whipped
+the horse once, and they all were whirled through the air with the
+speed of lightning. The king, wishing to reach home soon with the
+precious prize, and forgetful of the instructions of the hiraman,
+whipped the horse again; on which the horse at once alighted on
+the outskirts of what seemed a dense forest. "What have you done,
+O king?" shouted out the hiraman. "Did I not tell you not to whip
+the horse more than once? You have whipped him twice, and we are
+done for. We may meet with our death here." But the thing was done,
+and it could not be helped. The pakshiraj became powerless; and the
+party could not proceed homewards. They dismounted; but they could not
+see anywhere the habitations of men. They ate some fruits and roots,
+and slept that night there upon the ground.
+
+Next morning it so chanced that the king of that country came to that
+forest to hunt. As he was pursuing a stag, whom he had pierced with an
+arrow, he came across the king and the lady of peerless beauty. Struck
+with the matchless beauty of the lady, he wished to seize her. He
+whistled, and in a moment his attendants flocked around him. The lady
+was made a captive, and her lover, who had brought her from her house
+on the other side of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, was not
+put to death, but his eyes were put out, and he was left alone in the
+forest--alone, and yet not alone, for the good hiraman was with him.
+
+The lady of peerless beauty was taken into the king's palace,
+as well as the pony of her lover. The lady said to the king that
+he must not come near her for six months, in consequence of a vow
+which she had taken, and which would be completed in that period of
+time. She mentioned six months, as that period would be necessary for
+recruiting the constitution of the pakshiraj. As the lady professed to
+engage every day in religious ceremonies, in consequence of her vow,
+a separate house was assigned to her, where she took the pakshiraj and
+fed him with the choicest grain. But everything would be fruitless
+if the lady did not meet the hiraman. But how is she to get a sight
+of that bird? She adopted the following expedient. She ordered her
+servants to scatter on the roof of her house heaps of paddy, grain,
+and all sorts of pulse for the refreshment of birds. The consequence
+was, that thousands of the feathery race came to the roof to partake
+of the abundant feast. The lady was every day on the look out for
+her hiraman. The hiraman, meanwhile, was in great distress in the
+forest. He had to take care not only of himself, but of the now
+blinded king. He plucked some ripe fruits in the forest, and gave
+them to the king to eat, and he ate of them himself. This was the
+manner of hiraman's life. The other birds of the forest spoke thus
+to the parrot--"O hiraman, you have a miserable life of it in this
+forest. Why don't you come with us to an abundant feast provided for us
+by a pious lady, who scatters many maunds of pulse on the roof of her
+house for the benefit of our race? We go there early in the morning
+and return in the evening, eating our fill along with thousands of
+other birds." The hiraman resolved to accompany them next morning,
+shrewdly suspecting more in the lady's charity to birds than the
+other birds thought there was in it. The hiraman saw the lady,
+and had a long chat with her about the health of the blinded king,
+the means of curing his blindness, and about her escape. The plan
+adopted was as follows: The pony would be ready for aerial flight in
+a short time--for a great part of the six months had already elapsed;
+and the king's blindness could be cured if the hiraman could procure
+from the chicks of the bihangama and bihangami birds, who had their
+nest on the tree at the gate of the lady's palace beyond the seven
+oceans and thirteen rivers, a quantity of their ordure, fresh and hot,
+and apply it to the eyeballs of the blinded king. The following morning
+the hiraman started on his errand of mercy, remained at night on the
+tree at the gate of the palace beyond the seven oceans and thirteen
+rivers, and early the next morning waited below the nest of the
+birds with a leaf on his beak, into which dropped the ordure of the
+chicks. That moment the hiraman flew across the oceans and rivers,
+came to the forest, and applied the precious balm to the sightless
+sockets of the king. The king opened his eyes and saw. In a few days
+the pakshiraj was in proper trim. The lady escaped to the forest
+and took the king up; and the lady, king, and hiraman all reached
+the king's capital safe and sound. The king and the lady were united
+together in wedlock. They lived many years together happily, and begat
+sons and daughters; and the beautiful hiraman was always with them
+reciting the names of the three hundred and thirty millions of gods.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+THE ORIGIN OF RUBIES
+
+
+There was a certain king who died leaving four sons behind him with
+his queen. The queen was passionately fond of the youngest of the
+princes. She gave him the best robes, the best horses, the best food,
+and the best furniture. The other three princes became exceedingly
+jealous of their youngest brother, and conspiring against him and their
+mother, made them live in a separate house, and took possession of
+the estate. Owing to overindulgence, the youngest prince had become
+very wilful. He never listened to any one, not even to his mother,
+but had his own way in everything. One day he went with his mother to
+bathe in the river. A large boat was riding there at anchor. None of
+the boatmen were in it. The prince went into the boat, and told his
+mother to come into it. His mother besought him to get down from the
+boat, as it did not belong to him. But the prince said, "No, mother,
+I am not coming down; I mean to go on a voyage, and if you wish to
+come with me, then delay not but come up at once, or I shall be off
+in a trice." The queen besought the prince to do no such thing, but to
+come down instantly. But the prince gave no heed to what she said, and
+began to take up the anchor. The queen went up into the boat in great
+haste; and the moment she was on board the boat started, and falling
+into the current passed on swiftly like an arrow. The boat went on
+and on till it reached the sea. After it had gone many furlongs into
+the open sea, the boat came near a whirlpool, where the prince saw a
+great many rubies of monstrous size floating on the waters. Such large
+rubies no one had ever seen, each being in value equal to the wealth of
+seven kings. The prince caught hold of half a dozen of those rubies,
+and put them on board. His mother said, "Darling, don't take up those
+red balls; they must belong to somebody who has been shipwrecked,
+and we may be taken up as thieves." At the repeated entreaties of
+his mother the prince threw them into the sea, keeping only one tied
+up in his clothes. The boat then drifted towards the coast, and the
+queen and the prince arrived at a certain port where they landed.
+
+The port where they landed was not a small place; it was a large city,
+the capital of a great king. Not far from the place, the queen and
+her son hired a hut where they lived. As the prince was yet a boy,
+he was fond of playing at marbles. When the children of the king
+came out to play on a lawn before the palace, our young prince joined
+them. He had no marbles, but he played with the ruby which he had in
+his possession. The ruby was so hard that it broke every taw against
+which it struck. The daughter of the king, who used to watch the games
+from a balcony of the palace, was astonished to see a brilliant red
+ball in the hand of the strange lad, and wanted to take possession
+of it. She told her father that a boy of the street had an uncommonly
+bright stone in his possession which she must have, or else she would
+starve herself to death. The king ordered his servants to bring to him
+the lad with the precious stone. When the boy was brought, the king
+wondered at the largeness and brilliancy of the ruby. He had never
+seen anything like it. He doubted whether any king of any country
+in the world possessed so great a treasure. He asked the lad where
+he had got it. The lad replied that he got it from the sea. The king
+offered a thousand rupees for the ruby, and the lad not knowing its
+value readily parted with it for that sum. He went with the money to
+his mother, who was not a little frightened, thinking that her son
+had stolen the money from some rich man's house. She became quiet,
+however, on being assured that the money was given to him by the king
+in exchange for the red ball which he had picked up in the sea.
+
+The king's daughter, on getting the ruby, put it in her hair,
+and, standing before her pet parrot, said to the bird, "Oh, my
+darling parrot, don't I look very beautiful with this ruby in my
+hair?" The parrot replied, "Beautiful! you look quite hideous with
+it! What princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair? It would be
+somewhat feasible if you had two at least." Stung with shame at the
+reproach cast in her teeth by the parrot, the princess went into the
+grief-chamber of the palace, and would neither eat nor drink. The
+king was not a little concerned when he heard that his daughter
+had gone into the grief-chamber. He went to her, and asked her the
+cause of her grief. The princess told the king what her pet parrot
+had said, and added, "Father, if you do not procure for me another
+ruby like this, I'll put an end to my life by mine own hands." The
+king was overwhelmed with grief. Where was he to get another ruby
+like it? He doubted whether another like it could be found in the
+whole world. He ordered the lad who had sold the ruby to be brought
+into his presence. "Have you, young man," asked the king, "another
+ruby like the one you sold me?" The lad replied, "No, I have not got
+one. Why, do you want another? I can give you lots, if you wish to have
+them. They are to be found in a whirlpool in the sea, far, far away. I
+can go and fetch some for you." Amazed at the lad's reply, the king
+offered rich rewards for procuring only another ruby of the same sort.
+
+The lad went home and said to his mother that he must go to sea again
+to fetch some rubies for the king. The woman was quite frightened
+at the idea, and begged him not to go. But the lad was resolved on
+going, and nothing could prevent him from carrying out his purpose. He
+accordingly went alone on board that same vessel which had brought
+him and his mother, and set sail. He reached the whirlpool, from
+near which he had formerly picked up the rubies. This time, however,
+he determined to go to the exact spot whence the rubies were coming
+out. He went to the centre of the whirlpool, where he saw a gap
+reaching to the bottom of the ocean. He dived into it, leaving his
+boat to wheel round the whirlpool. When he reached the bottom of the
+ocean he saw there a beautiful palace. He went inside. In the central
+room of the palace there was the god Siva, with his eyes closed,
+and absorbed apparently in intense meditation. A few feet above
+Siva's head was a platform, on which lay a young lady of exquisite
+beauty. The prince went to the platform and saw that the head of the
+lady was separated from her body. Horrified at the sight, he did not
+know what to make of it. He saw a stream of blood trickling from the
+severed head, falling upon the matted head of Siva, and running into
+the ocean in the form of rubies. After a little two small rods, one of
+silver and one of gold, which were lying near the head of the lady,
+attracted his eyes. As he took up the rods in his hands, the golden
+rod accidentally fell upon the head, on which the head immediately
+joined itself to the body, and the lady got up. Astonished at the
+sight of a human being, the lady asked the prince who he was and how
+he had got there. After hearing the story of the prince's adventures,
+the lady said, "Unhappy young man, depart instantly from this place;
+for when Siva finishes his meditations he will turn you to ashes
+by a single glance of his eyes." The young man, however, would not
+go except in her company, as he was over head and ears in love with
+the beautiful lady. At last they both contrived to run away from the
+palace, and coming up to the surface of the ocean they climbed into
+the boat near the centre of the whirlpool, and sailed away towards
+land, having previously laden the vessel with a cargo of rubies. The
+wonder of the prince's mother at seeing the beautiful damsel may be
+well imagined. Early next morning the prince sent a basin full of big
+rubies, through a servant. The king was astonished beyond measure. His
+daughter, on getting the rubies, resolved on marrying the wonderful lad
+who had made a present of them to her. Though the prince had a wife,
+whom he had brought up from the depths of the ocean, he consented to
+have a second wife. They were accordingly married, and lived happily
+for years, begetting sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+THE MATCH-MAKING JACKAL
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a weaver, whose ancestors were very rich,
+but whose father had wasted the property which he had inherited
+in riotous living. He was born in a palace-like house, but he now
+lived in a miserable hut. He had no one in the world, his parents
+and all his relatives having died. Hard by the hut was the lair of a
+jackal. The jackal, remembering the wealth and grandeur of the weaver's
+forefathers, had compassion on him, and one day coming to him, said,
+"Friend weaver, I see what a wretched life you are leading. I have
+a good mind to improve your condition. I'll try and marry you to
+the daughter of the king of this country." "I become the king's
+son-in-law!" replied the weaver; "that will take place only when the
+sun rises in the west." "You doubt my power?" rejoined the jackal;
+"you will see, I'll bring it about."
+
+The next morning the jackal started for the king's city, which
+was many miles off. On the way he entered a plantation of the
+Piper betel plant, and plucked a large quantity of its leaves. He
+reached the capital, and contrived to get inside the palace. On the
+premises of the palace was a tank in which the ladies of the king's
+household performed their morning and afternoon ablutions. At the
+entrance of that tank the jackal laid himself down. The daughter of
+the king happened to come just at the time to bathe, accompanied
+by her maids. The princess was not a little struck at seeing the
+jackal lying down at the entrance. She told her maids to drive
+the jackal away. The jackal rose as if from sleep, and instead
+of running away, opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into
+his mouth, and began chewing them. The princess and her maids were
+not a little astonished at the sight. They said among themselves,
+"What an uncommon jackal is this! From what country can he have
+come? A jackal chewing betel-leaves! why thousands of men and women
+of this city cannot indulge in that luxury. He must have come from
+a wealthy land." The princess asked the jackal, "Sivalu! [38] from
+what country do you come? It must be a very prosperous country where
+the jackals chew betel-leaves. Do other animals in your country chew
+betel-leaves?" "Dearest princess," replied the jackal, "I come from a
+land flowing with milk and honey. Betel-leaves are as plentiful in my
+country as the grass in your fields. All animals in my country--cows,
+sheep, dogs--chew betel-leaves. We want no good thing." "Happy is the
+country," said the princess, "where there is such plenty, and thrice
+happy the king who rules in it!" "As for our king," said the jackal,
+"he is the richest king in the world. His palace is like the heaven
+of Indra. I have seen your palace here; it is a miserable hut compared
+to the palace of our king." The princess, whose curiosity was excited
+to the utmost pitch, hastily went through her bath, and going to the
+apartments of the queen-mother, told her of the wonderful jackal lying
+at the entrance of the tank. Her curiosity being excited, the jackal
+was sent for. When the jackal stood in the presence of the queen, he
+began munching the betel-leaves. "You come," said the queen, "from
+a very rich country. Is your king married?" "Please your majesty,
+our king is not married. Princesses from distant parts of the world
+tried to get married to him, but he rejected them all. Happy will
+that princess be whom our king condescends to marry!" "Don't you
+think, Sivalu," asked the queen, "that my daughter is as beautiful
+as a Peri, and that she is fit to be the wife of the proudest king
+in the world?" "I quite think," said the jackal, "that the princess
+is exceedingly handsome; indeed, she is the handsomest princess I
+have ever seen; but I don't know whether our king will have a liking
+for her." "Liking for my daughter!" said the queen, "you have only to
+paint her to him as she is, and he is sure to turn mad with love. To be
+serious, Sivalu, I am anxious to get my daughter married. Many princes
+have sought her hand, but I am unwilling to give her to any of them,
+as they are not the sons of great kings. But your king seems to be a
+great king. I can have no objection to making him my son-in-law." The
+queen sent word to the king, requesting him to come and see the
+jackal. The king came and saw the jackal, heard him describe the
+wealth and pomp of the king of his country, and expressed himself
+not unwilling to give away his daughter in marriage to him.
+
+The jackal after this returned to the weaver and said to him, "O lord
+of the loom, you are the luckiest man in the world; it is all settled;
+you are to become the son-in-law of a great king. I have told them that
+you are yourself a great king, and you must behave yourself as one. You
+must do just as I instruct you, otherwise your fortune will not only
+not be made, but both you and I will be put to death." "I'll do just as
+you bid me," said the weaver. The shrewd jackal drew in his own mind a
+plan of the method of procedure he should adopt, and after a few days
+went back to the palace of the king in the same manner in which he had
+gone before, that is to say, chewing betel-leaves and lying down at
+the entrance of the tank on the premises of the palace. The king and
+queen were glad to see him, and eagerly asked him as to the success of
+his mission. The jackal said, "In order to relieve your minds I may
+tell you at once that my mission has been so far successful. If you
+only knew the infinite trouble I have had in persuading his Majesty,
+my sovereign, to make up his mind to marry your daughter, you would
+give me no end of thanks. For a long time he would not hear of it, but
+gradually I brought him round. You have now only to fix an auspicious
+day for the celebration of the solemn rite. There is one bit of advice,
+however, which I, as your friend, would give you. It is this. My master
+is so great a king that if he were to come to you in state, attended
+by all his followers, his horses and his elephants, you would find it
+impossible to accommodate them all in your palace or in your city. I
+would therefore propose that our king should come to your city, not
+in state, but in a private manner; and that you send to the outskirts
+of your city your own elephants, horses, and conveyances, to bring
+him and only a few of his followers to your palace." "Many thanks,
+wise Sivalu, for this advice. I could not possibly make accommodation
+in my city for the followers of so great a king as your master is. I
+should be very glad if he did not come in state; and trust you will
+use your influence to persuade him to come in a private manner; for I
+should be ruined if he came in state." The jackal then gravely said, "I
+will do my best in the matter," and then returned to his own village,
+after the royal astrologer had fixed an auspicious day for the wedding.
+
+On his return the jackal busied himself with making preparations for
+the great ceremony. As the weaver was clad in tatters, he told him
+to go to the washermen of the village and borrow from them a suit
+of clothes. As for himself, he went to the king of his race, and
+told him that on a certain day he would like one thousand jackals to
+accompany him to a certain place. He went to the king of crows, and
+begged that his corvine majesty would be pleased to allow one thousand
+of his black subjects to accompany him on a certain day to a certain
+place. He preferred a similar petition to the king of paddy-birds.
+
+At last the great day arrived. The weaver arrayed himself in the
+clothes which he had borrowed from the village washermen. The jackal
+made his appearance, accompanied by a train of a thousand jackals,
+a thousand crows, and a thousand paddy-birds. The nuptial procession
+started on their journey, and towards sundown arrived within two
+miles of the king's palace. There the jackal told his friends,
+the thousand jackals, to set up a loud howl; at his bidding the
+thousand crows cawed their loudest; while the hoarse screechings of
+the thousand paddy-birds furnished a suitable accompaniment. The
+effect may be imagined. They all together made a noise the like
+of which had never been heard since the world began. While this
+unearthly noise was going on, the jackal himself hastened to the
+palace, and asked the king whether he thought he would be able to
+accommodate the wedding-party, which was about two miles distant, and
+whose noise was at that moment sounding in his ears. The king said
+"Impossible, Sivalu; from the sound of the procession I infer there
+must be at least one hundred thousand souls. How is it possible to
+accommodate so many guests? Please, so arrange that the bridegroom
+only will come to my house." "Very well," said the jackal; "I told
+you at the beginning that you would not be able to accommodate all
+the attendants of my august master. I'll do as you wish. My master
+will alone come in undress. Send a horse for the purpose." The jackal,
+accompanied by a horse and groom, came to the place where his friend
+the weaver was, thanked the thousand jackals, the thousand crows,
+and the thousand paddy-birds, for their valuable services, and told
+them all to go away, while he himself, and the weaver on horseback,
+wended their way to the king's palace. The bridal party, waiting in
+the palace, were greatly disappointed at the personal appearance of
+the weaver; but the jackal told them that his master had purposely
+put on a mean dress, as his would-be father-in-law declared himself
+unable to accommodate the bridegroom and his attendants coming in
+state. The royal priests now began the interesting ceremony, and the
+nuptial knot was tied for ever. The bridegroom seldom opened his lips,
+agreeably to the instructions of the jackal, who was afraid lest
+his speech should betray him. At night when he was lying in bed he
+began to count the beams and rafters of the room, and said audibly,
+"This beam will make a first-rate loom, that other a capital beam,
+and that yonder an excellent sley." The princess, his bride, was not
+a little astonished. She began to think in her mind, "Is the man,
+to whom they have tied me, a king or a weaver? I am afraid he is
+the latter; otherwise why should he be talking of weaver's loom,
+beam, and sley? Ah, me! is this what the fates keep in store for
+me?" In the morning the princess related to the queen-mother the
+weaver's soliloquy. The king and queen, not a little surprised at
+this recital, took the jackal to task about it. The ready-witted
+jackal at once said, "Your Majesty need not be surprised at my august
+master's soliloquy. His palace is surrounded by a population of seven
+hundred families of the best weavers in the world, to whom he has given
+rent-free lands, and whose welfare he continually seeks. It must have
+been in one of his philanthropic moods that he uttered the soliloquy
+which has taken your Majesty by surprise." The jackal, however,
+now felt that it was high time for himself and the weaver to decamp
+with the princess, since the proverbial simplicity of his friend of
+the loom might any moment involve him in danger. The jackal therefore
+represented to the king, that weighty affairs of state would not permit
+his august master to spend another day in the palace; that he should
+start for his kingdom that very day with his bride; and his master was
+resolved to travel incognito on foot, only the princess, now the queen,
+should leave the city in a palki. After a great deal of yea and nay,
+the king and queen at last consented to the proposal. The party came
+to the outskirts of the weaver's village; the palki bearers were sent
+away; and the princess, who asked where her husband's palace was,
+was made to walk on foot. The weaver's hut was soon reached, and the
+jackal, addressing the princess, said, "This, madam, is your husband's
+palace." The princess began to beat her forehead with the palms of her
+hands in sheer despair. "Ah, me! is this the husband whom Prajapati
+[39] intended for me? Death would have been a thousand times better."
+
+As there was nothing for it, the princess soon got reconciled to her
+fate. She, however, determined to make her husband rich, especially as
+she knew the secret of becoming rich. One day she told her husband to
+get for her a pice-worth of flour. She put a little water in the flour,
+and smeared her body with the paste. When the paste dried on her body,
+she began wiping the paste with her fingers; and as the paste fell in
+small balls from her body, it got turned into gold. She repeated this
+process every day for some time, and thus got an immense quantity of
+gold. She soon became mistress of more gold than is to be found in
+the coffers of any king. With this gold she employed a whole army of
+masons, carpenters and architects, who in no time built one of the
+finest palaces in the world. Seven hundred families of weavers were
+sought for and settled round about the palace. After this she wrote
+a letter to her father to say that she was sorry he had not favoured
+her with a visit since the day of her marriage, and that she would be
+delighted if he now came to see her and her husband. The king agreed
+to come, and a day was fixed. The princess made great preparations
+against the day of her father's arrival. Hospitals were established in
+several parts of the town for diseased, sick, and infirm animals. The
+beasts in thousands were made to chew betel-leaves on the wayside. The
+streets were covered with Cashmere shawls for her father and his
+attendants to walk on. There was no end of the display of wealth and
+grandeur. The king and queen arrived in state, and were infinitely
+delighted at the apparently boundless riches of their son-in-law. The
+jackal now appeared on the scene, and saluting the king and queen,
+said--"Did I not tell you?"
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE BOY WITH THE MOON ON HIS FOREHEAD
+
+
+There was a certain king who had six queens, none of whom bore
+children. Physicians, holy sages, mendicants, were consulted,
+countless drugs were had recourse to, but all to no purpose. The king
+was disconsolate. His ministers told him to marry a seventh wife;
+and he was accordingly on the look out.
+
+In the royal city there lived a poor old woman who used to pick up
+cow-dung from the fields, make it into cakes, dry them in the sun,
+and sell them in the market for fuel. This was her only means of
+subsistence. This old woman had a daughter exquisitely beautiful. Her
+beauty excited the admiration of every one that saw her; and it was
+solely in consequence of her surpassing beauty that three young
+ladies, far above her in rank and station, contracted friendship
+with her. Those three young ladies were the daughter of the king's
+minister, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and the daughter of the
+royal priest. These three young ladies, together with the daughter of
+the poor old woman, were one day bathing in a tank not far from the
+palace. As they were performing their ablutions, each dwelt on her
+own good qualities. "Look here, sister," said the minister's daughter,
+addressing the merchant's daughter, "the man that marries me will be a
+happy man, for he will not have to buy clothes for me. The cloth which
+I once put on never gets soiled, never gets old, never tears." The
+merchant's daughter said, "And my husband too will be a happy man, for
+the fuel which I use in cooking never gets turned into ashes. The same
+fuel serves from day to day, from year to year." "And my husband will
+also become a happy man," said the daughter of the royal chaplain,
+"for the rice which I cook one day never gets finished, and when
+we have all eaten, the same quantity which was first cooked remains
+always in the pot." The daughter of the poor old woman said in her
+turn, "And the man that marries me will also be happy, for I shall
+give birth to twin children, a son and a daughter. The daughter will
+be divinely fair, and the son will have the moon on his forehead and
+stars on the palms of his hands."
+
+The above conversation was overheard by the king, who, as he was on
+the look out for a seventh queen, used to skulk about in places where
+women met together. The king thus thought in his mind--"I don't care
+a straw for the girl whose clothes never tear and never get old;
+neither do I care for the other girl whose fuel is never consumed;
+nor for the third girl whose rice never fails in the pot. But the
+fourth girl is quite charming! She will give birth to twin children,
+a son and a daughter; the daughter will be divinely fair, and the
+son will have the moon on his forehead and stars on the palms of his
+hands. That is the girl I want. I'll make her my wife."
+
+On making inquiries on the same day, the king found that the fourth
+girl was the daughter of a poor old woman who picked up cow-dung from
+the fields; but though there was thus an infinite disparity in rank,
+he determined to marry her. On the very same day he sent for the
+poor old woman. She, poor thing, was quite frightened when she saw
+a messenger of the king standing at the door of her hut. She thought
+that the king had sent for her to punish her, because, perhaps, she had
+some day unwittingly picked up the dung of the king's cattle. She went
+to the palace, and was admitted into the king's private chamber. The
+king asked her whether she had a very fair daughter, and whether
+that daughter was the friend of his own minister's and priest's
+daughters. When the woman answered in the affirmative, he said to
+her, "I will marry your daughter, and make her my queen." The woman
+hardly believed her own ears--the thing was so strange. He, however,
+solemnly declared to her that he had made up his mind, and was
+determined to marry her daughter. It was soon known in the capital
+that the king was going to marry the daughter of the old woman who
+picked up cow-dung in the fields. When the six queens heard the news,
+they would not believe it, till the king himself told them that the
+news was true. They thought that the king had somehow got mad. They
+reasoned with him thus--"What folly, what madness, to marry a girl
+who is not fit to be our maid-servant! And you expect us to treat
+her as our equal--a girl whose mother goes about picking up cow-dung
+in the fields! Surely, my lord, you are beside yourself!" The king's
+purpose, however, remained unshaken. The royal astrologer was called,
+and an auspicious day was fixed for the celebration of the king's
+marriage. On the appointed day the royal priest tied the marital knot,
+and the daughter of the poor old picker-up of cow-dung in the fields
+became the seventh and best beloved queen.
+
+Some time after the celebration of the marriage, the king went for six
+months to another part of his dominions. Before setting out he called
+to him the seventh queen, and said to her, "I am going away to another
+part of my dominions for six months. Before the expiration of that
+period I expect you to be confined. But I should like to be present
+with you at the time, as your enemies may do mischief. Take this golden
+bell and hang it in your room. When the pains of childbirth come upon
+you, ring this bell, and I will be with you in a moment in whatever
+part of my dominions I may be at the time. Remember, you are to ring
+the bell only when you feel the pains of childbirth." After saying this
+the king started on his journey. The six queens, who had overheard the
+king, went on the next day to the apartments of the seventh queen,
+and said, "What a nice bell of gold you have got, sister! Where did
+you get it, and why have you hung it up?" The seventh queen, in her
+simplicity, said, "The king has given it to me, and if I were to ring
+it, the king would immediately come to me wherever he might be at the
+time." "Impossible!" said the six queens, "you must have misunderstood
+the king. Who can believe that this bell can be heard at the distance
+of hundreds of miles? Besides, if it could be heard, how would the king
+be able to travel a great distance in the twinkling of an eye? This
+must be a hoax. If you ring the bell, you will find that what the
+king said was pure nonsense." The six queens then told her to make a
+trial. At first she was unwilling, remembering what the king had told
+her; but at last she was prevailed upon to ring the bell. The king was
+at the moment half-way to the capital of his other dominions, but at
+the ringing of the bell he stopped short in his journey, turned back,
+and in no time stood in the queen's apartments. Finding the queen
+going about in her rooms, he asked why she had rung the bell though
+her hour had not come. She, without informing the king of the entreaty
+of the six queens, replied that she rang the bell only to see whether
+what he had said was true. The king was somewhat indignant, told her
+distinctly not to ring the bell again till the moment of the coming
+upon her of the pains of childbirth, and then went away. After the
+lapse of some weeks the six queens again begged of the seventh queen
+to make a second trial of the bell. They said to her, "The first time
+when you rang the bell, the king was only at a short distance from you,
+it was therefore easy for him to hear the bell and to come to you;
+but now he has long ago settled in his other capital, let us see if
+he will now hear the bell and come to you." She resisted for a long
+time, but was at last prevailed upon by them to ring the bell. When
+the sound of the bell reached the king he was in court dispensing
+justice, but when he heard the sound of the bell (and no one else
+heard it) he closed the court and in no time stood in the queen's
+apartments. Finding that the queen was not about to be confined,
+he asked her why she had again rung the bell before her hour. She,
+without saying anything of the importunities of the six queens, replied
+that she merely made a second trial of the bell. The king became very
+angry, and said to her, "Now listen, since you have called me twice for
+nothing, let it be known to you that when the throes of childbirth do
+really come upon you, and you ring the bell ever so lustily, I will not
+come to you. You must be left to your fate." The king then went away.
+
+At last the day of the seventh queen's deliverance arrived. On first
+feeling the pains she rang the golden bell. She waited, but the
+king did not make his appearance. She rang again with all her might,
+still the king did not make his appearance. The king certainly did
+hear the sound of the bell; but he did not come as he was displeased
+with the queen. When the six queens saw that the king did not come,
+they went to the seventh queen and told her that it was not customary
+with the ladies of the palace to be confined in the king's apartments;
+she must go to a hut near the stables. They then sent for the midwife
+of the palace, and heavily bribed her to make away with the infant
+the moment it should be born into the world. The seventh queen gave
+birth to a son who had the moon on his forehead and stars on the
+palms of his hands, and also to an uncommonly beautiful girl. The
+midwife had come provided with a couple of newly born pups. She put
+the pups before the mother, saying--"You have given birth to these,"
+and took away the twin-children in an earthen vessel. The queen was
+quite insensible at the time, and did not notice the twins at the
+time they were carried away. The king, though he was angry with the
+seventh queen, yet remembering that she was destined to give birth to
+the heir of his throne, changed his mind, and came to see her the next
+morning. The pups were produced before the king as the offspring of
+the queen. The king's anger and vexation knew no bounds. He ordered
+that the seventh queen should be expelled from the palace, that she
+should be clothed in leather, and that she should be employed in
+the market-place to drive away crows and to keep off dogs. Though
+scarcely able to move she was driven away from the palace, stripped
+of her fine robes, clothed in leather, and set to drive away the
+crows of the market-place.
+
+The midwife, when she put the twins in the earthen vessel, bethought
+herself of the best way to destroy them. She did not think it proper
+to throw them into a tank, lest they should be discovered the next
+day. Neither did she think of burying them in the ground, lest they
+should be dug up by a jackal and exposed to the gaze of people. The
+best way to make an end of them, she thought, would be to burn them,
+and reduce them to ashes, that no trace might be left of them. But
+how could she, at that dead hour of night, burn them without some
+other person helping her? A happy thought struck her. There was a
+potter on the outskirts of the city, who used during the day to mould
+vessels of clay on his wheel, and burn them during the latter part
+of the night. The midwife thought that the best plan would be to put
+the vessel with the twins along with the unburnt clay vessels which
+the potter had arranged in order and gone to sleep expecting to get up
+late at night and set them on fire; in this way, she thought, the twins
+would be reduced to ashes. She, accordingly, put the vessel with the
+twins along with the unburnt clay vessels of the potter, and went away.
+
+Somehow or other, that night the potter and his wife overslept
+themselves. It was near the break of day when the potter's wife,
+awaking out of sleep, roused her husband, and said, "Oh, my good man,
+we have overslept ourselves; it is now near morning and I much fear it
+is now too late to set the pots on fire." Hastily unbolting the door
+of her cottage, she rushed out to the place where the pots were ranged
+in rows. She could scarcely believe her eyes when she saw that all the
+pots had been baked and were looking bright red, though neither she nor
+her husband had applied any fire to them. Wondering at her good luck,
+and not knowing what to make of it, she ran to her husband and said,
+"Just come and see!" The potter came, saw, and wondered. The pots had
+never before been so well baked. Who could have done this? This could
+have proceeded only from some god or goddess. Fumbling about the pots,
+he accidentally upturned one in which, lo and behold, were seen huddled
+up together two newly born infants of unearthly beauty. The potter
+said to his wife, "My dear, you must pretend to have given birth to
+these beautiful children." Accordingly all arrangements were made,
+and in due time it was given out that the twins had been born to
+her. And such lovely twins they were! On the same day many women
+of the neighbourhood came to see the potter's wife and the twins to
+which she had given birth, and to offer their congratulations on this
+unexpected good fortune. As for the potter's wife, she could not be
+too proud of her pretended children, and said to her admiring friends,
+"I had hardly hoped to have children at all. But now that the gods
+have given me these twins, may they receive the blessings of you all,
+and live for ever!"
+
+The twins grew and were strengthened. The brother and sister, when
+they played about in the fields and lanes, were the admiration of
+every one who saw them; and all wondered at the uncommonly good luck
+of the potter in being blessed with such angelic children. They were
+about twelve years old when the potter, their reputed father, became
+dangerously ill. It was evident to all that his sickness would end
+in death. The potter, perceiving his last end approaching, said to
+his wife, "My dear, I am going the way of all the earth; but I am
+leaving to you enough to live upon; live on and take care of these
+children." The woman said to her husband, "I am not going to survive
+you. Like all good and faithful wives, I am determined to die along
+with you. You and I will burn together on the same funeral pyre. As
+for the children, they are old enough to take care of themselves,
+and you are leaving them enough money." Her friends tried to dissuade
+her from her purpose, but in vain. The potter died; and as his remains
+were being burnt, his wife, now a widow, threw herself on the pyre,
+and burnt herself to death.
+
+The boy with the moon on his forehead--by the way, he always kept his
+head covered with a turban lest the halo should attract notice--and
+his sister, now broke up the potter's establishment, sold the wheel
+and the pots and pans, and went to the bazaar in the king's city. The
+moment they entered, the bazaar was lit up on a sudden. The shopkeepers
+of the bazaar were greatly surprised. They thought some divine beings
+must have entered the place. They looked upon the beautiful boy and his
+sister with wonder. They begged of them to stay in the bazaar. They
+built a house for them. When they used to ramble about, they were
+always followed at a distance by the woman clothed in leather, who
+was appointed by the king to drive away the crows of the bazaar. By
+some unaccountable impulse she used also to hang about the house in
+which they lived. The boy in a short time bought a horse, and went
+a-hunting in the neighbouring forests. One day while he was hunting,
+the king was also hunting in the same forest, and seeing a brother
+huntsman the king drew near to him. The king was struck with the beauty
+of the lad and a yearning for him the moment he saw him. As a deer
+went past, the youth shot an arrow, and the reaction of the force
+necessary to shoot the arrow made the turban of his head fall off,
+on which a bright light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on
+his forehead. The king saw, and immediately thought of the son with
+the moon on his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands who was
+to have been born of his seventh queen. The youth on letting fly the
+arrow galloped off, in spite of the earnest entreaty of the king to
+wait and speak to him. The king went home a sadder man than he came
+out of it. He became very moody and melancholy. The six queens asked
+him why he was looking so sad. He told them that he had seen in the
+woods a lad with the moon on his forehead, which reminded him of the
+son who was to be born of the seventh queen. The six queens tried
+to comfort him in the best way they could; but they wondered who the
+youth could be. Was it possible that the twins were living? Did not
+the midwife say that she had burnt both the son and the daughter to
+ashes? Who, then, could this lad be? The midwife was sent for by the
+six queens and questioned. She swore that she had seen the twins
+burnt. As for the lad whom the king had met with, she would soon
+find out who he was. On making inquiries, the midwife soon found out
+that two strangers were living in the bazaar in a house which the
+shopkeepers had built for them. She entered the house and saw the
+girl only, as the lad had again gone out a-shooting. She pretended
+to be their aunt, who had gone away to another part of the country
+shortly after their birth; she had been searching after them for a
+long time, and was now glad to find them in the king's city near the
+palace. She greatly admired the beauty of the girl, and said to her,
+"My dear child, you are so beautiful, you require the kataki [40]
+flower properly to set off your beauty. You should tell your brother to
+plant a row of that flower in this courtyard." "What flower is that,
+auntie? I never saw it." "How could you have seen it, my child? It
+is not found here; it grows on the other side of the ocean, guarded
+by seven hundred Rakshasas." "How, then," said the girl, "will my
+brother get it?" "He may try to get it, if you speak to him," replied
+the woman. The woman made this proposal in the hope that the boy with
+the moon on his forehead would perish in the attempt to get the flower.
+
+When the youth with the moon on his forehead returned from hunting,
+his sister told him of the visit paid to her by their aunt, and
+requested him, if possible, to get for her the kataki flower. He was
+sceptical about the existence of any aunt of theirs in the world,
+but he was resolved that, to please his beloved sister, he would get
+the flower on which she had set her heart. Next morning, accordingly,
+he started on his journey, after bidding his sister not to stir
+out of the house till his return. He rode on his fleet steed, which
+was of the pakshiraj [41] tribe, and soon reached the outskirts of
+what seemed to him dense forests of interminable length. He descried
+some Rakshasas prowling about. He went to some distance, shot with
+his arrows some deer and rhinoceroses in the neighbouring thickets,
+and, approaching the place where the Rakshasas were prowling about,
+called out, "O auntie dear, O auntie dear, your nephew is here." A
+huge Rakshasi came towards him and said, "O, you are the youth with
+the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of your hands. We
+were all expecting you, but as you have called me aunt, I will
+not eat you up. What is it you want? Have you brought any eatables
+for me?" The youth gave her the deer and rhinoceroses which he had
+killed. Her mouth watered at the sight of the dead animals, and she
+began eating them. After swallowing down all the carcases, she said,
+"Well, what do you want?" The youth said, "I want some kataki flowers
+for my sister." She then told him that it would be difficult for
+him to get the flower, as it was guarded by seven hundred Rakshasas;
+however, he might make the attempt, but in the first instance he must
+go to his uncle on the north side of that forest. While the youth
+was going to his uncle of the north, on the way he killed some deer
+and rhinoceroses, and seeing a gigantic Rakshasa at some distance,
+cried out, "Uncle dear, uncle dear, your nephew is here. Auntie has
+sent me to you." The Rakshasa came near and said, "You are the youth
+with the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of your hands;
+I would have swallowed you outright, had you not called me uncle, and
+had you not said that your aunt had sent you to me. Now, what is it you
+want?" The savoury deer and rhinoceroses were then presented to him;
+he ate them all, and then listened to the petition of the youth. The
+youth wanted the kataki flower. The Rakshasa said, "You want the kataki
+flower! Very well, try and get it if you can. After passing through
+this forest, you will come to an impenetrable forest of kachiri. [42]
+You will say to that forest, 'O mother kachiri! please make way for
+me, or else I die.' On that the forest will open up a passage for
+you. You will next come to the ocean. You will say to the ocean,
+'O mother ocean! please make way for me, or else I die,' and the
+ocean will make way for you. After crossing the ocean, you enter the
+gardens where the kataki blooms. Good-bye; do as I have told you." The
+youth thanked his Rakshasa-uncle, and went on his way. After he had
+passed through the forest, he saw before him an impenetrable forest
+of kachiri. It was so close and thick, and withal so bristling with
+thorns, that not a mouse could go through it. Remembering the advice
+of his uncle, he stood before the forest with folded hands, and said,
+"O mother kachiri! please make way for me, or else I die." On a sudden
+a clean path was opened up in the forest, and the youth gladly passed
+through it. The ocean now lay before him. He said to the ocean, "O
+mother ocean! make way for me, or else I die." Forthwith the waters
+of the ocean stood up on two sides like two walls, leaving an open
+passage between them, and the youth passed through dryshod.
+
+Now, right before him were the gardens of the kataki flower. He entered
+the inclosure, and found himself in a spacious palace which seemed to
+be unoccupied. On going from apartment to apartment he found a young
+lady of more than earthly beauty sleeping on a bedstead of gold. He
+went near, and noticed two little sticks, one of gold and the other of
+silver, lying in the bedstead. The silver stick lay near the feet of
+the sleeping beauty, and the golden one near the head. He took up the
+sticks in his hands, and as he was examining them, the golden stick
+accidentally fell upon the feet of the lady. In a moment the lady
+woke and sat up, and said to the youth, "Stranger, how have you come
+to this dismal place? I know who you are, and I know your history. You
+are the youth with the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of
+your hands. Flee, flee from this place! This is the residence of seven
+hundred Rakshasas who guard the gardens of the kataki flower. They
+have all gone a-hunting; they will return by sundown; and if they
+find you here you will be eaten up. One Rakshasi brought me from the
+earth where my father is king. She loves me very dearly, and will not
+let me go away. By means of these gold and silver sticks she kills
+me when she goes away in the morning, and by means of those sticks
+she revives me when she returns in the evening. Flee, flee hence, or
+you die!" The youth told the young lady how his sister wished very
+much to have the kataki flower, how he passed through the forest
+of kachiri, and how he crossed the ocean. He said also that he was
+determined not to go alone, he must take the young lady along with
+him. The remaining part of the day they spent together in rambling
+about the gardens. As the time was drawing near when the Rakshasas
+should return, the youth buried himself amid an enormous heap of
+kataki flower which lay in an adjoining apartment, after killing the
+young lady by touching her head with the golden stick. Just after
+sunset the youth heard the sound as of a mighty tempest: it was the
+return of the seven hundred Rakshasas into the gardens. One of them
+entered the apartment of the young lady, revived her, and said, "I
+smell a human being, I smell a human being." The young lady replied,
+"How can a human being come to this place? I am the only human being
+here." The Rakshasi then stretched herself on the floor, and told the
+young lady to shampoo her legs. As she was going on shampooing, she
+let fall a tear-drop on the Rakshasi's leg. "Why are you weeping,
+my dear child?" asked the raw-eater; "why are you weeping? Is
+anything troubling you?" "No, mamma," answered the young lady,
+"nothing is troubling me. What can trouble me, when you have made
+me so comfortable? I was only thinking what will become of me when
+you die." "When I die, child?" said the Rakshasi; "shall I die? Yes,
+of course all creatures die; but the death of a Rakshasa or Rakshasi
+will never happen. You know, child, that deep tank in the middle part
+of these gardens. Well, at the bottom of that tank there is a wooden
+box, in which there are a male and a female bee. It is ordained by
+fate that if a human being who has the moon on his forehead and stars
+on the palms of his hands were to come here and dive into that tank,
+and get hold of the same wooden box, and crush to death the male and
+female bees without letting a drop of their blood fall to the ground,
+then we should die. But the accomplishment of this decree of fate is,
+I think, impossible. For, in the first place, there can be no such
+human being who will have the moon on his forehead and stars on the
+palms of his hands; and, in the second place, if there be such a man,
+he will find it impossible to come to this place, guarded as it is
+by seven hundred of us, encompassed by a deep ocean, and barricaded
+by an impervious forest of kachiri--not to speak of the outposts and
+sentinels that are stationed on the other side of the forest. And then,
+even if he succeeds in coming here, he will perhaps not know the secret
+of the wooden box; and even if he knows of the secret of the wooden
+box, he may not succeed in killing the bees without letting a drop of
+their blood fall on the ground. And woe be to him if a drop does fall
+on the ground, for in that case he will be torn up into seven hundred
+pieces by us. You see then, child, that we are almost immortal--not
+actually, but virtually so. You may, therefore, dismiss your fears."
+
+On the next morning the Rakshasi got up, killed the young lady by
+means of the sticks, and went away in search of food along with other
+Rakshasas and Rakshasis. The lad, who had the moon on his forehead
+and stars on the palms of his hands, came out of the heap of flowers
+and revived the young lady. The young lady recited to the young man
+the whole of the conversation she had had with the Rakshasi. It was a
+perfect revelation to him. He, however, lost no time in beginning to
+act. He shut the heavy gates of the gardens. He dived into the tank
+and brought up the wooden box. He opened the wooden box, and caught
+hold of the male and female bees as they were about to escape. He
+crushed them on the palms of his hands, besmearing his body with every
+drop of their blood. The moment this was done, loud cries and groans
+were heard around about the inclosure of the gardens. Agreeably to
+the decree of fate all the Rakshasas approached the gardens and fell
+down dead. The youth with the moon on his forehead took as many kataki
+flowers as he could, together with their seeds, and left the palace,
+around which were lying in mountain heaps the carcases of the mighty
+dead, in company with the young and beautiful lady. The waters of
+the ocean retreated before the youth as before, and the forest of
+kachiri also opened up a passage through it; and the happy couple
+reached the house in the bazaar, where they were welcomed by the
+sister of the youth who had the moon on his forehead.
+
+On the following morning the youth, as usual, went to hunt. The king
+was also there. A deer passed by, and the youth shot an arrow. As
+he shot, the turban as usual fell off his head, and a bright light
+issued from it. The king saw and wondered. He told the youth to stop,
+as he wished to contract friendship with him. The youth told him to
+come to his house, and gave him his address. The king went to the
+house of the youth in the middle of the day. Pushpavati--for that
+was the name of the young lady that had been brought from beyond the
+ocean--told the king--for she knew the whole history--how his seventh
+queen had been persuaded by the other six queens to ring the bell
+twice before her time, how she was delivered of a beautiful boy and
+girl, how pups were substituted in their room, how the twins were
+saved in a miraculous manner in the house of the potter, how they
+were well treated in the bazaar, and how the youth with the moon on
+his forehead rescued her from the clutches of the Rakshasas. The king,
+mightily incensed with the six queens, had them, on the following day,
+buried alive in the ground. The seventh queen was then brought from
+the market-place and reinstated in her position; and the youth with
+the moon on his forehead, and the lovely Pushpavati and their sister,
+lived happily together.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE GHOST WHO WAS AFRAID OF BEING BAGGED
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a barber who had a wife. They did not live
+happily together, as the wife always complained that she had not enough
+to eat. Many were the curtain lectures which were inflicted upon the
+poor barber. The wife used often to say to her mate, "If you had not
+the means to support a wife, why did you marry me? People who have not
+means ought not to indulge in the luxury of a wife. When I was in my
+father's house I had plenty to eat, but it seems that I have come to
+your house to fast. Widows only fast; I have become a widow in your
+life-time." She was not content with mere words; she got very angry
+one day and struck her husband with the broomstick of the house. Stung
+with shame, and abhorring himself on account of his wife's reproach
+and beating, he left his house, with the implements of his craft,
+and vowed never to return and see his wife's face again till he had
+become rich. He went from village to village, and towards nightfall
+came to the outskirts of a forest. He laid himself down at the foot
+of a tree, and spent many a sad hour in bemoaning his hard lot.
+
+It so chanced that the tree, at the foot of which the barber was
+lying down, was dwelt in by a ghost. The ghost seeing a human being
+at the foot of the tree naturally thought of destroying him. With
+this intention the ghost alighted from the tree, and, with outspread
+arms and a gaping mouth, stood like a tall palmyra tree before the
+barber, and said, "Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will
+protect you?" The barber, though quaking in every limb through fear,
+and his hair standing erect, did not lose his presence of mind, but,
+with that promptitude and shrewdness which are characteristic of his
+fraternity, replied, "O spirit, you will destroy me! wait a bit and
+I'll show you how many ghosts I have captured this very night and
+put into my bag; and right glad am I to find you here, as I shall
+have one more ghost in my bag." So saying the barber produced from
+his bag a small looking-glass, which he always carried about with him
+along with his razors, his whet-stone, his strop and other utensils,
+to enable his customers to see whether their beards had been well
+shaved or not. He stood up, placed the looking-glass right against
+the face of the ghost, and said, "Here you see one ghost which I have
+seized and bagged; I am going to put you also in the bag to keep this
+ghost company." The ghost, seeing his own face in the looking-glass,
+was convinced of the truth of what the barber had said, and was filled
+with fear. He said to the barber, "O, sir barber, I'll do whatever
+you bid me, only do not put me into your bag. I'll give you whatever
+you want." The barber said, "You ghosts are a faithless set, there is
+no trusting you. You will promise, and not give what you promise." "O,
+sir," replied the ghost, "be merciful to me; I'll bring to you whatever
+you order; and if I do not bring it, then put me into your bag." "Very
+well," said the barber, "bring me just now one thousand gold mohurs;
+and by to-morrow night you must raise a granary in my house, and fill
+it with paddy. Go and get the gold mohurs immediately: and if you
+fail to do my bidding you will certainly be put into my bag." The
+ghost gladly consented to the conditions. He went away, and in the
+course of a short time returned with a bag containing a thousand gold
+mohurs. The barber was delighted beyond measure at the sight of the
+gold mohurs. He then told the ghost to see to it that by the following
+night a granary was erected in his house and filled with paddy.
+
+It was during the small hours of the morning that the barber, loaded
+with the heavy treasure, knocked at the door of his house. His wife,
+who reproached herself for having in a fit of rage struck her husband
+with a broomstick, got out of bed and unbolted the door. Her surprise
+was great when she saw her husband pour out of the bag a glittering
+heap of gold mohurs.
+
+The next night the poor devil, through fear of being bagged, raised
+a large granary in the barber's house, and spent the live-long night
+in carrying on his back large packages of paddy till the granary was
+filled up to the brim. The uncle of this terrified ghost, seeing his
+worthy nephew carrying on his back loads of paddy, asked what the
+matter was. The ghost related what had happened. The uncle-ghost then
+said, "You fool, you think the barber can bag you! The barber is a
+cunning fellow; he has cheated you, like a simpleton as you are." "You
+doubt," said the nephew-ghost, "the power of the barber! come and
+see." The uncle-ghost then went to the barber's house, and peeped
+into it through a window. The barber, perceiving from the blast of
+wind which the arrival of the ghost had produced that a ghost was at
+the window, placed full before it the self-same looking-glass, saying,
+"Come now, I'll put you also into the bag." The uncle-ghost, seeing his
+own face in the looking-glass, got quite frightened, and promised that
+very night to raise another granary and to fill it, not this time with
+paddy, but with rice. So in two nights the barber became a rich man,
+and lived happily with his wife begetting sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+THE FIELD OF BONES
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a king who had a son. The young prince had
+three friends, the son of the prime minister, the son of the prefect
+of the police, and the son of the richest merchant of the city. These
+four friends had great love for one another. Once on a time they
+bethought themselves of seeing distant lands. They accordingly set
+out one day, each one riding on a horse. They rode on and on, till
+about noon they came to the outskirts of what seemed to be a dense
+forest. There they rested a while, tying to the trees their horses,
+which began to browse. When they had refreshed themselves, they again
+mounted their horses and resumed their journey. At sunset they saw in
+the depths of the forest a temple, near which they dismounted, wishing
+to lodge there that night. Inside the temple there was a sannyasi,
+[43] apparently absorbed in meditation, as he did not notice the four
+friends. When darkness covered the forest, a light was seen inside
+the temple. The four friends resolved to pass the night on the balcony
+of the temple; and as the forest was infested with many wild beasts,
+they deemed it safe that each of them should watch one prahara [44]
+of the night, while the rest should sleep. It fell to the lot of the
+merchant's son to watch during the first prahara, that is to say,
+from six in the evening to nine o'clock at night. Towards the end of
+his watch the merchant's son saw a wonderful sight. The hermit took
+up a bone with his hand, and repeated over it some words which the
+merchant's son distinctly heard. The moment the words were uttered,
+a clattering sound was heard in the precincts of the temple, and
+the merchant's son saw many bones moving from different parts of the
+forest. The bones collected themselves inside the temple, at the foot
+of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. As soon as this took place,
+the watch of the merchant's son came to an end; and, rousing the son
+of the prefect of the police, he laid himself down to sleep.
+
+The prefect's son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit sitting
+cross-legged, wrapped in meditation, near a heap of bones, the
+history of which he, of course, did not know. For a long time nothing
+happened. The dead stillness of the night was broken only by the howl
+of the hy�na and the wolf, and the growl of the tiger. When his time
+was nearly up he saw a wonderful sight. The hermit looked at the heap
+of bones lying before him, and uttered some words which the prefect's
+son distinctly heard. No sooner had the words been uttered than a
+noise was heard among the bones, "and behold a shaking, and the bones
+came together, bone to its bone"; and the bones which were erewhile
+lying together in a heap now took the form of a skeleton. Struck with
+wonder, the prefect's son would have watched longer, but his time
+was over. He therefore laid himself down to sleep, after rousing the
+minister's son, to whom, however, he told nothing of what he had seen,
+as the merchant's son had not told him anything of what he had seen.
+
+The minister's son got up, rubbed his eyes, and began watching. It
+was the dead hour of midnight, when ghosts, hobgoblins, and spirits of
+every name and description, go roaming over the wide world, and when
+all creation, both animate and inanimate, is in deep repose. Even
+the howl of the wolf and the hy�na and the growl of the tiger had
+ceased. The minister's son looked towards the temple, and saw the
+hermit sitting wrapt up in meditation; and near him lying something
+which seemed to be the skeleton of some animal. He looked towards
+the dense forest and the darkness all around, and his hair stood
+on end through terror. In this state of fear and trembling he spent
+nearly three hours, when an uncommon sight in the temple attracted
+his notice. The hermit, looking at the skeleton before him, uttered
+some words which the minister's son distinctly heard. As soon as
+the words were uttered, "lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon
+the bones, and the skin covered them above"; but there was no breath
+in the skeleton. Astonished at the sight, the minister's son would
+have sat up longer, but his time was up. He therefore laid himself
+down to sleep, after having roused the king's son, to whom, however,
+he said nothing of what he had seen and heard.
+
+The king's son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit sitting,
+completely absorbed in devotion, near a figure which looked like
+some animal, but he was not a little surprised to see the animal
+lying apparently lifeless, without showing any of the symptoms of
+life. The prince spent his hours agreeably enough, especially as he
+had had a long sleep, and as he felt none of that depression which
+the dead hour of midnight sheds on the spirits; and he amused himself
+with marking how the shades of darkness were becoming thinner and
+paler every moment. But just as he noticed a red streak in the east,
+he heard a sound from inside the temple. He turned his eyes towards
+the hermit. The hermit, looking towards the inanimate figure of the
+animal lying before him, uttered some words which the prince distinctly
+heard. The moment the words were spoken, "breath came into the animal;
+it lived, it stood up upon its feet"; and quickly rushed out of the
+temple into the forest. That moment the crows cawed; the watch of the
+prince came to an end; his three companions were roused; and after
+a short time they mounted their horses, and resumed their journey,
+each one thinking of the strange sight seen in the temple.
+
+They rode on and on through the dense and interminable forest, and
+hardly spoke to one another, till about mid-day they halted under a
+tree near a pool for refreshment. After they had refreshed themselves
+with eating some fruits of the forest and drinking water from the
+pool, the prince said to his three companions, "Friends, did you not
+see something in the temple of the devotee? I'll tell you what I saw,
+but first let me hear what you all saw. Let the merchant's son first
+tell us what he saw as he had the first watch; and the others will
+follow in order."
+
+Merchant's son. I'll tell you what I saw. I saw the hermit take up
+a bone in his hand, and repeat some words which I well remember. The
+moment those words were uttered, a clattering sound was heard in the
+precincts of the temple, and I saw many bones running into the temple
+from different directions. The bones collected themselves together
+inside the temple at the feet of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. I
+would have gladly remained longer to see the end, but my time was up,
+and I had to rouse my friend, the son of the prefect of the police.
+
+Prefect's son. Friends, this is what I saw. The hermit looked at
+the heap of bones lying before him, and uttered some words which
+I well remember. No sooner had the words been uttered than I heard
+a noise among the bones, and, strange to say, the bones jumped up,
+each bone joined itself to its fellow, and the heap became a perfect
+skeleton. At that moment my watch came to an end, and I had to rouse
+my respected friend the minister's son.
+
+Minister's son. Well, when I began my watch I saw the said skeleton
+lying near the hermit. After three mortal hours, during which I was
+in great fear, I saw the hermit lift his eyes towards the skeleton
+and utter some words which I well remember. As soon as the words were
+uttered the skeleton was covered with flesh and hair, but it did not
+show any symptom of life, as it lay motionless. Just then my watch
+ended, and I had to rouse my royal friend the prince.
+
+King's son. Friends, from what you yourselves saw, you can guess what
+I saw. I saw the hermit turn towards the skeleton covered with skin and
+hair, and repeat some words which I well remember. The moment the words
+were uttered, the skeleton stood up on its feet, and it looked a fine
+and lusty deer, and while I was admiring its beauty, it skipped out
+of the temple, and ran into the forest. That moment the crows cawed.
+
+The four friends, after hearing one another's story, congratulated
+themselves on the possession of supernatural power, and they did not
+doubt but that if they pronounced the words which they had heard the
+hermit utter, the utterance would be followed by the same results. But
+they resolved to verify their power by an actual experiment. Near
+the foot of the tree they found a bone lying on the ground, and they
+accordingly resolved to experiment upon it. The merchant's son took
+up the bone, and repeated over it the formula he had heard from
+the hermit. Wonderful to relate, a hundred bones immediately came
+rushing from different directions, and lay in a heap at the foot of
+the tree. The son of the prefect of the police then looking upon the
+heap of bones, repeated the formula which he had heard from the hermit,
+and forthwith there was a shaking among the bones; the several bones
+joined themselves together, and formed themselves into a skeleton, and
+it was the skeleton of a quadruped. The minister's son then drew near
+the skeleton, and, looking intently upon it, pronounced over it the
+formula which he had heard from the hermit. The skeleton immediately
+was covered with flesh, skin, and hair, and, horrible to relate,
+the animal proved itself to be a royal tiger of the largest size. The
+four friends were filled with consternation. If the king's son were,
+by the repetition of the formula he had heard from the hermit, to make
+the beast alive, it might prove fatal to them all. The three friends,
+therefore, tried to dissuade the prince from giving life to the
+tiger. But the prince would not comply with the request. He naturally
+said, "The mantras [45] which you have learned have been proved true
+and efficacious. But how shall I know that the mantra which I have
+learned is equally efficacious? I must have my mantra verified. Nor
+is it certain that we shall lose our lives by the experiment. Here
+is this high tree. You can climb into its topmost branches, and
+I shall also follow you thither after pronouncing the mantra." In
+vain did the three friends dwell upon the extreme danger attending
+the experiment: the prince remained inexorable. The minister's son,
+the prefect's son, and the merchant's son climbed up into the topmost
+branches of the tree, while the king's son went up to the middle of
+the tree. From there, looking intently upon the lifeless tiger, he
+pronounced the words which he had learned from the hermit, and quickly
+ran up the tree. In the twinkling of an eye the tiger stood upright,
+gave out a terrible growl, with a tremendous spring killed all the
+four horses which were browsing at a little distance, and, dragging
+one of them, rushed towards the densest part of the forest. The four
+friends ensconced on the branches of the tree were almost petrified
+with fear at the sight of the terrible tiger; but the danger was now
+over. The tiger went off at a great distance from them, and from its
+growl they judged that it must be at least two miles distance from
+them. After a little they came down from the tree; and as they now had
+no horses on which to ride, they walked on foot through the forest,
+till, coming to its end, they reached the shore of the sea. They sat
+on the sea-shore hoping to see some ship sailing by. They had not sat
+long, when fortunately they descried a vessel in the offing. They
+waved their handkerchiefs, and made all sorts of signs to attract
+the notice of the people on board the ship. The captain and the crew
+noticed the men on the shore. They came towards the shore, took the
+men upon board, but added that as they were short of provisions they
+could not have them a long time on board, but would put them ashore
+at the first port they came to. After four or five days' voyage, they
+saw not far from the shore high buildings and turrets, and supposing
+the place to be a large city, the four friends landed there.
+
+The four friends, immediately after landing, walked along a long avenue
+of stately trees, at the end of which was a bazaar. There were hundreds
+of shops in the bazaar, but not a single human being in them. There
+were sweetmeat shops in which there were heaps of confectioneries
+ranged in regular rows, but no human beings to sell them. There was
+the blacksmith's shop, there was the anvil, there were the bellows
+and the other tools of the smithy, but there was no smith there. There
+were stalls in which there were heaps of faded and dried vegetables,
+but no men or women to sell them. The streets were all deserted, no
+human beings, no cattle were to be seen there. There were carts, but no
+bullocks; there were carriages, but no horses. The doors and windows
+of the houses of the city on both sides of the streets were all open,
+but no human being was visible in them. It seemed to be a deserted
+city. It seemed to be a city of the dead--and all the dead taken out
+and buried. The four friends were astonished--they were frightened
+at the sight. As they went on, they approached a magnificent pile of
+buildings, which seemed to be the palace of a king. They went to the
+gate and to the porter's lodge. They saw shields, swords, spears, and
+other weapons suspended in the lodge, but no porters. They entered the
+premises, but saw no guards, no human beings. They went to the stables,
+saw the troughs, grain, and grass lying about in profusion, but no
+horses. They went inside the palace, passed the long corridors--still
+no human being was visible. They went through six long courts--still
+no human being. They entered the seventh court, and there and then,
+for the first time, did they see living human beings. They saw
+coming towards them four princesses of matchless beauty. Each of
+these four princesses caught hold of the arm of each of the four
+friends; and each princess called each man whom she had caught hold
+of her husband. The princesses said that they had been long waiting
+for the four friends, and expressed great joy at their arrival. The
+princesses took the four friends into the innermost apartments, and
+gave them a sumptuous feast. There were no servants attending them,
+the princesses themselves bringing in the provisions and setting
+them before the four friends. At the outset the four princesses
+told the four friends that no questions were to be asked about the
+depopulation of the city. After this, each princess went into her
+private apartment along with her newly-found husband. Shortly after
+the prince and princess had retired into their private apartment,
+the princess began to shed tears. On the prince inquiring into the
+cause, the princess said, "O prince! I pity you very much. You seem,
+by your bearing, to be the son of a king, and you have, no doubt,
+the heart of a king's son; I will therefore tell you my whole story,
+and the story of my three companions who look like princesses. I am the
+daughter of a king, whose palace this is, and those three creatures,
+who are dressed like princesses, and who have called your three friends
+their husbands, are Rakshasis. They came to this city some time ago;
+they ate up my father, the king, my mother, the queen, my brothers,
+my sisters, of whom I had a large number. They ate up the king's
+ministers and servants. They ate up gradually all the people of the
+city, all my father's horses and elephants, and all the cattle of the
+city. You must have noticed, as you came to the palace, that there
+are no human beings, no cattle, no living thing in this city. They
+have all been eaten up by those three Rakshasis. They have spared me
+alone--and that, I suppose, only for a time. When the Rakshasis saw
+you and your friends from a distance, they were very glad, as they
+mean to eat you all up after a short time."
+
+King's son. But if this is the case, how do I know that you are not
+a Rakshasi yourself? Perhaps you mean to swallow me up by throwing
+me off my guard.
+
+Princess. I'll mention one fact which proves that those three creatures
+are Rakshasis, while I am not. Rakshasis, you know, eat food a hundred
+times larger in quantity than men or women. What the Rakshasis eat at
+table along with us is not sufficient to appease their hunger. They
+therefore go out at night to distant lands in search of men or cattle,
+as there are none in this city. If you ask your friends to watch and
+see whether their wives remain all night in their beds, they will find
+they go out and stay away a good part of the night, whereas you will
+find me the whole night with you. But please see that the Rakshasis do
+not get the slightest inkling of all this; for if they hear of it, they
+will kill me in the first instance, and afterwards swallow you all up.
+
+The next day the king's son called together the minister's son,
+the prefect's son, and the merchant's son, and held a consultation,
+enjoining the strictest secrecy on all. He told them what he had heard
+from the princess, and requested them to lie awake in their beds to
+watch whether their pretended princesses went out at night or not. One
+presumptive argument in favour of the assertion of the princess was
+that all the pretended princesses were fast asleep during the whole of
+the day in consequence of their nightly wanderings, whereas the female
+friend of the king's son did not sleep at all during the day. The
+three friends accordingly lay in their beds at night pretending to
+be asleep and manifesting all the symptoms of deep sleep. Each one
+observed that his female friend at a certain hour, thinking her mate
+to be in deep sleep, left the room, stayed away the whole night,
+and returned to her bed only at dawn. During the following day each
+female friend slept out nearly the whole day, and woke up only in the
+afternoon. For two nights and days the three friends observed this. The
+king's son also remained awake at night pretending to be asleep, but
+the princess was not observed for a single moment to leave the room,
+nor was she observed to sleep in the day. From these circumstances
+the friends of the king's son began to suspect that their partners
+were really Rakshasis as the princess said they were.
+
+By way of confirmation the princess also told the king's son, that the
+Rakshasis, after eating the flesh of men and animals, threw the bones
+towards the north of the city, where there was an immense collection
+of them. The king's son and his three friends went one day towards
+that part of the city, and sure enough they saw there immense heaps
+of the bones of men and animals piled up into hills. From this they
+became more and more convinced that the three women were Rakshasis
+in deed and truth.
+
+The question now was how to run away from these devourers of men
+and animals? There was one circumstance greatly in favour of the
+four friends, and that was, that the three Rakshasis slept during
+nearly the whole day; they had therefore the greater part of the
+day for the maturing of their plans. The princess advised them to go
+towards the sea-shore, and watch if any ships sailed that way. The
+four friends accordingly used to go to the sea-shore looking for
+ships. They were always accompanied by the princess, who took the
+precaution of carrying with her in a bundle her most valuable jewels,
+pearls and precious stones. It happened one day that they saw a ship
+passing at a great distance from the shore. They made signs which
+attracted the notice of the captain and crew. The ship came towards
+the land, and the four friends and princess were, after much entreaty,
+taken up. The princess exhorted the crew to row with all their might,
+for which she promised them a handsome reward; for she knew that the
+Rakshasis would awake in the afternoon, and immediately come after the
+ship; and they would assuredly catch hold of the vessel and destroy
+all the crew and passengers if it stood short of eighty miles from
+land, for the Rakshasis had the power of distending their bodies to
+the length of ten Yojanas. [46] The four friends and the princess
+cheered on the crew, and the oarsmen rowed with all their might; and
+the ship, favoured by the wind, shot over the deep like lightning. It
+was near sun-down when a terrible yell was heard on the shore. The
+Rakshasis had wakened from their sleep, and not finding either the
+four friends or the princess, naturally thought they had got hold
+of a ship and were escaping. They therefore ran along the shore with
+lightning rapidity, and seeing the ship afar off they distended their
+bodies. But fortunately the vessel was more than eighty miles off
+land, though only a trifle more: indeed, the ship was so dangerously
+near that the heads of the Rakshasis with their widely-distended
+jaws almost touched its stern. The words which the Rakshasis uttered
+in the hearing of the crew and passengers were--"O sister, so you
+are going to eat them all yourself alone." The minister's son, the
+prefect's son, and the merchant's son had all along a suspicion that
+the pretended princess, the prince's partner, might after all also
+be a Rakshasi; that suspicion was now confirmed by what they heard
+the three Rakshasis say. Those words, however, produced no effect in
+the mind of the king's son, as from his intimate acquaintance with
+the princess he could not possibly take her to be a Rakshasi.
+
+The captain told the four friends and princess that as he was bound
+for distant regions in search of gold mines, he could not take
+them along with him; he, therefore, proposed that on the next day
+he should put them ashore near some port, especially as they were
+now safe from the clutches of the Rakshasis. On the following day
+no port was visible for a long time; towards the evening, however,
+they came near a port where the four friends and the princess were
+landed. After walking some distance, the princess, who had never been
+accustomed to take long walks, complained of fatigue and hunger; they
+all therefore sat under a tree, and the king's son sent the merchant's
+son to buy some sweetmeats in the bazaar which they heard was not far
+off. The merchant's son did not return, as he was fully persuaded in
+his mind that the king's son's partner was as real a Rakshasi as the
+three others from whose clutches he had escaped. Seeing the delay of
+the merchant's son, the king's son sent the prefect's son after him;
+but neither did he return, he being also convinced that the pretended
+princess was a Rakshasi. The minister's son was next sent; but he also
+joined the other two. The king's son then himself went to the shop
+of the sweetmeat seller where he met his three friends, who made him
+remain with them by main force, earnestly declaring that the woman
+was no princess, but a real Rakshasi like the other three. Thus the
+princess was deserted by the four friends who returned to their own
+country, full of the adventures they had met with.
+
+In the meantime the princess walked to the bazaar and found shelter
+for a few days in the house of a poor woman, after which she set
+out for the city of the four friends, the name and whereabouts of
+which city she had learnt from the king's son. On arriving at the
+city, she sold some of her costly ornaments, pearls and precious
+stones, and hired a stately house for her residence with a suitable
+establishment. She caused herself to be proclaimed as a heaven-born
+dice-player, and challenged all the players in the city to play, the
+conditions of the game being that if she lost it she would give the
+winner a lakh [47] of rupees, and if she won it she should get a lakh
+from him who lost the game. She also got authority from the king of
+the country to imprison in her own house any one who could not pay her
+the stipulated sum of money. The merchant's son, the prefect's son,
+and the minister's son, who all looked upon themselves as miraculous
+players, played with the princess, paid her many lakhs, but being
+unable to pay her all the sums they owed her, were imprisoned in her
+house. At last the king's son offered to play with her. The princess
+purposely allowed him to win the first game, which emboldened him to
+play many times, in all of which he was the loser; and being unable to
+pay the many lakhs owing her, the prince was about to be dragged into
+the dungeon, when the princess told him who she was. The merchant's
+son, the prefect's son, and the minister's son were brought out of
+their cells; and the joy of the four friends knew no bounds. The
+king and the queen received their daughter-in-law with open arms,
+and with demonstrations of great festivity.
+
+Every one in the palace was glad except the princess. She could not
+forget that her parents, her brothers and sisters had been devoured
+by the Rakshasis, and that their bones, along with the bones of her
+father's subjects, stood in mountain heaps on the north side of the
+capital. The prince had told her that he and his three friends had
+the power of giving life to bones. They could then reconstruct the
+frames of her parents and other relatives; but the difficulty lay
+in this--how to kill the three Rakshasis. Could not the hermit, who
+taught them to give life, not teach also how to take away life? In all
+likelihood he could. Reasoning in this manner, the four friends and
+the princess went to the temple of the hermit in the forest, prayed
+to him to give them the secret of destroying life from a distance by a
+charm. The hermit became propitious, and granted the boon. A deer was
+passing by at the moment. The hermit took a handful of water, repeated
+over it some words which the king's son distinctly heard, and threw
+it upon the deer. The deer died in a moment. He repeated other words
+over the dead animal, the deer jumped up and ran away into the forest.
+
+Armed with this killing charm, the king's son, together with
+the princess and the three friends, went to his father-in-law's
+capital. As they approached the city of death, the three Rakshasis
+ran furiously towards them with open jaws. The king's son spilled
+charmed water upon them, and they died in an instant. They all then
+went to the heaps of bones. The merchant's son brought together the
+proper bones of the bodies, the prefect's son constructed them into
+skeletons, the minister's son clothed them with sinews, flesh, and
+skin, and the king's son gave them life. The princess was entranced
+at the sight of the re-animation of her parents and other relatives,
+and her eyes were filled with tears of joy. After a few days which
+they spent in great festivity, they left the revivified city, went
+to their own country, and lived many years in great happiness.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+THE BALD WIFE
+
+
+A certain man had two wives, the younger of whom he loved more than
+the elder. The younger wife had two tufts of hair on her head, and
+the elder only one. The man went to a distant town for merchandise;
+so the two wives lived together in the house. But they hated each
+other: the younger one, who was her husband's favourite, ill-treated
+the other. She made her do all the menial work in the house; rebuked
+her all day and night; and did not give her enough to eat. One day
+the younger wife said to the elder, "Come and take away all the lice
+from the hair of my head." While the elder wife was searching among the
+younger one's hair for the vermin, one lock of hair by chance gave way;
+on which the younger one, mightily incensed, tore off the single tuft
+that was on the head of the elder wife, and drove her away from the
+house. The elder wife, now become completely bald, determined to go
+into the forest, and there either die of starvation or be devoured by
+some wild beast. On her way she passed by a cotton plant. She stopped
+near it, made for herself a broom with some sticks which lay about,
+and swept clean the ground round about the plant. The plant was much
+pleased, and gave her a blessing. She wended on her way, and now saw
+a plantain tree. She swept the ground round about the plantain tree
+which, being pleased with her, gave her a blessing. As she went on
+she saw the shed of a Brahmani bull. As the shed was very dirty,
+she swept the place clean, on which the bull, being much pleased,
+blessed her. She next saw a tulasi plant, bowed herself down before
+it, and cleaned the place round about, on which the plant gave her
+a blessing. As she was going on in her journey she saw a hut made of
+branches of trees and leaves, and near it a man sitting cross-legged,
+apparently absorbed in meditation. She stood for a moment behind
+the venerable muni. "Whoever you may be," he said, "come before me;
+do not stand behind me; if you do, I will reduce you to ashes." The
+woman, trembling with fear, stood before the muni. "What is your
+petition?" asked the muni. "Father Muni," answered the woman, "thou
+knowest how miserable I am, since thou art all-knowing. My husband
+does not love me, and his other wife, having torn off the only tuft
+of hair on my head, has driven me away from the house. Have pity
+upon me, Father Muni!" The muni, continuing sitting, said, "Go into
+the tank which you see yonder. Plunge into the water only once, and
+then come to me again." The woman went to the tank, washed in it,
+and plunged into the water only once, according to the bidding of
+the muni. When she got out of the water, what a change was seen in
+her! Her head was full of jet black hair, which was so long that it
+touched her heels; her complexion had become perfectly fair; and she
+looked young and beautiful. Filled with joy and gratitude, she went
+to the muni, and bowed herself to the ground. The muni said to her,
+"Rise, woman. Go inside the hut, and you will find a number of wicker
+baskets, and bring out any you like." The woman went into the hut,
+and selected a modest-looking basket. The muni said, "Open the
+basket." She opened it, and found it filled with ingots of gold,
+pearls and all sorts of precious stones. The muni said, "Woman,
+take that basket with you. It will never get empty. When you take
+away the present contents their room will be supplied by another set,
+and that by another, and that by another, and the basket will never
+become empty. Daughter, go in peace." The woman bowed herself down
+to the ground in profound but silent gratitude, and went away.
+
+As she was returning homewards with the basket in her hand, she passed
+by the tulasi plant whose bottom she had swept. The tulasi plant said
+to her, "Go in peace, child! thy husband will love thee warmly." She
+next came to the shed of the Brahmani bull, who gave her two shell
+ornaments which were twined round its horns, saying, "Daughter, take
+these shells, put them on your wrists, and whenever you shake either
+of them you will get whatever ornaments you wish to obtain." She then
+came to the plantain tree, which gave her one of its broad leaves,
+saying, "Take, child, this leaf; and when you move it you will get
+not only all sorts of delicious plantains, but all kinds of agreeable
+food." She came last of all to the cotton plant, which gave her one
+of its own branches, saying, "Daughter, take this branch; and when
+you shake it you will get not only all sorts of cotton clothes, but
+also of silk and purple. Shake it now in my presence." She shook the
+branch, and a fabric of the finest glossy silk fell on her lap. She
+put on that silk cloth, and wended on her way with the shells on her
+wrists, and the basket and the branch and the leaf in her hands.
+
+The younger wife was standing at the door of her house, when she
+saw a beautiful woman approach her. She could scarcely believe her
+eyes. What a change! The old, bald hag turned into the very Queen
+of Beauty herself! The elder wife, now grown rich and beautiful,
+treated the younger wife with kindness. She gave her fine clothes,
+costly ornaments, and the richest viands. But all to no purpose. The
+younger wife envied the beauty and hair of her associate. Having heard
+that she got it all from Father Muni in the forest, she determined to
+go there. Accordingly she started on her journey. She saw the cotton
+plant, but did nothing to it; she passed by the plantain tree, the
+shed of the Brahmani bull, and the tulasi plant, without taking any
+notice of them. She approached the muni. The muni told her to bathe in
+the tank, and plunge only once into the water. She gave one plunge,
+at which she got a glorious head of hair and a beautifully fair
+complexion. She thought a second plunge would make her still more
+beautiful. Accordingly she plunged into the water again, and came
+out as bald and ugly as before. She came to the muni, and wept. The
+sage drove her away, saying, "Be off, you disobedient woman. You will
+get no boon from me." She went back to her house mad with grief. The
+lord of the two women returned from his travels and was struck with
+the long locks and beauty of his first wife. He loved her dearly;
+and when he saw her secret and untold resources and her incredible
+wealth, he almost adored her. They lived together happily for many
+years, and had for their maid-servant the younger woman, who had been
+formerly his best beloved.
+
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth;
+           "Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost wither?"
+           "Why does thy cow on me browse?"
+           "Why, O cow, dost thou browse?"
+           "Why does thy neat-herd not tend me?"
+           "Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the cow?"
+           "Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me rice?"
+           "Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give rice?"
+           "Why does my child cry?"
+           "Why, O child, dost thou cry?"
+           "Why does the ant bite me?"
+           "Why, O ant, dost thou bite?"
+            Koot! koot! koot!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+NOTES
+
+
+[1] Kings, in Bengali folk-tales, have invariably two queens--the
+elder is called duo, that is, not loved; and the younger is called suo,
+that is, loved.
+
+[2] Dalim or dadimba means a pomegranate, and kumara son.
+
+[3] Bidhata-Purusha is the deity that predetermines all the events
+of the life of man or woman, and writes on the forehead of the child,
+on the sixth day of its birth, a brief precis of them.
+
+[4] There are eight forms of marriage spoken of in the Hindu Sastras,
+of which the Gandharva is one, consisting in the exchange of garlands.
+
+[5] Alakta is leaves or flimsy paper saturated with lac.
+
+[6] A sort of open Palki, used generally for carrying the bridegroom
+and bride in marriage processions.
+
+[7] Handi is an earthen pot, generally used in cooking food.
+
+[8] Mudki, fried paddy boiled dry in treacle or sugar.
+
+[9] A sort of sweetmeat made of curds and sugar.
+
+[10] Rakshasas and Rakshasis (male and female) are in Hindu mythology
+huge giants and giantesses, or rather demons. The word means literally
+raw-eaters; they were probably the chiefs of the aborigines whom the
+Aryans overthrew on their first settlement in the country.
+
+[11] Dasi is a general name for all maid-servants.
+
+[12] Sphatika is crystal, and sthambha pillar.
+
+[13] Bathing-place, either in a tank or on the bank of a river,
+generally furnished with flights of steps.
+
+[14] Professional match-makers.
+
+[15] Manik, or rather manikya, is a fabulous precious stone of
+incredible value. It is found on the head of some species of snakes,
+and is equal in value to the wealth of seven kings.
+
+[16] Venus, the Morning Star.
+
+[17] The seat on the back of an elephant.
+
+[18] Sri is another name of Lakshmi, and batsa means child; so that
+Sribatsa is literally the "child of fortune."
+
+[19] Shells used as money, one hundred and sixty of which could have
+been got a few years ago for one pice.
+
+[20] Fried paddy.
+
+[21] This story is not my own. It was recited to me by a story-teller
+of the other sex who rejoices in the nom de plume "An Inmate of the
+Calcutta Lunatic Asylum."
+
+[22] A holy sage.
+
+[23] The tutelary goddess of a king's household.
+
+[24] A vessel, made generally of brass, for keeping the pan leaf
+together with betel-nut and other spices.
+
+[25] A towel used in bathing.
+
+[26] A sort of bed made of rope, supported by posts of wood.
+
+[27] The sacred basil.
+
+[28] Zenana is not the name of a province in India, as the good people
+of Scotland the other day took it to be, but the innermost department
+of a Hindu or Mohammedan house which the women occupy.
+
+[29] A religious mendicant.
+
+[30] Sankchinnis or Sankhachurnis are female ghosts of white
+complexion. They usually stand at the dead of night at the foot of
+trees, and look like sheets of white cloth.
+
+[31] An exorcist, one who drives away ghosts from possessed persons.
+
+[32] The ghost of a Brahman who dies unmarried.
+
+[33] A bigha is about the third part of an acre.
+
+[34] The chariot of Kuvera, the Hindu god of riches.
+
+[35] "Hiraman (from harit, green, and mani, a gem), the name of
+a beautiful species of parrot, a native of the Molucca Islands
+(Psittacus sinensis)."--Carey's Dictionary of the Bengalee Language,
+vol. ii. part iii. p. 1537.
+
+[36] Winged horse, literally, the king of birds.
+
+[37] Khai is fried paddy.
+
+[38] A name for a jackal, not unlike Reynard in Europe.
+
+[39] The god who presides over marriages.
+
+[40] Calotropis gigantea.
+
+[41] Literally the king of birds, a fabulous species of horse
+remarkable for their swiftness.
+
+[42] Arum fornicatum.
+
+[43] Religious devotee.
+
+[44] Eighth part of twenty-four hours, that is, three hours.
+
+[45] Charm or incantation.
+
+[46] A yojana is nearly eight miles.
+
+[47] Ten thousand pounds sterling.
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Folk-Tales of Bengal
+
+Author: Lal Behari Day
+
+Illustrator: Warwick Goble
+
+Release Date: January 3, 2012 [EBook #38488]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project
+Gutenberg. (This file was produced from images generously
+made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div class="front">
+<div class="div1 frenchtitle"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd19e130">Folk-Tales of Bengal</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 imprint"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd19e130">MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED<br>
+LONDON &middot; BOMBAY &middot; CALCUTTA<br>
+MELBOURNE</p>
+<p class="xd19e130">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br>
+NEW YORK &middot; BOSTON &middot; CHICAGO<br>
+DALLAS &middot; SAN FRANCISCO</p>
+<p class="xd19e130">THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.<br>
+TORONTO</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 frontispiece"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first"></p>
+<div class="figure xd19e153width" id="p000"><img src="images/p000.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;She rushed out of the palace ... and came to the upper world.&rdquo;"
+width="509" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;She rushed out of the palace ... and came
+to the upper world.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="titlePage">
+<div class="docTitle">
+<div class="mainTitle">Folk-Tales of Bengal</div>
+</div>
+<div class="byline">By the<br>
+<span class="docAuthor">Rev. Lal Behari Day</span><br>
+Author of &lsquo;Bengal Peasant Life,&rsquo; etc.<br>
+With 32 illustrations in colour<br>
+By <span class="docAuthor">Warwick Goble</span></div>
+<div class="docImprint">Macmillan and Co., Limited<br>
+St. Martin&rsquo;s Street, London<br>
+<span class="docDate">1912</span></div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 copyright"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd19e130">COPYRIGHT</p>
+<p class="xd19e130"><i>First Edition 1883<br>
+With Coloured Illustrations by Warwick Goble, 1912</i> <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e196" href="#xd19e196" name=
+"xd19e196">v</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 dedication"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd19e130">TO<br>
+<span class="xd19e202">RICHARD CARNAC TEMPLE</span><br>
+CAPTAIN, BENGAL STAFF CORPS<br>
+F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S., M.A.I., ETC.<br>
+WHO FIRST SUGGESTED TO THE WRITER<br>
+THE IDEA OF COLLECTING<br>
+THESE TALES<br>
+AND WHO IS DOING SO MUCH<br>
+IN THE CAUSE OF INDIAN FOLK-LORE<br>
+THIS LITTLE BOOK<br>
+IS INSCRIBED <span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e223" href="#xd19e223"
+name="xd19e223">vii</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 preface"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">Preface</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">In my <i>Peasant Life in Bengal</i> I make the peasant
+boy Govinda spend some hours every evening in listening to stories told
+by an old woman, who was called Sambhu&rsquo;s mother, and who was the
+best story-teller in the village. On reading that passage, Captain R.
+C. Temple, of the Bengal Staff Corps, son of the distinguished Indian
+administrator Sir Richard Temple, wrote to me to say how interesting it
+would be to get a collection of those unwritten stories which old women
+in India recite to little children in the evenings, and to ask whether
+I could not make such a collection. As I was no stranger to the
+<i lang="de">M&auml;hrchen</i> of the Brothers Grimm, to the <i>Norse
+Tales</i> so admirably told by Dasent, to Arnason&rsquo;s <i>Icelandic
+Stories</i> translated by Powell, to the <i>Highland Stories</i> done
+into English by Campbell, and to the fairy stories collected by
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e245" href="#xd19e245" name=
+"xd19e245">viii</a>]</span>other writers, and as I believed that the
+collection suggested would be a contribution, however slight, to that
+daily increasing literature of folk-lore and comparative mythology
+which, like comparative philosophy, proves that the swarthy and
+half-naked peasant on the banks of the Ganges is a cousin, albeit of
+the hundredth remove, to the fair-skinned and well-dressed Englishman
+on the banks of the Thames, I readily caught up the idea and cast about
+for materials. But where was an old story-telling woman to be got? I
+had myself, when a little boy, heard hundreds&mdash;it would be no
+exaggeration to say thousands&mdash;of fairy tales from that same old
+woman, Sambhu&rsquo;s mother&mdash;for she was no fictitious person;
+she actually lived in the flesh and bore that name; but I had nearly
+forgotten those stories, at any rate they had all got confused in my
+head, the tail of one story being joined to the head of another, and
+the head of a third to the tail of a fourth. How I wished that poor
+Sambhu&rsquo;s mother had been alive! But she had gone long, long ago,
+to that bourne from which no traveller returns, and her son Sambhu,
+too, had followed her thither. After a great deal <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e247" href="#xd19e247" name=
+"xd19e247">ix</a>]</span>of search I found my Gammer
+Grethel&mdash;though not half so old as the <span lang="de">Frau
+Viehm&auml;nnin</span> of Hesse-Cassel&mdash;in the person of a Bengali
+Christian woman, who, when a little girl and living in her heathen
+home, had heard many stories from her old grandmother. She was a good
+story-teller, but her stock was not large; and after I had heard ten
+from her I had to look about for fresh sources. An old Brahman told me
+two stories; an old barber, three; an old servant of mine told me two;
+and the rest I heard from another old Brahman. None of my authorities
+knew English; they all told the stories in Bengali, and I translated
+them into English when I came home. I heard many more stories than
+those contained in the following pages; but I rejected a great many, as
+they appeared to me to contain spurious additions to the original
+stories which I had heard when a boy. I have reason to believe that the
+stories given in this book are a genuine sample of the old old stories
+told by old Bengali women from age to age through a hundred
+generations.</p>
+<p>Sambhu&rsquo;s mother used always to end every one of her
+stories&mdash;and every orthodox Bengali story-teller <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e254" href="#xd19e254" name=
+"xd19e254">x</a>]</span>does the same&mdash;with repeating the
+following formula:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth.</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost
+wither?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy cow on me browse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O cow, dost thou browse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy neat-herd not tend
+me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the
+cow?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me
+rice?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give
+rice?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does my child cry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O child, dost thou cry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does the ant bite me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O ant, dost thou bite?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line">Koot! koot! koot!</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">What these lines mean, why they are repeated at the
+end of every story, and what the connection is of the several parts to
+one another, I do not know. Perhaps the whole is a string of nonsense
+purposely put together to amuse little children.</p>
+<p class="signed"><span class="uc">Lal Behari Day.</span></p>
+<p class="signed"><span class="sc">Hooghly College</span>,</p>
+<p class="signed"><i>February 27, 1883</i>. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e300" href="#xd19e300" name=
+"xd19e300">xi</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="toc" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">Contents</h2>
+<table class="tocList">
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">1.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch1"><span class=
+"sc">Life&rsquo;s Secret</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">2.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch2"><span class=
+"sc">Phakir Chand</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">3.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch3"><span class="sc">The
+Indigent Brahman</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">51</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">4.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch4"><span class="sc">The
+Story of the Rakshasas</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">61</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">5.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch5"><span class="sc">The
+Story of Swet-Basanta</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">89</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">6.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch6"><span class="sc">The
+Evil Eye of Sani</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">104</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">7.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch7"><span class="sc">The
+Boy whom Seven Mothers suckled</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">113</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">8.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch8"><span class="sc">The
+Story of Prince Sobur</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">119</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">9.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch9"><span class="sc">The
+Origin of Opium</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">132</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">10.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch10"><span class=
+"sc">Strike but Hear</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">140</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">11.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch11"><span class=
+"sc">The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">152</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">12.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch12"><span class=
+"sc">The Ghost-Brahman</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">173</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">13.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch13"><span class=
+"sc">The Man who wished to be Perfect</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">178</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">14.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch14"><span class="sc">A
+Ghostly Wife</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">188</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">15.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch15"><span class=
+"sc">The Story of a Brahmadaitya</span></a> <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="xd19e460" href="#xd19e460" name=
+"xd19e460">xii</a>]</span></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">192</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">16.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch16"><span class=
+"sc">The Story of a Hiraman</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">200</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">17.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch17"><span class=
+"sc">The Origin of Rubies</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">211</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">18.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch18"><span class=
+"sc">The Match-making Jackal</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">217</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">19.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch19"><span class=
+"sc">The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">227</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">20.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch20"><span class=
+"sc">The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">247</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">21.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch21"><span class=
+"sc">The Field of Bones</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">251</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum">22.</td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#ch22"><span class=
+"sc">The Bald Wife</span></a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">269</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e532" href="#xd19e532" name=
+"xd19e532">xiii</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="main">Illustrations</h2>
+<table class="tocList">
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">Facing page</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p000">&ldquo;She rushed
+out of the palace ... and came to the upper world&rdquo; (p.
+26)</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum"><i>Frontispiece</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p001">&ldquo;The Suo
+queen went to the door with a handful of rice&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p009">&ldquo;The prince
+revived, and, walking about, saw a human figure near the
+gate&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p022">&ldquo;She took up
+the jewel in her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the
+upper world&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">22</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p043">&ldquo;He rushed
+out of his hiding-place and killed the serpent&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">43</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p056">&ldquo;Instead of
+sweetmeats about a score of demons&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">56</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p062">&ldquo;At the door
+of which stood a lady of exquisite beauty&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">62</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p077">&ldquo;In a trice
+she woke up, sat up in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who
+he was&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">77</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p090">The Girl of the
+Wall-Almirah</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p095">&ldquo;On a sudden
+an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot across his path&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">95</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p106">&ldquo;They then
+set out on their journey&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">106</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p117">&ldquo;A monstrous
+bird comes out apparently from the palace&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">117</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p123">&ldquo;Hundreds of
+peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the embankments to eat the
+<i>khai</i>&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">123</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p138">&ldquo;&lsquo;You
+would adorn the palace of the mightiest sovereign&rsquo;&rdquo;</a>
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="xd19e631" href="#xd19e631" name=
+"xd19e631">xiv</a>]</span></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">138</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p141">&ldquo;He saw a
+beautiful woman coming out of the palace&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">141</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href=
+"#p145">&ldquo;&lsquo;Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold
+and these precious stones&rsquo;&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">145</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p162">&ldquo;They ran
+away in great fear, leaving behind them the money and
+jewels&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">162</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p170">&ldquo;The
+camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began
+smoking&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">170</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p174">&ldquo;&lsquo;How
+is it that you have returned so soon?&rsquo;&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">174</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p181">&ldquo;At dawn he
+used to cull flowers in the forest&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">181</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p188">&ldquo;The
+Brahman&rsquo;s wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went
+she brushed by a Sankchinni&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">188</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p194">&ldquo;The moment
+the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards the
+Brahman&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">194</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p210">&ldquo;The lady,
+king, and hiraman all reached the king&rsquo;s capital safe and
+sound&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">210</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p214">&ldquo;&lsquo;What
+princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair?&rsquo;&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">214</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p216">&ldquo;Coming up to
+the surface they climbed into the boat&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">216</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p218">&ldquo;The jackal
+... opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and
+began chewing them&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">218</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p237">&ldquo;A bright
+light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on his
+forehead&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">237</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p238">&ldquo;The six
+queens tried to comfort him&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">238</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p248">&ldquo;&lsquo;Now,
+barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will protect
+you?&rsquo;&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">248</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p259">&ldquo;They
+approached a magnificent pile of buildings&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">259</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p266">&ldquo;Thus the
+princess was deserted&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">266</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tocDivNum"></td>
+<td class="tocDivTitle" colspan="5"><a href="#p271">&ldquo;When she got
+out of the water, what a change was seen in her!&rdquo;</a></td>
+<td class="tocPageNum">271</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb1" href="#pb1" name=
+"pb1">1</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="body">
+<div id="ch1" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">I</h2>
+<h2 class="main">Life&rsquo;s Secret</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a king who had two queens, Duo and
+Suo.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e750src" href="#xd19e750" name=
+"xd19e750src">1</a> Both of them were childless. One day a Faquir
+(mendicant) came to the palace-gate to ask for alms. The Suo queen went
+to the door with a handful of rice. The mendicant asked whether she had
+any children. On being answered in the negative, the holy mendicant
+refused to take alms, as the hands of a woman unblessed with child are
+regarded as ceremonially unclean. He offered her a drug for removing
+her barrenness, and she expressing her willingness to receive it, he
+gave it to her with the following directions:&mdash;&ldquo;Take this
+nostrum, swallow it with the juice of the pomegranate flower; if you do
+this, you will have a son in due time. The son will be exceedingly
+handsome, and his complexion will be of the colour of the pomegranate
+flower; and you shall call him Dalim Kumar.<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e759src" href="#xd19e759" name="xd19e759src">2</a> As enemies will
+try to take away the life of your son, I may as well tell <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb2" href="#pb2" name="pb2">2</a>]</span>you that the
+life of the boy will be bound up in the life of a big <i>boal</i> fish
+which is in your tank, in front of the palace. In the heart of the fish
+is a small box of wood, in the box is a necklace of gold, that necklace
+is the life of your son. Farewell.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e776width" id="p001"><img src="images/p001.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The Suo queen went to the door with a handful of rice&rdquo;"
+width="499" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The Suo queen went to the door with a
+handful of rice&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>In the course of a month or so it was whispered in the palace that
+the Suo queen had hopes of an heir. Great was the joy of the king.
+Visions of an heir to the throne, and of a never-ending succession of
+powerful monarchs perpetuating his dynasty to the latest generations,
+floated before his mind, and made him glad as he had never been in his
+life. The usual ceremonies performed on such occasions were celebrated
+with great pomp; and the subjects made loud demonstrations of their joy
+at the anticipation of so auspicious an event as the birth of a prince.
+In the fulness of time the Suo queen gave birth to a son of uncommon
+beauty. When the king the first time saw the face of the infant, his
+heart leaped with joy. The ceremony of the child&rsquo;s first rice was
+celebrated with extraordinary pomp, and the whole kingdom was filled
+with gladness.</p>
+<p>In course of time Dalim Kumar grew up a fine boy. Of all sports he
+was most addicted to playing with pigeons. This brought him into
+frequent contact with his stepmother, the Duo queen, into whose
+apartments Dalim&rsquo;s pigeons had a trick of always flying. The
+first time the pigeons flew into her rooms, she readily gave them up to
+the owner; but the second time she gave them up with some reluctance.
+The fact <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb3" href="#pb3" name=
+"pb3">3</a>]</span>is that the Duo queen, perceiving that Dalim&rsquo;s
+pigeons had this happy knack of flying into her apartments, wished to
+take advantage of it for the furtherance of her own selfish views. She
+naturally hated the child, as the king, since his birth, neglected her
+more than ever, and idolised the fortunate mother of Dalim. She had
+heard, it is not known how, that the holy mendicant that had given the
+famous pill to the Suo queen had also told her of a secret connected
+with the child&rsquo;s life. She had heard that the child&rsquo;s life
+was bound up with something&mdash;she did not know with what. She
+determined to extort that secret from the boy. Accordingly, the next
+time the pigeons flew into her rooms, she refused to give them up,
+addressing the child thus:&mdash;&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t give the pigeons
+up unless you tell me one thing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Dalim.</i> What thing, mamma?</p>
+<p><i>Duo.</i> Nothing particular, my darling; I only want to know in
+what your life is.</p>
+<p><i>Dalim.</i> What is that, mamma? Where can my life be except in
+me?</p>
+<p><i>Duo.</i> No, child; that is not what I mean. A holy mendicant
+told your mother that your life is bound up with something. I wish to
+know what that thing is.</p>
+<p><i>Dalim.</i> I never heard of any such thing, mamma.</p>
+<p><i>Duo.</i> If you promise to inquire of your mother in what thing
+your life is, and if you tell me what your mother says, then I will let
+you have the pigeons, otherwise not. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb4"
+href="#pb4" name="pb4">4</a>]</span></p>
+<p><i>Dalim.</i> Very well, I&rsquo;ll inquire, and let you know. Now,
+please, give me my pigeons.</p>
+<p><i>Duo.</i> I&rsquo;ll give them on one condition more. Promise to
+me that you will not tell your mother that I want the information.</p>
+<p><i>Dalim.</i> I promise.</p>
+<p>The Duo queen let go the pigeons, and Dalim, overjoyed to find again
+his beloved birds, forgot every syllable of the conversation he had had
+with his stepmother. The next day, however, the pigeons again flew into
+the Duo queen&rsquo;s rooms. Dalim went to his stepmother, who asked
+him for the required information. The boy promised to ask his mother
+that very day, and begged hard for the release of the pigeons. The
+pigeons were at last delivered. After play, Dalim went to his mother
+and said&mdash;&ldquo;Mamma, please tell me in what my life is
+contained.&rdquo; &ldquo;What do you mean, child?&rdquo; asked the
+mother, astonished beyond measure at the child&rsquo;s extraordinary
+question. &ldquo;Yes, mamma,&rdquo; rejoined the child, &ldquo;I have
+heard that a holy mendicant told you that my life is contained in
+something. Tell me what that thing is.&rdquo; &ldquo;My pet, my
+darling, my treasure, my golden moon, do not ask such an inauspicious
+question. Let the mouth of my enemies be covered with ashes, and let my
+Dalim live for ever,&rdquo; said the mother, earnestly. But the child
+insisted on being informed of the secret. He said he would not eat or
+drink anything unless the information were given him. The Suo queen,
+pressed by the importunity of her son, in an evil <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb5" href="#pb5" name="pb5">5</a>]</span>hour told
+the child the secret of his life. The next day the pigeons again, as
+fate would have it, flew into the Duo queen&rsquo;s rooms. Dalim went
+for them; the stepmother plied the boy with sugared words, and obtained
+the knowledge of the secret.</p>
+<p>The Duo queen, on learning the secret of Dalim Kumar&rsquo;s life,
+lost no time in using it for the prosecution of her malicious design.
+She told her maid-servants to get for her some dried stalks of the hemp
+plant, which are very brittle, and which, when pressed upon, make a
+peculiar noise, not unlike the cracking of joints of bones in the human
+body. These hemp stalks she put under her bed, upon which she laid
+herself down and gave out that she was dangerously ill. The king,
+though he did not love her so well as his other queen, was in duty
+bound to visit her in her illness. The queen pretended that her bones
+were all cracking; and sure enough, when she tossed from one side of
+her bed to the other, the hemp stalks made the noise wanted. The king,
+believing that the Duo queen was seriously ill, ordered his best
+physician to attend her. With that physician the Duo queen was in
+collusion. The physician said to the king that for the queen&rsquo;s
+complaint there was but one remedy, which consisted in the outward
+application of something to be found inside a large <i>boal</i> fish
+which was in the tank before the palace. The king&rsquo;s fisherman was
+accordingly called and ordered to catch the <i>boal</i> in question. On
+the first throw of the net the fish <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb6"
+href="#pb6" name="pb6">6</a>]</span>was caught. It so happened that
+Dalim Kumar, along with other boys, was playing not far from the tank.
+The moment the <i>boal</i> fish was caught in the net, that moment
+Dalim felt unwell; and when the fish was brought up to land, Dalim fell
+down on the ground, and made as if he was about to breathe his last. He
+was immediately taken into his mother&rsquo;s room, and the king was
+astonished on hearing of the sudden illness of his son and heir. The
+fish was by the order of the physician taken into the room of the Duo
+queen, and as it lay on the floor striking its fins on the ground,
+Dalim in his mother&rsquo;s room was given up for lost. When the fish
+was cut open, a casket was found in it; and in the casket lay a
+necklace of gold. The moment the necklace was worn by the queen, that
+very moment Dalim died in his mother&rsquo;s room.</p>
+<p>When the news of the death of his son and heir reached the king he
+was plunged into an ocean of grief, which was not lessened in any
+degree by the intelligence of the recovery of the Duo queen. He wept
+over his dead Dalim so bitterly that his courtiers were apprehensive of
+a permanent derangement of his mental powers. The king would not allow
+the dead body of his son to be either buried or burnt. He could not
+realise the fact of his son&rsquo;s death; it was so entirely causeless
+and so terribly sudden. He ordered the dead body to be removed to one
+of his garden-houses in the suburbs of the city, and to be laid there
+in state. He ordered that all sorts of provisions should be stowed away
+in that house, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb7" href="#pb7" name=
+"pb7">7</a>]</span>as if the young prince needed them for his
+refection. Orders were issued that the house should be kept locked up
+day and night, and that no one should go into it except Dalim&rsquo;s
+most intimate friend, the son of the king&rsquo;s prime minister, who
+was intrusted with the key of the house, and who obtained the privilege
+of entering it once in twenty-four hours.</p>
+<p>As, owing to her great loss, the Suo queen lived in retirement, the
+king gave up his nights entirely to the Duo queen. The latter, in order
+to allay suspicion, used to put aside the gold necklace at night; and,
+as fate had ordained that Dalim should be in the state of death only
+during the time that the necklace was round the neck of the queen, he
+passed into the state of life whenever the necklace was laid aside.
+Accordingly Dalim revived every night, as the Duo queen every night put
+away the necklace, and died again the next morning when the queen put
+it on. When Dalim became reanimated at night he ate whatever food he
+liked, for of such there was a plentiful stock in the garden-house,
+walked about on the premises, and meditated on the singularity of his
+lot. Dalim&rsquo;s friend, who visited him only during the day, found
+him always lying a lifeless corpse; but what struck him after some days
+was the singular fact that the body remained in the same state in which
+he saw it on the first day of his visit. There was no sign of
+putrefaction. Except that it was lifeless and pale, there were no
+symptoms of corruption&mdash;it was apparently quite fresh. Unable
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb8" href="#pb8" name=
+"pb8">8</a>]</span>to account for so strange a phenomenon, he
+determined to watch the corpse more closely, and to visit it not only
+during the day but sometimes also at night. The first night that he
+paid his visit he was astounded to see his dead friend sauntering about
+in the garden. At first he thought the figure might be only the ghost
+of his friend, but on feeling him and otherwise examining him, he found
+the apparition to be veritable flesh and blood. Dalim related to his
+friend all the circumstances connected with his death; and they both
+concluded that he revived at nights only because the Duo queen put
+aside her necklace when the king visited her. As the life of the prince
+depended on the necklace, the two friends laid their heads together to
+devise if possible some plans by which they might get possession of it.
+Night after night they consulted together, but they could not think of
+any feasible scheme. At length the gods brought about the deliverance
+of Dalim Kumar in a wonderful manner.</p>
+<p>Some years before the time of which we are speaking, the sister of
+Bidhata-Purusha<a class="noteref" id="xd19e851src" href="#xd19e851"
+name="xd19e851src">3</a> was delivered of a daughter. The anxious
+mother asked her brother what he had written on her child&rsquo;s
+forehead; to which Bidhata-Purusha replied that she should get married
+to a dead bridegroom. Maddened as she became with grief at the prospect
+of such a dreary destiny for her daughter, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb9" href="#pb9" name="pb9">9</a>]</span>she yet
+thought it useless to remonstrate with her brother, for she well knew
+that he never changed what he once wrote. As the child grew in years
+she became exceedingly beautiful, but the mother could not look upon
+her with pleasure in consequence of the portion allotted to her by her
+divine brother. When the girl came to marriageable age, the mother
+resolved to flee from the country with her, and thus avert her dreadful
+destiny. But the decrees of fate cannot thus be overruled. In the
+course of their wanderings the mother and daughter arrived at the gate
+of that very garden-house in which Dalim Kumar lay. It was evening. The
+girl said she was thirsty and wanted to drink water. The mother told
+her daughter to sit at the gate, while she went to search for drinking
+water in some neighbouring hut. In the meantime the girl through
+curiosity pushed the door of the garden-house, which opened of itself.
+She then went in and saw a beautiful palace, and was wishing to come
+out when the door shut itself of its own accord, so that she could not
+get out. As night came on the prince revived, and, walking about, saw a
+human figure near the gate. He went up to it, and found it was a girl
+of surpassing beauty. On being asked who she was, she told Dalim Kumar
+all the details of her little history,&mdash;how her uncle, the divine
+Bidhata-Purusha, wrote on her forehead at her birth that she should get
+married to a dead bridegroom, how her mother had no pleasure in her
+life at the prospect of so terrible a destiny, and <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb10" href="#pb10" name="pb10">10</a>]</span>how,
+therefore, on the approach of her womanhood, with a view to avert so
+dreadful a catastrophe, she had left her house with her and wandered in
+various places, how they came to the gate of the garden-house, and how
+her mother had now gone in search of drinking water for her. Dalim
+Kumar, hearing her simple and pathetic story, said, &ldquo;I am the
+dead bridegroom, and you must get married to me, come with me to the
+house.&rdquo; &ldquo;How can you be said to be a dead bridegroom when
+you are standing and speaking to me?&rdquo; said the girl. &ldquo;You
+will understand it afterwards,&rdquo; rejoined the prince, &ldquo;come
+now and follow me.&rdquo; The girl followed the prince into the house.
+As she had been fasting the whole day the prince hospitably entertained
+her. As for the mother of the girl, the sister of the divine
+Bidhata-Purusha, she returned to the gate of the garden-house after it
+was dark, cried out for her daughter, and getting no answer, went away
+in search of her in the huts in the neighbourhood. It is said that
+after this she was not seen anywhere.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e862width" id="p009"><img src="images/p009.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human figure near the gate&rdquo;"
+width="502" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The prince revived, and, walking about,
+saw a human figure near the gate&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>While the niece of the divine Bidhata-Purusha was partaking of the
+hospitality of Dalim Kumar, his friend as usual made his appearance. He
+was surprised not a little at the sight of the fair stranger; and his
+surprise became greater when he heard the story of the young lady from
+her own lips. It was forthwith resolved that very night to unite the
+young couple in the bonds of matrimony. As priests were out of the
+question, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb11" href="#pb11" name=
+"pb11">11</a>]</span>the hymeneal rites were performed <i>&agrave; la
+Gandharva</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e873src" href="#xd19e873"
+name="xd19e873src">4</a> The friend of the bridegroom took leave of the
+newly-married couple and went away to his house. As the happy pair had
+spent the greater part of the night in wakefulness, it was long after
+sunrise that they awoke from their sleep;&mdash;I should have said that
+the young wife woke from her sleep, for the prince had become a cold
+corpse, life having departed from him. The feelings of the young wife
+may be easily imagined. She shook her husband, imprinted warm kisses on
+his cold lips, but in vain. He was as lifeless as a marble statue.
+Stricken with horror, she smote her breast, struck her forehead with
+the palms of her hands, tore her hair and went about in the house and
+in the garden as if she had gone mad. Dalim&rsquo;s friend did not come
+into the house during the day, as he deemed it improper to pay a visit
+to her while her husband was lying dead. The day seemed to the poor
+girl as long as a year, but the longest day has its end, and when the
+shades of evening were descending upon the landscape, her dead husband
+was awakened into consciousness; he rose up from his bed, embraced his
+disconsolate wife, ate, drank, and became merry. His friend made his
+appearance as usual, and the whole night was spent in gaiety and
+festivity. Amid this alternation of life and death did the prince and
+his lady spend some seven or eight years, during which time the
+princess presented her husband with two lovely boys who were the exact
+image of their father. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb12" href="#pb12"
+name="pb12">12</a>]</span></p>
+<p>It is superfluous to remark that the king, the two queens, and other
+members of the royal household did not know that Dalim Kumar was
+living, at any rate, was living at night. They all thought that he was
+long ago dead and his corpse burnt. But the heart of Dalim&rsquo;s wife
+was yearning after her mother-in-law, whom she had never seen. She
+conceived a plan by which she might be able not only to have a sight of
+her mother-in-law, but also to get hold of the Duo queen&rsquo;s
+necklace, on which her husband&rsquo;s life was dependent. With the
+consent of her husband and of his friend she disguised herself as a
+female barber. Like every female barber she took a bundle containing
+the following articles:&mdash;an iron instrument for paring nails,
+another iron instrument for scraping off the superfluous flesh of the
+soles of the feet, a piece of <i>jhama</i> or burnt brick for rubbing
+the soles of the feet with, and <i>alakta</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e885src" href="#xd19e885" name="xd19e885src">5</a> for painting
+the edges of the feet and toes with. Taking this bundle in her hand she
+stood at the gate of the king&rsquo;s palace with her two boys. She
+declared herself to be a barber, and expressed a desire to see the Suo
+queen, who readily gave her an interview. The queen was quite taken up
+with the two little boys, who, she declared, strongly reminded her of
+her darling Dalim Kumar. Tears fell profusely from her eyes at the
+recollection of her lost treasure; but she of course had not the
+remotest idea that the two little boys were the sons of her own dear
+Dalim. She told the supposed barber that she did <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb13" href="#pb13" name="pb13">13</a>]</span>not
+require her services, as, since the death of her son, she had given up
+all terrestrial vanities, and among others the practice of dyeing her
+feet red; but she added that, nevertheless, she would be glad now and
+then to see her and her two fine boys. The female barber, for so we
+must now call her, then went to the quarters of the Duo queen and
+offered her services. The queen allowed her to pare her nails, to
+scrape off the superfluous flesh of her feet, and to paint them with
+<i>alakta</i> and was so pleased with her skill, and the sweetness of
+her disposition, that she ordered her to wait upon her periodically.
+The female barber noticed with no little concern the necklace round the
+queen&rsquo;s neck. The day of her second visit came on, and she
+instructed the elder of her two sons to set up a loud cry in the
+palace, and not to stop crying till he got into his hands the Duo
+queen&rsquo;s necklace. The female barber, accordingly, went again on
+the appointed day to the Duo queen&rsquo;s apartments. While she was
+engaged in painting the queen&rsquo;s feet, the elder boy set up a loud
+cry. On being asked the reason of the cry, the boy, as previously
+instructed, said that he wanted the queen&rsquo;s necklace. The queen
+said that it was impossible for her to part with that particular
+necklace, for it was the best and most valuable of all her jewels. To
+gratify the boy, however, she took it off her neck, and put it into the
+boy&rsquo;s hand. The boy stopped crying and held the necklace tight in
+his hand. As the female barber after she had done her work was about to
+go away, the queen wanted the necklace <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb14" href="#pb14" name="pb14">14</a>]</span>back. But the boy would
+not part with it. When his mother attempted to snatch it from him, he
+wept bitterly, and showed as if his heart would break. On which the
+female barber said&mdash;&ldquo;Will your Majesty be gracious enough to
+let the boy take the necklace home with him? When he falls asleep after
+drinking his milk, which he is sure to do in the course of an hour, I
+will carefully bring it back to you.&rdquo; The queen, seeing that the
+boy would not allow it to be taken away from him, agreed to the
+proposal of the female barber, especially reflecting that Dalim, whose
+life depended on it, had long ago gone to the abodes of death.</p>
+<p>Thus possessed of the treasure on which the life of her husband
+depended, the woman went with breathless haste to the garden-house and
+presented the necklace to Dalim, who had been restored to life. Their
+joy knew no bounds, and by the advice of their friend they determined
+the next day to go to the palace in state, and present themselves to
+the king and the Suo queen. Due preparations were made; an elephant,
+richly caparisoned, was brought for the prince Dalim Kumar, a pair of
+ponies for the two little boys, and a <i>chaturdala</i><a class=
+"noteref" id="xd19e901src" href="#xd19e901" name="xd19e901src">6</a>
+furnished with curtains of gold lace for the princess. Word was sent to
+the king and the Suo queen that the prince Dalim Kumar was not only
+alive, but that he was coming to visit his royal parents with his wife
+and sons. The king and Suo queen could hardly believe in the report,
+but being assured of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb15" href="#pb15"
+name="pb15">15</a>]</span>its truth they were entranced with joy; while
+the Duo queen, anticipating the disclosure of all her wiles, became
+overwhelmed with grief. The procession of Dalim Kumar, which was
+attended by a band of musicians, approached the palace-gate; and the
+king and Suo queen went out to receive their long-lost son. It is
+needless to say that their joy was intense. They fell on each
+other&rsquo;s neck and wept. Dalim then related all the circumstances
+connected with his death. The king, inflamed with rage, ordered the Duo
+queen into his presence. A large hole, as deep as the height of a man,
+was dug in the ground. The Duo queen was put into it in a standing
+posture. Prickly thorn was heaped around her up to the crown of her
+head; and in this manner she was buried alive.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost
+wither?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy cow on me browse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O cow, dost thou browse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy neat-herd not tend
+me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the
+cow?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me
+rice?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give
+rice?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does my child cry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O child, dost thou cry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does the ant bite me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O ant, dost thou bite?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line">Koot! koot! koot!</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb16" href="#pb16" name=
+"pb16">16</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e750" href="#xd19e750src" name="xd19e750">1</a></span> Kings, in
+Bengali folk-tales, have invariably two queens&mdash;the elder is
+called <i>duo</i>, that is, not loved; and the younger is called
+<i>suo</i>, that is, loved.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e759" href="#xd19e759src" name="xd19e759">2</a></span>
+<i>Dalim</i> or <i>dadimba</i> means a pomegranate, and <i>kumara</i>
+son.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e851" href="#xd19e851src" name="xd19e851">3</a></span>
+Bidhata-Purusha is the deity that predetermines all the events of the
+life of man or woman, and writes on the forehead of the child, on the
+sixth day of its birth, a brief <i>precis</i> of them.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e873" href="#xd19e873src" name="xd19e873">4</a></span> There are
+eight forms of marriage spoken of in the Hindu Sastras, of which the
+Gandharva is one, consisting in the exchange of garlands.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e885" href="#xd19e885src" name="xd19e885">5</a></span>
+<i>Alakta</i> is leaves or flimsy paper saturated with lac.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e901" href="#xd19e901src" name="xd19e901">6</a></span> A sort of
+open <i>Palki</i>, used generally for carrying the bridegroom and bride
+in marriage processions.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch2" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">II</h2>
+<h2 class="main">Phakir Chand</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a king&rsquo;s son, and there was a
+minister&rsquo;s son. They loved each other dearly; they sat together,
+they stood up together, they walked together, they ate together, they
+slept together, they got up together. In this way they spent many years
+in each other&rsquo;s company, till they both felt a desire to see
+foreign lands. So one day they set out on their journey. Though very
+rich, the one being the son of a king and the other the son of his
+chief minister, they did not take any servants with them; they went by
+themselves on horseback. The horses were beautiful to look at; they
+were <i>pakshirajes</i>, or kings of birds. The king&rsquo;s son and
+the minister&rsquo;s son rode together many days. They passed through
+extensive plains covered with paddy; through cities, towns, and
+villages; through waterless, treeless deserts; through dense forests
+which were the abode of the tiger and the bear. One evening they were
+overtaken by night in a region where human habitations were not seen;
+and as it was getting darker and darker, they dismounted beneath a
+lofty tree, tied their horses to its trunk, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb17" href="#pb17" name="pb17">17</a>]</span>and,
+climbing up, sat on its branches covered with thick foliage. The tree
+grew near a large tank, the water of which was as clear as the eye of a
+crow. The king&rsquo;s son and the minister&rsquo;s son made themselves
+as comfortable as they could on the tree, being determined to spend on
+its branches the livelong night. They sometimes chatted together in
+whispers on account of the lonely terrors of the region; they sometimes
+sat demurely silent for some minutes; and anon they were falling into a
+doze, when their attention was arrested by a terrible sight.</p>
+<p>A sound like the rush of many waters was heard from the middle of
+the tank. A huge serpent was seen leaping up from under the water with
+its hood of enormous size. It &ldquo;lay floating many a rood&rdquo;;
+then it swam ashore, and went about hissing. But what most of all
+attracted the attention of the king&rsquo;s son and the
+minister&rsquo;s son was a brilliant <i>manikya</i> (jewel) on the
+crested hood of the serpent. It shone like a thousand diamonds. It lit
+up the tank, its embankments, and the objects round about. The serpent
+doffed the jewel from its crest and threw it on the ground, and then it
+went about hissing in search of food. The two friends sitting on the
+tree greatly admired the wonderful brilliant, shedding ineffable lustre
+on everything around. They had never before seen anything like it; they
+had only heard of it as equalling the treasures of seven kings. Their
+admiration, however, was soon changed into sorrow and fear; for the
+serpent came hissing to the foot <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb18"
+href="#pb18" name="pb18">18</a>]</span>of the tree on the branches of
+which they were seated, and swallowed up, one by one, the horses tied
+to the trunk. They feared that they themselves would be the next
+victims, when, to their infinite relief, the gigantic cobra turned away
+from the tree, and went about roaming to a great distance. The
+minister&rsquo;s son, seeing this, bethought himself of taking
+possession of the lustrous stone. He had heard that the only way to
+hide the brilliant light of the jewel was to cover it with cow-dung or
+horse-dung, a quantity of which latter article he perceived lying at
+the foot of the tree. He came down from the tree softly, picked up the
+horse-dung, threw it upon the precious stone, and again climbed into
+the tree. The serpent, not perceiving the light of its head-jewel,
+rushed with great fury to the spot where it had been left. Its
+hissings, groans, and convulsions were terrible. It went round and
+round the jewel covered with horse-dung, and then breathed its last.
+Early next morning the king&rsquo;s son and the minister&rsquo;s son
+alighted from the tree, and went to the spot where the crest-jewel was.
+The mighty serpent lay there perfectly lifeless. The minister&rsquo;s
+son took up in his hand the jewel covered with horse-dung; and both of
+them went to the tank to wash it. When all the horse-dung had been
+washed off, the jewel shone as brilliantly as before. It lit up the
+entire bed of the tank, and exposed to their view the innumerable
+fishes swimming about in the waters. But what was their astonishment
+when they saw, by the light of the jewel, in the bottom of the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb19" href="#pb19" name=
+"pb19">19</a>]</span>tank, the lofty walls of what seemed a magnificent
+palace. The venturesome son of the minister proposed to the prince that
+they should dive into the waters and get at the palace below. They both
+dived into the waters&mdash;the jewel being in the hand of the
+minister&rsquo;s son&mdash;and in a moment stood at the gate of the
+palace. The gate was open. They saw no being, human or superhuman. They
+went inside the gate, and saw a beautiful garden laid out on the ample
+grounds round about the house which was in the centre. The king&rsquo;s
+son and the minister&rsquo;s son had never seen such a profusion of
+flowers. The rose with its many varieties, the jessamine, the
+<i>bel</i>, the <i>mallika</i>, the <i>king of smells</i>, the lily of
+the valley, the <i>Champaka</i>, and a thousand other sorts of
+sweet-scented flowers were there. And of each of these flowers there
+seemed to be a large number. Here were a hundred rose-bushes, there
+many acres covered with the delicious jessamine, while yonder were
+extensive plantations of all sorts of flowers. As all the plants were
+begemmed with flowers, and as the flowers were in full bloom, the air
+was loaded with rich perfume. It was a wilderness of sweets. Through
+this paradise of perfumery they proceeded towards the house, which was
+surrounded by banks of lofty trees. They stood at the door of the
+house. It was a fairy palace. The walls were of burnished gold, and
+here and there shone diamonds of dazzling hue which were stuck into the
+walls. They did not meet with any beings, human or other. They went
+inside, which was richly furnished. They <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb20" href="#pb20" name="pb20">20</a>]</span>went from room to room,
+but they did not see any one. It seemed to be a deserted house. At
+last, however, they found in one room a young lady lying down,
+apparently in sleep, on a bed of golden framework. She was of exquisite
+beauty; her complexion was a mixture of red and white; and her age was
+apparently about sixteen. The king&rsquo;s son and the minister&rsquo;s
+son gazed upon her with rapture; but they had not stood long when this
+young lady of superb beauty opened her eyes, which seemed like those of
+a gazelle. On seeing the strangers she said: &ldquo;How have you come
+here, ye unfortunate men? Begone, begone! This is the abode of a mighty
+serpent, which has devoured my father, my mother, my brothers, and all
+my relatives; I am the only one of my family that he has spared. Flee
+for your lives, or else the serpent will put you both in its capacious
+maw.&rdquo; The minister&rsquo;s son told the princess how the serpent
+had breathed its last; how he and his friend had got possession of its
+head-jewel, and by its light had come to her palace. She thanked the
+strangers for delivering her from the infernal serpent, and begged of
+them to live in the house, and never to desert her. The king&rsquo;s
+son and the minister&rsquo;s son gladly accepted the invitation. The
+king&rsquo;s son, smitten with the charms of the peerless princess,
+married her after a short time; and as there was no priest there, the
+hymeneal knot was tied by a simple exchange of garlands of flowers.</p>
+<p>The king&rsquo;s son became inexpressibly happy in the company of
+the princess, who was as amiable <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb21"
+href="#pb21" name="pb21">21</a>]</span>in her disposition as she was
+beautiful in her person; and though the wife of the minister&rsquo;s
+son was living in the upper world, he too participated in his
+friend&rsquo;s happiness. Time thus passed merrily, when the
+king&rsquo;s son bethought himself of returning to his native country;
+and as it was fit that he should go with his princess in due pomp, it
+was determined that the minister&rsquo;s son should first ascend from
+the subaqueous regions, go to the king, and bring with him attendants,
+horses, and elephants for the happy pair. The snake-jewel was therefore
+had in requisition. The prince, with the jewel in hand, accompanied the
+minister&rsquo;s son to the upper world, and bidding adieu to his
+friend returned to his lovely wife in the enchanted palace. Before
+leaving, the minister&rsquo;s son appointed the day and the hour when
+he would stand on the high embankments of the tank with horses,
+elephants, and attendants, and wait upon the prince and the princess,
+who were to join him in the upper world by means of the jewel.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e981width" id="p022"><img src="images/p022.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;She took up the jewel in her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the upper world&rdquo;"
+width="499" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;She took up the jewel in her hand, left
+the palace, and successfully reached the upper world&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Leaving the minister&rsquo;s son to wend his way to his country and
+to make preparations for the return of his king&rsquo;s son, let us see
+how the happy couple in the subterranean palace were passing their
+time. One day, while the prince was sleeping after his noonday meal,
+the princess, who had never seen the upper regions, felt the desire of
+visiting them, and the rather as the snake-jewel, which alone could
+give her safe conduct through the waters, was at that moment shedding
+its bright effulgence in the room. She took up the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb22" href="#pb22" name="pb22">22</a>]</span>jewel in
+her hand, left the palace, and successfully reached the upper world. No
+mortal caught her sight. She sat on the flight of steps with which the
+tank was furnished for the convenience of bathers, scrubbed her body,
+washed her hair, disported in the waters, walked about on the
+water&rsquo;s edge, admired all the scenery around, and returned to her
+palace, where she found her husband still locked in the embrace of
+sleep. When the prince woke up, she did not tell him a word about her
+adventure. The following day at the same hour, when her husband was
+asleep, she paid a second visit to the upper world, and went back
+unnoticed by mortal man. As success made her bold, she repeated her
+adventure a third time. It so chanced that on that day the son of the
+Rajah, in whose territories the tank was situated, was out on a hunting
+excursion, and had pitched his tent not far from the place. While his
+attendants were engaged in cooking their noon-day meal, the
+Rajah&rsquo;s son sauntered about on the embankments of the tank, near
+which an old woman was gathering sticks and dried branches of trees for
+purposes of fuel. It was while the Rajah&rsquo;s son and the old woman
+were near the tank that the princess paid her third visit to the upper
+world. She rose up from the waters, gazed around, and seeing a man and
+a woman on the banks again went down. The Rajah&rsquo;s son caught a
+momentary glimpse of the princess, and so did the old woman gathering
+sticks. The Rajah&rsquo;s son stood gazing on the waters. He had never
+seen such a beauty. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb23" href="#pb23"
+name="pb23">23</a>]</span>She seemed to him to be one of those
+<i>deva-kanyas</i>, heavenly goddesses, of whom he had read in old
+books, and who are said now and then to favour the lower world with
+their visits, which, like angel visits, are &ldquo;few and far
+between.&rdquo; The unearthly beauty of the princess, though he had
+seen her only for a moment, made a deep impression on his heart, and
+distracted his mind. He stood there like a statue, for hours, gazing on
+the waters, in the hope of seeing the lovely figure again. But in vain.
+The princess did not appear again. The Rajah&rsquo;s son became mad
+with love. He kept muttering&mdash;&ldquo;Now here, now gone! Now here,
+now gone!&rdquo; He would not leave the place till he was forcibly
+removed by the attendants who had now come to him. He was taken to his
+father&rsquo;s palace in a state of hopeless insanity. He spoke to
+nobody; he always sobbed heavily; and the only words which proceeded
+out of his mouth&mdash;and he was muttering them every
+minute&mdash;were, &ldquo;Now here, now gone! Now here, now
+gone!&rdquo; The Rajah&rsquo;s grief may well be conceived. He could
+not imagine what should have deranged his son&rsquo;s mind. The words,
+&ldquo;Now here, now gone,&rdquo; which ever and anon issued from his
+son&rsquo;s lips, were a mystery to him; he could not unravel their
+meaning; neither could the attendants throw any light on the subject.
+The best physicians of the country were consulted, but to no effect.
+The sons of &AElig;sculapius could not ascertain the cause of the
+madness, far less could they cure it. To the many inquiries of the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb24" href="#pb24" name=
+"pb24">24</a>]</span>physicians, the only reply made by the
+Rajah&rsquo;s son was the stereotyped words&mdash;&ldquo;Now here, now
+gone! Now here, now gone!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Rajah, distracted with grief on account of the obscuration of
+his son&rsquo;s intellects, caused a proclamation to be made in the
+capital by beat of drum, to the effect that, if any person could
+explain the cause of his son&rsquo;s madness and cure it, such a person
+would be rewarded with the hand of the Rajah&rsquo;s daughter, and with
+the possession of half his kingdom. The drum was beaten round most
+parts of the city, but no one touched it, as no one knew the cause of
+the madness of the Rajah&rsquo;s son. At last an old woman touched the
+drum, and declared that she would not only discover the cause of the
+madness, but cure it. This woman, who was the identical woman that was
+gathering sticks near the tank at the time the Rajah&rsquo;s son lost
+his reason, had a crack-brained son of the name of Phakir Chand, and
+was in consequence called Phakir&rsquo;s mother, or more familiarly
+Phakre&rsquo;s mother. When the woman was brought before the Rajah, the
+following conversation took place:&mdash;</p>
+<p><i>Rajah.</i> You are the woman that touched the drum.&mdash;You
+know the cause of my son&rsquo;s madness?</p>
+<p><i>Phakir&rsquo;s Mother.</i> Yes, O incarnation of justice! I know
+the cause, but I will not mention it till I have cured your son.</p>
+<p><i>Rajah.</i> How can I believe that you are able to cure my son,
+when the best physicians of the land have failed? <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb25" href="#pb25" name="pb25">25</a>]</span></p>
+<p><i>Phakir&rsquo;s Mother.</i> You need not now believe, my lord,
+till I have performed the cure. Many an old woman knows secrets with
+which wise men are unacquainted.</p>
+<p><i>Rajah.</i> Very well, let me see what you can do. In what time
+will you perform the cure?</p>
+<p><i>Phakir&rsquo;s Mother.</i> It is impossible to fix the time at
+present; but I will begin work immediately with your lordship&rsquo;s
+assistance.</p>
+<p><i>Rajah.</i> What help do you require from me?</p>
+<p><i>Phakir&rsquo;s Mother.</i> Your lordship will please order a hut
+to be raised on the embankment of the tank where your son first caught
+the disease. I mean to live in that hut for a few days. And your
+lordship will also please order some of your servants to be in
+attendance at a distance of about a hundred yards from the hut, so that
+they might be within call.</p>
+<p><i>Rajah.</i> Very well; I will order that to be immediately done.
+Do you want anything else?</p>
+<p><i>Phakir&rsquo;s Mother.</i> Nothing else, my lord, in the way of
+preparations. But it is as well to remind your lordship of the
+conditions on which I undertake the cure. Your lordship has promised to
+give to the performer of the cure the hand of your daughter and half
+your kingdom. As I am a woman and cannot marry your daughter, I beg
+that, in case I perform the cure, my son Phakir Chand may marry your
+daughter and take possession of half your kingdom.</p>
+<p><i>Rajah.</i> Agreed, agreed.</p>
+<p>A temporary hut was in a few hours erected <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb26" href="#pb26" name="pb26">26</a>]</span>on the
+embankment of the tank, and Phakir&rsquo;s mother took up her abode in
+it. An outpost was also erected at some distance for servants in
+attendance who might be required to give help to the woman. Strict
+orders were given by Phakir&rsquo;s mother that no human being should
+go near the tank excepting herself. Let us leave Phakir&rsquo;s mother
+keeping watch at the tank, and hasten down into the subterranean palace
+to see what the prince and the princess are about. After the mishap
+which had occurred on her last visit to the upper world, the princess
+had given up the idea of a fourth visit. But women generally have
+greater curiosity than men; and the princess of the underground palace
+was no exception to the general rule. One day, while her husband was
+asleep as usual after his noonday meal, she rushed out of the palace
+with the snake-jewel in her hand, and came to the upper world. The
+moment the upheaval of the waters in the middle of the tank took place,
+Phakir&rsquo;s mother, who was on the alert, concealed herself in the
+hut and began looking through the chinks of the matted wall. The
+princess, seeing no mortal near, came to the bank, and sitting there
+began to scrub her body. Phakir&rsquo;s mother showed herself outside
+the hut, and addressing the princess, said in a winning
+tone&mdash;&ldquo;Come, my child, thou queen of beauty, come to me, and
+I will help you to bathe.&rdquo; So saying, she approached the
+princess, who, seeing that it was only a woman, made no resistance. The
+old woman, while in the act of washing the hair of <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb27" href="#pb27" name="pb27">27</a>]</span>the
+princess, noticed the bright jewel in her hand, and
+said&mdash;&ldquo;Put the jewel here till you are bathed.&rdquo; In a
+moment the jewel was in the possession of Phakir&rsquo;s mother, who
+wrapped it up in the cloth that was round her waist. Knowing the
+princess to be unable to escape, she gave the signal to the attendants
+in waiting, who rushed to the tank and made the princess a captive.</p>
+<p>Great were the rejoicings of the people when the tidings reached the
+city that Phakir&rsquo;s mother had captured a water-nymph from the
+nether regions. The whole city came to see the &ldquo;daughter of the
+immortals,&rdquo; as they called the princess. When she was brought to
+the palace and confronted with the Rajah&rsquo;s son of obscured
+intellect, the latter said with a shout of exultation&mdash;&ldquo;I
+have found! I have found!&rdquo; The cloud which had settled on his
+brain was dissipated in a moment. The eyes, erewhile vacant and
+lustreless, now glowed with the fire of intelligence; his tongue, of
+which he had almost lost the use&mdash;the only words which he used to
+utter being, &ldquo;Now here, now gone!&rdquo;&mdash;was now relaxed:
+in a word, he was restored to his senses. The joy of the Rajah knew no
+bounds. There was great festivity in the city; and the people who
+showered benedictions on the head of Phakir Chand&rsquo;s mother,
+expected the speedy celebration of the marriage of the Rajah&rsquo;s
+son with the beauty of the nether world. The princess, however, told
+the Rajah, through Phakir&rsquo;s mother, that she had made a vow to
+the effect that she would not, for one whole year, look <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb28" href="#pb28" name="pb28">28</a>]</span>at the
+face of another man than that of her husband who was dwelling beneath
+the waters, and that therefore the marriage could not be performed
+during that period. Though the Rajah&rsquo;s son was somewhat
+disappointed, he readily agreed to the delay, believing, agreeably to
+the proverb, that delay would greatly enhance the sweetness of those
+pleasures which were in store for him.</p>
+<p>It is scarcely necessary to say that the princess spent her days and
+her nights in sorrowing and sighing. She lamented that idle curiosity
+which had led her to come to the upper world, leaving her husband
+below. When she recollected that her husband was all alone below the
+waters she wept bitter tears. She wished she could run away. But that
+was impossible, as she was immured within walls, and there were walls
+within walls. Besides, if she could get out of the palace and of the
+city, of what avail would it be? She could not gain her husband, as the
+serpent jewel was not in her possession. The ladies of the palace and
+Phakir&rsquo;s mother tried to divert her mind, but in vain. She took
+pleasure in nothing; she would hardly speak to any one; she wept day
+and night. The year of her vow was drawing to a close, and yet she was
+disconsolate. The marriage, however, must be celebrated. The Rajah
+consulted the astrologers, and the day and the hour in which the
+nuptial knot was to be tied were fixed. Great preparations were made.
+The confectioners of the city busied themselves day and night in
+preparing sweetmeats; milkmen took contracts for supplying the palace
+with tanks of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb29" href="#pb29" name=
+"pb29">29</a>]</span>curds; gunpowder was being manufactured for a
+grand display of fireworks; bands of musicians were placed on sheds
+erected over the palace gate, who ever and anon sent forth many
+&ldquo;a bout of linked sweetness&rdquo;; and the whole city assumed an
+air of mirth and festivity.</p>
+<p>It is time we should think of the minister&rsquo;s son, who, leaving
+his friend in the subterranean palace, had gone to his country to bring
+horses, elephants, and attendants for the return of the king&rsquo;s
+son and his lovely princess with due pomp. The preparations took him
+many months; and when everything was ready he started on his journey,
+accompanied by a long train of elephants, horses, and attendants. He
+reached the tank two or three days before the appointed day. Tents were
+pitched in the mango-topes adjoining the tank for the accommodation of
+men and cattle; and the minister&rsquo;s son always kept his eyes fixed
+on the tank. The sun of the appointed day sank below the horizon; but
+the prince and the princess dwelling beneath the waters made no sign.
+He waited two or three days longer; still the prince did not make his
+appearance. What could have happened to his friend and his beautiful
+wife? Were they dead? Had another serpent, possibly the mate of the one
+that had died, beaten the prince and the princess to death? Had they
+somehow lost the serpent-jewel? Or had they been captured when they
+were once on a visit to the upper world? Such were the reflections of
+the minister&rsquo;s son. He was overwhelmed with <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb30" href="#pb30" name="pb30">30</a>]</span>grief.
+Ever since he had come to the tank he had heard at regular intervals
+the sound of music coming from the city which was not distant. He
+inquired of passers-by what that music meant. He was told that the
+Rajah&rsquo;s son was about to be married to some wonderful young lady,
+who had come out of the waters of that very tank on the bank of which
+he was now seated, and that the marriage ceremony was to be performed
+on the day following the next. The minister&rsquo;s son immediately
+concluded that the wonderful young lady of the lake that was to be
+married was none other than the wife of his friend, the king&rsquo;s
+son. He resolved therefore to go into the city to learn the details of
+the affair, and try if possible to rescue the princess. He told the
+attendants to go home, taking with them the elephants and the horses;
+and he himself went to the city, and took up his abode in the house of
+a Brahman.</p>
+<p>After he had rested and taken his dinner, the minister&rsquo;s son
+asked the Brahman what the meaning was of the music that was heard in
+the city at regular intervals. The Brahman asked, &ldquo;From what part
+of the world have you come that you have not heard of the wonderful
+circumstance that a young lady of heavenly beauty rose out of the
+waters of a tank in the suburbs, and that she is going to be married
+the day after to-morrow to the son of our Rajah?&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Minister&rsquo;s Son.</i> No, I have heard nothing. I have come
+from a distant country whither the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb31"
+href="#pb31" name="pb31">31</a>]</span>story has not reached. Will you
+kindly tell me the particulars?</p>
+<p><i>Brahman.</i> The Rajah&rsquo;s son went out a-hunting about this
+time last year. He pitched his tents close to a tank in the suburbs.
+One day, while the Rajah&rsquo;s son was walking near the tank, he saw
+a young woman, or rather goddess, of uncommon beauty rise from the
+waters of the tank. She gazed about for a minute or two and
+disappeared. The Rajah&rsquo;s son, however, who had seen her, was so
+struck with her heavenly beauty that he became desperately enamoured of
+her. Indeed, so intense was his passion, that his reason gave way; and
+he was carried home hopelessly mad. The only words he uttered day and
+night were&mdash;&ldquo;Now here, now gone!&rdquo; The Rajah sent for
+all the best physicians of the country for restoring his son to his
+reason; but the physicians were powerless. At last he caused a
+proclamation to be made by beat of drum to the effect that if any one
+could cure the Rajah&rsquo;s son, he should be the Rajah&rsquo;s
+son-in-law and the owner of half his kingdom. An old woman, who went by
+the name of Phakir&rsquo;s mother, took hold of the drum, and declared
+her ability to cure the Rajah&rsquo;s son. On the tank where the
+princess had appeared was raised for Phakir&rsquo;s mother a hut in
+which she took up her abode; and not far from her hut another hut was
+erected for the accommodation of attendants who might be required to
+help her. It seems the goddess rose from the waters; Phakir&rsquo;s
+mother seized her with the help of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb32" href="#pb32" name="pb32">32</a>]</span>attendants, and carried
+her in a <i>palki</i> to the palace. At the sight of her the
+Rajah&rsquo;s son was restored to his senses; and the marriage would
+have been celebrated at that time but for a vow which the goddess had
+made that she would not look at the face of any male person till the
+lapse of a year. The year of the vow is now over; and the music which
+you have heard is from the gate of the Rajah&rsquo;s palace. This, in
+brief, is the story.</p>
+<p><i>Minister&rsquo;s Son.</i> A truly wonderful story! And has
+Phakir&rsquo;s mother, or rather Phakir Chand himself, been rewarded
+with the hand of the Rajah&rsquo;s daughter and with the possession of
+half the kingdom?</p>
+<p><i>Brahman.</i> No, not yet. Phakir has not been got hold of. He is
+a half-witted lad, or rather quite mad. He has been away for more than
+a year from his home, and no one knows where he is. That is his manner;
+he stays away for a long time, suddenly comes home, and again
+disappears. I believe his mother expects him soon.</p>
+<p><i>Minister&rsquo;s Son.</i> What like is he? and what does he do
+when he returns home?</p>
+<p><i>Brahman.</i> Why, he is about your height, though he is somewhat
+younger than you. He puts on a small piece of cloth round his waist,
+rubs his body with ashes, takes the branch of a tree in his hand, and,
+at the door of the hut in which his mother lives, dances to the tune of
+<i>dhoop! dhoop! dhoop!</i> His articulation is very indistinct; and
+when his mother says&mdash;&ldquo;Phakir! stay with me for some
+days,&rdquo; he invariably answers <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb33"
+href="#pb33" name="pb33">33</a>]</span>in his usual unintelligible
+manner, &ldquo;No, I won&rsquo;t remain, I won&rsquo;t remain.&rdquo;
+And when he wishes to give an affirmative answer, he says,
+&ldquo;Hoom,&rdquo; which means &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The above conversation with the Brahman poured a flood of light into
+the mind of the minister&rsquo;s son. He saw how matters stood. He
+perceived that the princess of the subterranean palace must have alone
+ventured out into the tank by means of the snake-jewel; that she must
+have been captured alone without the king&rsquo;s son; that the
+snake-jewel must be in the possession of Phakir&rsquo;s mother; and
+that his friend, the king&rsquo;s son, must be alone below the waters
+without any means of escape. The desolate and apparently hopeless state
+of his friend filled him with unutterable grief. He was in deep musings
+during most part of the night. Is it impossible, thought he, to rescue
+the king&rsquo;s son from the nether regions? What if, by some means or
+other, I contrive to get the jewel from the old woman? And can I not do
+it by personating Phakir Chand himself, who is expected by his mother
+shortly? And possibly by the same means I may be able to rescue the
+princess from the Rajah&rsquo;s palace. He resolved to act the
+<i>r&ocirc;le</i> of Phakir Chand the following day. In the morning he
+left the Brahman&rsquo;s house, went to the outskirts of the city,
+divested himself of his usual clothing, put round his waist a short and
+narrow piece of cloth which scarcely reached his knee-joints, rubbed
+his body well with ashes, took in his hand a twig which he broke off a
+tree, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb34" href="#pb34" name=
+"pb34">34</a>]</span>thus accoutred, presented himself before the door
+of the hut of Phakir&rsquo;s mother. He commenced operations by
+dancing, in a most violent manner, to the tune of <i>dhoop! dhoop!
+dhoop!</i> The dancing attracted the notice of the old woman, who,
+supposing that her son had come, said&mdash;&ldquo;My son Phakir, are
+you come? Come, my darling; the gods have at last become propitious to
+us.&rdquo; The supposed Phakir Chand uttered the monosyllable
+&ldquo;hoom,&rdquo; and went on dancing in a still more violent manner
+than before, waving the twig in his hand. &ldquo;This time you must not
+go away,&rdquo; said the old woman, &ldquo;you must remain with
+me.&rdquo; &ldquo;No, I won&rsquo;t remain, I won&rsquo;t
+remain,&rdquo; said the minister&rsquo;s son. &ldquo;Remain with me,
+and I&rsquo;ll get you married to the Rajah&rsquo;s daughter. Will you
+marry, Phakir Chand?&rdquo; The minister&rsquo;s son
+replied&mdash;&ldquo;Hoom, hoom,&rdquo; and danced on like a madman.
+&ldquo;Will you come with me to the Rajah&rsquo;s house? I&rsquo;ll
+show you a princess of uncommon beauty who has risen from the
+waters.&rdquo; &ldquo;Hoom, hoom,&rdquo; was the answer that issued
+from his lips, while his feet tripped it violently to the sound of
+<i>dhoop! dhoop!</i> &ldquo;Do you wish to see a <i>manik</i>, Phakir,
+the crest jewel of the serpent, the treasure of seven kings?&rdquo;
+&ldquo;Hoom, hoom,&rdquo; was the reply. The old woman brought out of
+the hut the snake-jewel, and put it into the hand of her supposed son.
+The minister&rsquo;s son took it, and carefully wrapped it up in the
+piece of cloth round his waist. Phakir&rsquo;s mother, delighted beyond
+measure at the opportune appearance of her <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb35" href="#pb35" name="pb35">35</a>]</span>son,
+went to the Rajah&rsquo;s house, partly to announce to the Rajah the
+news of Phakir&rsquo;s appearance, and partly to show Phakir the
+princess of the waters. The supposed Phakir and his mother found ready
+access to the Rajah&rsquo;s palace, for the old woman had, since the
+capture of the princess, become the most important person in the
+kingdom. She took him into the room where the princess was, and
+introduced him to her. It is superfluous to remark that the princess
+was by no means pleased with the company of a madcap, who was in a
+state of semi-nudity, whose body was rubbed with ashes, and who was
+ever and anon dancing in a wild manner. At sunset the old woman
+proposed to her son that they should leave the palace and go to their
+own house. But the supposed Phakir Chand refused to comply with the
+request; he said he would stay there that night. His mother tried to
+persuade him to return with her, but he persisted in his determination.
+He said he would remain with the princess. Phakir&rsquo;s mother
+therefore went away, after giving instructions to the guards and
+attendants to take care of her son.</p>
+<p>When all in the palace had retired to rest, the supposed Phakir,
+coming towards the princess, said in his own usual
+voice&mdash;&ldquo;Princess! do you not recognise me? I am the
+minister&rsquo;s son, the friend of your princely husband.&rdquo; The
+princess, astonished at the announcement, said&mdash;&ldquo;Who? The
+minister&rsquo;s son? Oh, my husband&rsquo;s best friend, do rescue me
+from this terrible captivity, from this worse than death. O fate! it is
+by my own fault that I am <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb36" href=
+"#pb36" name="pb36">36</a>]</span>reduced to this wretched state. Oh,
+rescue me, rescue me, thou best of friends!&rdquo; She then burst into
+tears. The minister&rsquo;s son said, &ldquo;Do not be disconsolate. I
+will try my best to rescue you this very night; only you must do
+whatever I tell you.&rdquo; &ldquo;I will do anything you tell me,
+minister&rsquo;s son; anything you tell me.&rdquo; After this the
+supposed Phakir left the room, and passed through the courtyard of the
+palace. Some of the guards challenged him, to whom he replied,
+&ldquo;Hoom, hoom; I will just go out for a minute and again come in
+presently.&rdquo; They understood that it was the madcap Phakir. True
+to his word he did come back shortly, and went to the princess. An hour
+afterwards he again went out and was again challenged, on which he made
+the same reply as at the first time. The guards who challenged him
+began to mutter between their teeth&mdash;&ldquo;This madcap of a
+Phakir will, we suppose, go out and come in all night. Let the fellow
+alone; let him do what he likes. Who can be sitting up all night for
+him?&rdquo; The minister&rsquo;s son was going out and coming in with
+the view of accustoming the guards to his constant egress and ingress,
+and also of watching for a favourable opportunity to escape with the
+princess. About three o&rsquo;clock in the morning the minister&rsquo;s
+son again passed through the courtyard, but this time no one challenged
+him, as all the guards had fallen asleep. Overjoyed at the auspicious
+circumstance, he went to the princess. &ldquo;Now, princess, is the
+time for escape. The guards are all asleep. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb37" href="#pb37" name="pb37">37</a>]</span>Mount on
+my back, and tie the locks of your hair round my neck, and keep tight
+hold of me.&rdquo; The princess did as she was told. He passed
+unchallenged through the courtyard with the lovely burden on his back,
+passed out of the gate of the palace&mdash;no one challenging him,
+passed on to the outskirts of the city, and reached the tank from which
+the princess had risen. The princess stood on her legs, rejoicing at
+her escape, and at the same time trembling. The minister&rsquo;s son
+untied the snake-jewel from his waist-cloth, and descending into the
+waters, both he and she found their way to the subterranean palace. The
+reception which the prince in the subaqueous palace gave to his wife
+and his friend may be easily imagined. He had nearly died of grief; but
+now he suffered a resurrection. The three were now mad with joy. During
+the three days that they remained in the palace they again and again
+told the story of the egress of the princess into the upper world, of
+her seizure, of her captivity in the palace, of the preparations for
+marriage, of the old woman, of the minister&rsquo;s son personating
+Phakir Chand, and of the successful deliverance. It is unnecessary to
+add that the prince and the princess expressed their gratitude to the
+minister&rsquo;s son in the warmest terms, declared him to be their
+best and greatest friend, and vowed to abide always, till the day of
+their death, by his advice, and to follow his counsel.</p>
+<p>Being resolved to return to their native country, the king&rsquo;s
+son, the minister&rsquo;s son, and the princess left the subterranean
+palace, and, lighted in the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb38" href=
+"#pb38" name="pb38">38</a>]</span>passage by the snake-jewel, made
+their way good to the upper world. As they had neither elephants nor
+horses, they were under the necessity of travelling on foot; and though
+this mode of travelling was troublesome to both the king&rsquo;s son
+and the minister&rsquo;s son, as they were bred in the lap of luxury,
+it was infinitely more troublesome to the princess, as the stones of
+the rough road</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line xd19e1132">&ldquo;Wounded the invisible</p>
+<p class="line">Palms of her tender feet where&rsquo;er they
+fell.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">When her feet became very sore, the king&rsquo;s son
+sometimes took her up on his broad shoulders, on which she sat astride;
+but the load, however lovely, was too heavy to be carried any great
+distance. She therefore, for the most part, travelled on foot.</p>
+<p>One evening they bivouacked beneath a tree, as no human habitations
+were visible. The minister&rsquo;s son said to the prince and princess,
+&ldquo;Both of you go to sleep, and I will keep watch in order to
+prevent any danger.&rdquo; The royal couple were soon locked in the
+arms of sleep. The faithful son of the minister did not sleep, but sat
+up watching. It so happened that on that tree swung the nest of the two
+immortal birds, Bihangama and Bihangami, who were not only endowed with
+the power of human speech, but who could see into the future. To the no
+little astonishment of the minister&rsquo;s son the two prophetical
+birds joined in the following conversation:&mdash; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb39" href="#pb39" name="pb39">39</a>]</span></p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> The minister&rsquo;s son has already risked his
+own life for the safety of his friend, the king&rsquo;s son; but he
+will find it difficult to save the prince at last.</p>
+<p><i>Bihangami.</i> Why so?</p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Many dangers await the king&rsquo;s son. The
+prince&rsquo;s father, when he hears of the approach of his son, will
+send for him an elephant, some horses, and attendants. When the
+king&rsquo;s son rides on the elephant he will fall down and die.</p>
+<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one prevents the king&rsquo;s son
+from riding on the elephant, and makes him ride on horseback, will he
+not in that case be saved?</p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, he will in that case escape that danger, but
+a fresh danger awaits him. When the king&rsquo;s son is in sight of his
+father&rsquo;s palace, and when he is in the act of passing through its
+lion-gate, the lion-gate will fall upon him and crush him to death.</p>
+<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one destroys the lion-gate before
+the king&rsquo;s son goes up to it; will not the king&rsquo;s son in
+that case be saved?</p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, in that case he will escape that particular
+danger; but a fresh danger awaits him. When the king&rsquo;s son
+reaches the palace and sits at a feast prepared for him, and when he
+takes into his mouth the head of a fish cooked for him, the head of the
+fish will stick in his throat and choke him to death.</p>
+<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one sitting at the feast snatches
+the head of the fish from the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb40" href=
+"#pb40" name="pb40">40</a>]</span>prince&rsquo;s plate, and thus
+prevents him from putting it into his mouth, will not the king&rsquo;s
+son in that case be saved?</p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, in that case he will escape that particular
+danger; but a fresh danger awaits him. When the prince and princess
+after dinner retire into their sleeping apartment, and they lie
+together in bed, a terrible cobra will come into the room and bite the
+king&rsquo;s son to death.</p>
+<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But suppose some one lying in wait in the room cut
+the snake into pieces, will not the king&rsquo;s son in that case be
+saved?</p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, in that case the life of the king&rsquo;s son
+will be saved; but if the man who kills the snake repeats to the
+king&rsquo;s son the conversation between you and me, that man will be
+turned into a marble statue.</p>
+<p><i>Bihangami.</i> But is there no means of restoring the marble
+statue to life?</p>
+<p><i>Bihangama.</i> Yes, the marble statue may be restored to life if
+it is washed with the life-blood of the infant which the princess will
+give birth to, immediately after it is ushered into the world.</p>
+<p>The conversation of the prophetical birds had extended thus far when
+the crows began to caw, the east put on a reddish hue, and the
+travellers beneath the tree bestirred themselves. The conversation
+stopped, but the minister&rsquo;s son had heard it all.</p>
+<p>The prince, the princess, and the minister&rsquo;s son pursued their
+journey in the morning; but they had not walked many hours when they
+met a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb41" href="#pb41" name=
+"pb41">41</a>]</span>procession consisting of an elephant, a horse, a
+<i>palki,</i> and a large number of attendants. These animals and men
+had been sent by the king, who had heard that his son, together with
+his newly married wife and his friend the minister&rsquo;s son, were
+not far from the capital on their journey homewards. The elephant,
+which was richly caparisoned, was intended for the prince; the
+<i>palki</i> the framework of which was silver and was gaudily adorned,
+was meant for the princess; and the horse for the minister&rsquo;s son.
+As the prince was about to mount on the elephant, the minister&rsquo;s
+son went up to him and said&mdash;&ldquo;Allow me to ride on the
+elephant, and you please ride on horseback.&rdquo; The prince was not a
+little surprised at the coolness of the proposal. He thought his friend
+was presuming too much on the services he had rendered; he was
+therefore nettled, but remembering that his friend had saved both him
+and his wife, he said nothing, but quietly mounted the horse, though
+his mind became somewhat alienated from him. The procession started,
+and after some time came in sight of the palace, the lion-gate of which
+had been gaily adorned for the reception of the prince and the
+princess. The minister&rsquo;s son told the prince that the lion-gate
+should be broken down before the prince could enter the palace. The
+prince was astounded at the proposal, especially as the
+minister&rsquo;s son gave no reasons for so extraordinary a request.
+His mind became still more estranged from him; but in consideration of
+the services the minister&rsquo;s son had rendered, his request was
+complied with, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb42" href="#pb42"
+name="pb42">42</a>]</span>the beautiful lion-gate, with its gay
+decorations, was broken down.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1211width" id="p043"><img src="images/p043.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;He rushed out of his hiding-place and killed the serpent&rdquo;"
+width="505" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;He rushed out of his hiding-place and
+killed the serpent&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The party now went into the palace, where the king gave a warm
+reception to his son, to his daughter-in-law, and to the
+minister&rsquo;s son. When the story of their adventures was related,
+the king and his courtiers expressed great astonishment, and they all
+with one voice extolled the sagacity, prudence, and devotedness of the
+minister&rsquo;s son. The ladies of the palace were struck with the
+extraordinary beauty of the new-comer; her complexion was milk and
+vermilion mixed together; her neck was like that of a swan; her eyes
+were like those of a gazelle; her lips were as red as the berry
+<i>bimba</i>; her cheeks were lovely; her nose was straight and high;
+her hair reached her ankles; her walk was as graceful as that of a
+young elephant&mdash;such were the terms in which the connoisseurs of
+beauty praised the princess whom destiny had brought into the midst of
+them. They sat around her and put her a thousand questions regarding
+her parents, regarding the subterranean palace in which she formerly
+lived, and the serpent which had killed all her relatives. It was now
+time that the new arrivals should have their dinner. The dinner was
+served up in dishes of gold. All sorts of delicacies were there,
+amongst which the most conspicuous was the large head of a
+<i>rohita</i> fish placed in a golden cup near the prince&rsquo;s
+plate. While they were eating, the minister&rsquo;s son suddenly
+snatched the head of the fish from the prince&rsquo;s plate, and said,
+&ldquo;Let me, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb43" href="#pb43" name=
+"pb43">43</a>]</span>prince, eat this <i>rohita&rsquo;s</i>
+head.&rdquo; The king&rsquo;s son was quite indignant. He said nothing,
+however. The minister&rsquo;s son perceived that his friend was in a
+terrible rage; but he could not help it, as his conduct, however
+strange, was necessary to the safety of his friend&rsquo;s life;
+neither could he clear himself by stating the reason of his behaviour,
+as in that case he himself would be transformed into a marble statue.
+The dinner over, the minister&rsquo;s son expressed his desire to go to
+his own house. At other times the king&rsquo;s son would not allow his
+friend to go away in that fashion; but being shocked at his strange
+conduct, he readily agreed to the proposal. The minister&rsquo;s son,
+however, had not the slightest notion of going to his own house; he was
+resolved to avert the last peril that was to threaten the life of his
+friend. Accordingly, with a sword in his hand, he stealthily entered
+the room in which the prince and the princess were to sleep that night,
+and ensconced himself under the bedstead, which was furnished with
+mattresses of down and canopied with mosquito curtains of the richest
+silk and gold lace. Soon after dinner the prince and princess came into
+the bedroom, and undressing themselves went to bed. At midnight, while
+the royal couple were asleep, the minister&rsquo;s son perceived a
+snake of gigantic size enter the room through one of the
+water-passages, and climb up the tester-frame of the bed. He rushed out
+of his hiding-place, killed the serpent, cut it up in pieces, and put
+the pieces in the dish for holding betel-leaves and spices. It so
+happened, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb44" href="#pb44" name=
+"pb44">44</a>]</span>however, that as the minister&rsquo;s son was
+cutting the serpent into pieces, a drop of blood fell on the breast of
+the princess, and the rather as the mosquito curtains had not been let
+down. Thinking that the drop of blood might injure the fair princess,
+he resolved to lick it up. But as he regarded it as a great sin to look
+upon a young woman lying asleep half naked, he blindfolded himself with
+seven-fold cloth, and licked up the drop of blood. But while he was in
+the act of licking it, the princess awoke and screamed, and her scream
+roused her husband lying beside her. The prince seeing the
+minister&rsquo;s son, who he thought had gone away to his own house,
+bending over the body of his wife, fell into a great rage, and would
+have got up and killed him, had not the minister&rsquo;s son besought
+him to restrain his anger, adding&mdash;&ldquo;Friend, I have done this
+only in order to save your life.&rdquo; &ldquo;I do not understand what
+you mean,&rdquo; said the prince; &ldquo;ever since we came out of the
+subterranean palace you have been behaving in a most extraordinary way.
+In the first place, you prevented me from getting upon the richly
+caparisoned elephant, though my father, the king, had purposely sent it
+for me. I thought, however, that a sense of the services you had
+rendered to me had made you exceedingly vain; I therefore let the
+matter pass, and mounted the horse. In the second place, you insisted
+on the destruction of the fine lion-gate, which my father had adorned
+with gay decorations; and I let that matter also pass. Then, again, at
+dinner you <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb45" href="#pb45" name=
+"pb45">45</a>]</span>snatched away, in a most shameful manner, the
+<i>rohita&rsquo;s</i> head which was on my plate, and devoured it
+yourself, thinking, no doubt, that you were entitled to higher honours
+than I. You then pretended that you were going home, for which I was
+not at all sorry, as you had made yourself very disagreeable to me. And
+now you are actually in my bedroom, bending over the naked bosom of my
+wife. You must have had some evil design; and you pretend that you have
+done this to save my life. I fancy it was not for saving my life, but
+for destroying my wife&rsquo;s chastity.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh, do not
+harbour such thoughts in your mind against me. The gods know that I
+have done all this for the preservation of your life. You would see the
+reasonableness of my conduct throughout if I had the liberty of stating
+my reasons.&rdquo; &ldquo;And why are you not at liberty?&rdquo; asked
+the prince; &ldquo;who has shut up your mouth?&rdquo; &ldquo;It is
+destiny that has shut up my mouth,&rdquo; answered the minister&rsquo;s
+son; &ldquo;if I were to tell it all, I should be transformed into a
+marble statue.&rdquo; &ldquo;You would be transformed into a marble
+statue!&rdquo; exclaimed the prince; &ldquo;you must take me to be a
+simpleton to believe this nonsense.&rdquo; &ldquo;Do you wish me then,
+friend,&rdquo; said the minister&rsquo;s son, &ldquo;to tell you all?
+You must then make up your mind to see your friend turned into
+stone.&rdquo; &ldquo;Come, out with it,&rdquo; said the prince,
+&ldquo;or else you are a dead man.&rdquo; The minister&rsquo;s son, in
+order to clear himself of the foul accusation brought against him,
+deemed it his duty to reveal the secret at the risk of his life.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb46" href="#pb46" name=
+"pb46">46</a>]</span>He again and again warned the prince not to press
+him. But the prince remained inexorable. The minister&rsquo;s son then
+went on to say that, while bivouacking under a lofty tree one night, he
+had overheard a conversation between Bihangama and Bihangami, in which
+the former predicted all the dangers that were to threaten the life of
+the prince. When the minister&rsquo;s son had related the prediction
+concerning the mounting upon the elephant, his lower parts were turned
+into stone. He then, turning to the prince, said, &ldquo;See, friend,
+my lower parts have already turned into stone.&rdquo; &ldquo;Go on, go
+on,&rdquo; said the prince, &ldquo;with your story.&rdquo; The
+minister&rsquo;s son then related the prophecy regarding the
+destruction of the lion-gate, when half of his body was converted into
+stone. He then related the prediction regarding the eating of the head
+of the fish, when his body up to his neck was petrified. &ldquo;Now,
+friend,&rdquo; said the minister&rsquo;s son, &ldquo;the whole of my
+body, excepting my neck and head, is petrified; if I tell the rest, I
+shall assuredly become a man of stone. Do you wish me still to go
+on?&rdquo; &ldquo;Go on,&rdquo; answered the prince, &ldquo;go
+on.&rdquo; &ldquo;Very well, I will go on to the end,&rdquo; said the
+minister&rsquo;s son; &ldquo;but in case you repent after I have become
+turned into stone, and wish me to be restored to life, I will tell you
+of the manner in which it may be effected. The princess after a few
+months will be delivered of a child; if immediately after the birth of
+the infant you kill it and besmear my marble body with its blood, I
+shall be restored to life.&rdquo; He then related the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb47" href="#pb47" name=
+"pb47">47</a>]</span>prediction regarding the serpent in the bedroom;
+and when the last word was on his lips the rest of his body was turned
+into stone, and he dropped on the floor a marble image. The princess
+jumped out of bed, opened the vessel for betel-leaves and spices, and
+saw there pieces of a serpent. Both the prince and the princess now
+became convinced of the good faith and benevolence of their departed
+friend. They went to the marble figure, but it was lifeless. They set
+up a loud lamentation; but it was to no purpose, for the marble moved
+not. They then resolved to keep the marble figure concealed in a safe
+place, and to besmear it with the blood of their first-born child when
+it should be ushered into existence.</p>
+<p>In process of time the hour of the princess&rsquo;s travail came on,
+and she was delivered of a beautiful boy, the perfect image of his
+mother. Both father and mother were struck with the beauty of their
+child, and would fain have spared its life; but recollecting the vows
+they had made on behalf of their best friend, now lying in a corner of
+the room a lifeless stone, and the inestimable services he had rendered
+to both of them, they cut the child into two, and besmeared the marble
+figure of the minister&rsquo;s son with its blood. The marble became
+animated in a moment. The minister&rsquo;s son stood before the prince
+and princess, who became exceedingly glad to see their old friend again
+in life. But the minister&rsquo;s son, who saw the lovely new-born babe
+lying in a pool of blood, was overwhelmed with <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb48" href="#pb48" name="pb48">48</a>]</span>grief.
+He took up the dead infant, carefully wrapped it up in a towel, and
+resolved to get it restored to life.</p>
+<p>The minister&rsquo;s son, intent on the reanimation of his
+friend&rsquo;s child, consulted all the physicians of the country; but
+they said that they would undertake to cure any person of any disease
+so long as life was in him, but when life was extinct, the case was
+beyond their jurisdiction. The minister&rsquo;s son at last bethought
+himself of his own wife, who was living in a distant town, and who was
+a devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali, who, through his wife&rsquo;s
+intercession, might be prevailed upon to give life to the dead child.
+He, accordingly, set out on a journey to the town in which his wife was
+living in her father&rsquo;s house. Adjoining that house there was a
+garden where upon a tree he hung the dead child wrapped up in a towel.
+His wife was overjoyed to see her husband after so long a time; but to
+her surprise she found that he was very melancholy, that he spoke very
+little, and that he was brooding over something in his mind. She asked
+the reason of his melancholy, but he kept quiet. One night while they
+were lying together in bed, the wife got up and opening the door went
+out. The husband, who had little sleep any night in consequence of the
+weight of anxiety regarding the reanimation of his friend&rsquo;s
+child, perceiving his wife go out at that dead hour of night,
+determined to follow her without being noticed. She went to a temple of
+the goddess Kali, which was at no <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb49"
+href="#pb49" name="pb49">49</a>]</span>great distance from her house.
+She worshipped the goddess with flowers and sandal-wood perfume, and
+said, &ldquo;O mother Kali! have mercy upon me, and deliver me out of
+all my troubles.&rdquo; The goddess replied, &ldquo;Why, what further
+grievance have you? You long prayed for the return of your husband, and
+he has returned; what aileth thee now?&rdquo; The woman answered,
+&ldquo;True, O Mother, my husband has come to me, but he is very moody
+and melancholy, hardly speaks to me, takes no delight in me, only sits
+moping in a corner.&rdquo; To which the goddess rejoined, &ldquo;Ask
+your husband what the reason of his melancholy is, and let me know
+it.&rdquo; The minister&rsquo;s son overheard the conversation between
+the goddess and his wife, but he did not make his appearance; he
+quietly slunk away before his wife and went to bed. The following day
+the wife asked her husband of the cause of his melancholy; and he
+related all the particulars regarding the killing of the infant child
+of the prince. Next night at the same dead hour the wife proceeded to
+Kali&rsquo;s temple and mentioned to the goddess the reason of her
+husband&rsquo;s melancholy; on which the goddess said, &ldquo;Bring the
+child here and I will restore it to life.&rdquo; On the succeeding
+night the child was produced before the goddess Kali, and she called it
+back to life. Entranced with joy, the minister&rsquo;s son took up the
+reanimated child, went as fast as his legs could carry him to the
+prince and princess, and presented to them their child alive and
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb50" href="#pb50" name=
+"pb50">50</a>]</span>well. They all rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
+and lived together happily till the day of their death.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb51" href="#pb51" name=
+"pb51">51</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch3" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">III</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Indigent Brahman</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a Brahman who had a wife and four children.
+He was very poor. With no resources in the world, he lived chiefly on
+the benefactions of the rich. His gains were considerable when
+marriages were celebrated or funeral ceremonies were performed; but as
+his parishioners did not marry every day, neither did they die every
+day, he found it difficult to make the two ends meet. His wife often
+rebuked him for his inability to give her adequate support, and his
+children often went about naked and hungry. But though poor he was a
+good man. He was diligent in his devotions; and there was not a single
+day in his life in which he did not say his prayers at stated hours.
+His tutelary deity was the goddess Durga, the consort of Siva, the
+creative Energy of the Universe. On no day did he either drink water or
+taste food till he had written in red ink the name of Durga at least
+one hundred and eight times; while throughout the day he incessantly
+uttered the ejaculation, &ldquo;O Durga! O Durga! have mercy upon
+me.&rdquo; Whenever he felt anxious <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb52"
+href="#pb52" name="pb52">52</a>]</span>on account of his poverty and
+his inability to support his wife and children, he groaned
+out&mdash;&ldquo;Durga! Durga! Durga!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>One day, being very sad, he went to a forest many miles distant from
+the village in which he lived, and indulging his grief wept bitter
+tears. He prayed in the following manner:&mdash;&ldquo;O Durga! O
+Mother Bhagavati! wilt thou not make an end of my misery? Were I alone
+in the world, I should not have been sad on account of poverty; but
+thou hast given me a wife and children. Give me, O Mother, the means to
+support them.&rdquo; It so happened that on that day and on that very
+spot the god Siva and his wife Durga were taking their morning walk.
+The goddess Durga, on seeing the Brahman at a distance, said to her
+divine husband&mdash;&ldquo;O Lord of Kailas! do you see that Brahman?
+He is always taking my name on his lips and offering the prayer that I
+should deliver him out of his troubles. Can we not, my lord, do
+something for the poor Brahman, oppressed as he is with the cares of a
+growing family? We should give him enough to make him comfortable. As
+the poor man and his family have never enough to eat, I propose that
+you give him a <i>handi</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e1270src" href=
+"#xd19e1270" name="xd19e1270src">1</a> which should yield him an
+inexhaustible supply of <i>mudki</i>.&rdquo;<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1278src" href="#xd19e1278" name="xd19e1278src">2</a> The lord of
+Kailas readily agreed to the proposal of his divine consort, and by his
+decree created on the spot a <i>handi</i> possessing the required
+quality. Durga then, calling the Brahman to her, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb53" href="#pb53" name=
+"pb53">53</a>]</span>said,&mdash;&ldquo;O Brahman! I have often thought
+of your pitiable case. Your repeated prayers have at last moved my
+compassion. Here is a <i>handi</i> for you. When you turn it upside
+down and shake it, it will pour down a never-ceasing shower of the
+finest <i>mudki</i>, which will not end till you restore the
+<i>handi</i> to its proper position. Yourself, your wife, and your
+children can eat as much <i>mudki</i> as you like, and you can also
+sell as much as you like.&rdquo; The Brahman, delighted beyond measure
+at obtaining so inestimable a treasure, made obeisance to the goddess,
+and, taking the <i>handi</i> in his hand, proceeded towards his house
+as fast as his legs could carry him. But he had not gone many yards
+when he thought of testing the efficacy of the wonderful vessel.
+Accordingly he turned the <i>handi</i> upside down and shook it, when,
+lo, and behold! a quantity of the finest <i>mudki</i> he had ever seen
+fell to the ground. He tied the sweetmeat in his sheet and walked on.
+It was now noon, and the Brahman was hungry; but he could not eat
+without his ablutions and his prayers. As he saw in the way an inn, and
+not far from it a tank, he purposed to halt there that he might bathe,
+say his prayers, and then eat the much-desired <i>mudki</i>. The
+Brahman sat at the innkeeper&rsquo;s shop, put the <i>handi</i> near
+him, smoked tobacco, besmeared his body with mustard oil, and before
+proceeding to bathe in the adjacent tank gave the <i>handi</i> in
+charge to the innkeeper, begging him again and again to take especial
+care of it.</p>
+<p>When the Brahman went to his bath and his <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb54" href="#pb54" name=
+"pb54">54</a>]</span>devotions, the innkeeper thought it strange that
+he should be so careful as to the safety of his earthen vessel. There
+must be something valuable in the <i>handi</i>, he thought, otherwise
+why should the Brahman take so much thought about it? His curiosity
+being excited he opened the <i>handi</i>, and to his surprise found
+that it contained nothing. What can be the meaning of this? thought the
+innkeeper within himself. Why should the Brahman care so much for an
+empty <i>handi</i>? He took up the vessel, and began to examine it
+carefully; and when, in the course of examination, he turned the
+<i>handi</i> upside down, a quantity of the finest <i>mudki</i> fell
+from it, and went on falling without intermission. The innkeeper called
+his wife and children to witness this unexpected stroke of good
+fortune. The showers of the sugared fried paddy were so copious that
+they filled all the vessels and jars of the innkeeper. He resolved to
+appropriate to himself this precious <i>handi</i>, and accordingly put
+in its place another <i>handi</i> of the same size and make. The
+ablutions and devotions of the Brahman being now over, he came to the
+shop in wet clothes reciting holy texts of the Vedas. Putting on dry
+clothes, he wrote on a sheet of paper the name of Durga one hundred and
+eight times in red ink; after which he broke his fast on the
+<i>mudki</i> his <i>handi</i> had already given him. Thus refreshed,
+and being about to resume his journey homewards, he called for his
+<i>handi</i>, which the innkeeper delivered to him,
+adding&mdash;&ldquo;There, sir, is your <i>handi</i>; it is just where
+you put it; no one <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb55" href="#pb55"
+name="pb55">55</a>]</span>has touched it.&rdquo; The Brahman, without
+suspecting anything, took up the <i>handi</i> and proceeded on his
+journey; and as he walked on, he congratulated himself on his singular
+good fortune. &ldquo;How agreeably,&rdquo; he thought within himself,
+&ldquo;will my poor wife be surprised! How greedily the children will
+devour the <i>mudki</i> of heaven&rsquo;s own manufacture! I shall soon
+become rich, and lift up my head with the best of them all.&rdquo; The
+pains of travelling were considerably alleviated by these joyful
+anticipations. He reached his house, and calling his wife and children,
+said&mdash;&ldquo;Look now at what I have brought. This <i>handi</i>
+that you see is an unfailing source of wealth and contentment. You will
+see what a stream of the finest <i>mudki</i> will flow from it when I
+turn it upside down.&rdquo; The Brahman&rsquo;s good wife, hearing of
+<i>mudki</i> falling from the <i>handi</i> unceasingly, thought that
+her husband must have gone mad; and she was confirmed in her opinion
+when she found that nothing fell from the vessel though it was turned
+upside down again and again. Overwhelmed with grief, the Brahman
+concluded that the innkeeper must have played a trick with him; he must
+have stolen the <i>handi</i> Durga had given him, and put a common one
+in its stead. He went back the next day to the innkeeper, and charged
+him with having changed his <i>handi</i>. The innkeeper put on a fit of
+anger, expressed surprise at the Brahman&rsquo;s impudence in charging
+him with theft, and drove him away from his shop.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1387width" id="p056"><img src="images/p056.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;Instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons&rdquo;"
+width="505" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;Instead of sweetmeats about a score of
+demons&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The Brahman then bethought himself of an <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb56" href="#pb56" name=
+"pb56">56</a>]</span>interview with the goddess Durga who had given him
+the <i>handi</i>, and accordingly went to the forest where he had met
+her. Siva and Durga again favoured the Brahman with an interview. Durga
+said&mdash;&ldquo;So, you have lost the <i>handi</i> I gave you. Here
+is another, take it and make good use of it.&rdquo; The Brahman, elated
+with joy, made obeisance to the divine couple, took up the vessel, and
+went on his way. He had not gone far when he turned it upside down, and
+shook it in order to see whether any <i>mudki</i> would fall from it.
+Horror of horrors! instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons, of
+gigantic size and grim visage, jumped out of the <i>handi</i>, and
+began to belabour the astonished Brahman with blows, fisticuffs and
+kicks. He had the presence of mind to turn up the <i>handi</i> and to
+cover it, when the demons forthwith disappeared. He concluded that this
+new <i>handi</i> had been given him only for the punishment of the
+innkeeper. He accordingly went to the innkeeper, gave him the new
+<i>handi</i> in charge, begged of him carefully to keep it till he
+returned from his ablutions and prayers. The innkeeper, delighted with
+this second godsend, called his wife and children, and
+said&mdash;&ldquo;This is another <i>handi</i> brought here by the same
+Brahman who brought the <i>handi</i> of <i>mudki</i>. This time, I
+hope, it is not <i>mudki</i> but <i>sandesa</i>.<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1433src" href="#xd19e1433" name="xd19e1433src">3</a> Come, be
+ready with baskets and vessels, and I&rsquo;ll turn the <i>handi</i>
+upside down and shake it.&rdquo; This was no sooner done than scores of
+fierce demons started up, who caught hold of the innkeeper <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb57" href="#pb57" name="pb57">57</a>]</span>and his
+family and belaboured them mercilessly. They also began upsetting the
+shop, and would have completely destroyed it, if the victims had not
+besought the Brahman, who had by this time returned from his ablutions,
+to show mercy to them and send away the terrible demons. The Brahman
+acceded to the innkeeper&rsquo;s request, he dismissed the demons by
+shutting up the vessel; he got the former <i>handi</i>, and with the
+two <i>handis</i> went to his native village.</p>
+<p>On reaching home the Brahman shut the door of his house, turned the
+<i>mudki-handi</i> upside down, and shook it; the result was an
+unceasing stream of the finest <i>mudki</i> that any confectioner in
+the country could produce. The man, his wife, and their children
+devoured the sweetmeat to their hearts&rsquo; content; all the
+available earthen pots and pans of the house were filled with it; and
+the Brahman resolved the next day to turn confectioner, to open a shop
+in his house, and sell <i>mudki</i>. On the very day the shop was
+opened, the whole village came to the Brahman&rsquo;s house to buy the
+wonderful <i>mudki</i>. They had never seen such <i>mudki</i> in their
+life, it was so sweet, so white, so large, so luscious; no confectioner
+in the village or any town in the country had ever manufactured
+anything like it. The reputation of the Brahman&rsquo;s <i>mudki</i>
+extended, in a few days, beyond the bounds of the village, and people
+came from remote parts to purchase it. Cartloads of the sweetmeat were
+sold every day, and the Brahman in a short time became very rich. He
+built a large brick house, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb58" href=
+"#pb58" name="pb58">58</a>]</span>and lived like a nobleman of the
+land. Once, however, his property was about to go to wreck and ruin.
+His children one day by mistake shook the wrong <i>handi</i>, when a
+large number of demons dropped down and caught hold of the
+Brahman&rsquo;s wife and children and were striking them mercilessly,
+when happily the Brahman came into the house and turned up the
+<i>handi</i>. In order to prevent a similar catastrophe in future, the
+Brahman shut up the demon-<i>handi</i> in a private room to which his
+children had no access.</p>
+<p>Pure and uninterrupted prosperity, however, is not the lot of
+mortals; and though the demon-<i>handi</i> was put aside, what security
+was there that an accident might not befall the <i>mudki-handi</i>? One
+day, during the absence of the Brahman and his wife from the house, the
+children decided upon shaking the <i>handi</i>; but as each of them
+wished to enjoy the pleasure of shaking it there was a general struggle
+to get it, and in the <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i> the <i>handi</i> fell
+to the ground and broke. It is needless to say that the Brahman, when
+on reaching home he heard of the disaster, became inexpressibly sad.
+The children were of course well cudgelled, but no flogging of children
+could replace the magical <i>handi</i>. After some days he again went
+to the forest, and offered many a prayer for Durga&rsquo;s favour. At
+last Siva and Durga again appeared to him, and heard how the
+<i>handi</i> had been broken. Durga gave him another <i>handi</i>,
+accompanied with the following caution&mdash;&ldquo;Brahman, take care
+of this <i>handi</i>; if you again break it or lose it, I&rsquo;ll not
+give <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb59" href="#pb59" name=
+"pb59">59</a>]</span>you another.&rdquo; The Brahman made obeisance,
+and went away to his house at one stretch without halting anywhere. On
+reaching home he shut the door of his house, called his wife to him,
+turned the <i>handi</i> upside down, and began to shake it. They were
+only expecting <i>mudki</i> to drop from it, but instead of
+<i>mudki</i> a perennial stream of beautiful <i>sandesa</i> issued from
+it. And such <i>sandesa</i>! No confectioner of Burra Bazar ever made
+its like. It was more the food of gods than of men. The Brahman
+forthwith set up a shop for selling <i>sandesa</i>, the fame of which
+soon drew crowds of customers from all parts of the country. At all
+festivals, at all marriage feasts, at all funeral celebrations, at all
+<i>Pujas</i>, no one bought any other <i>sandesa</i> than the
+Brahman&rsquo;s. Every day, and every hour, many jars of gigantic size,
+filled with the delicious sweetmeat, were sent to all parts of the
+country.</p>
+<p>The wealth of the Brahman excited the envy of the Zemindar of the
+village, who, having heard that the <i>sandesa</i> was not manufactured
+but dropped from a <i>handi</i>, devised a plan for getting possession
+of the miraculous vessel. At the celebration of his son&rsquo;s
+marriage he held a great feast, to which were invited hundreds of
+people. As many mountain-loads of <i>sandesa</i> would be required for
+the purpose, the Zemindar proposed that the Brahman should bring the
+magical <i>handi</i> to the house in which the feast was held. The
+Brahman at first refused to take it there; but as the Zemindar insisted
+on its being carried to his own house, he reluctantly consented to take
+it there. After many Himalayas <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb60"
+href="#pb60" name="pb60">60</a>]</span>of <i>sandesa</i> had been
+shaken out, the <i>handi</i> was taken possession of by the Zemindar,
+and the Brahman was insulted and driven out of the house. The Brahman,
+without giving vent to anger in the least, quietly went to his house,
+and taking the demon-<i>handi</i> in his hand, came back to the door of
+the Zemindar&rsquo;s house. He turned the <i>handi</i> upside down and
+shook it, on which a hundred demons started up as from the vasty deep
+and enacted a scene which it is impossible to describe. The hundreds of
+guests that had been bidden to the feast were caught hold of by the
+unearthly visitants and beaten; the women were dragged by their hair
+from the Zenana and dashed about amongst the men; while the big and
+burly Zemindar was driven about from room to room like a bale of
+cotton. If the demons had been allowed to do their will only for a few
+minutes longer, all the men would have been killed, and the very house
+razed to the ground. The Zemindar fell prostrate at the feet of the
+Brahman and begged for mercy. Mercy was shown him, and the demons were
+removed. After that the Brahman was no more disturbed by the Zemindar
+or by any one else; and he lived many years in great happiness and
+enjoyment.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb61" href="#pb61" name=
+"pb61">61</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1270" href="#xd19e1270src" name="xd19e1270">1</a></span>
+<i>Handi</i> is an earthen pot, generally used in cooking food.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1278" href="#xd19e1278src" name="xd19e1278">2</a></span>
+<i>Mudki</i>, fried paddy boiled dry in treacle or sugar.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1433" href="#xd19e1433src" name="xd19e1433">3</a></span> A sort
+of sweetmeat made of curds and sugar.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch4" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">IV</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Story of the Rakshasas</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a poor half-witted Brahman who had a wife
+but no children. It was only with difficulty he could supply the wants
+of himself and his wife. And the worst of it was that he was rather
+lazily inclined. He was averse to taking long journeys, otherwise he
+might always have had enough, in the shape of presents from rich men,
+to enable him and his wife to live comfortably. There was at that time
+a king in a neighbouring country who was celebrating the funeral
+obsequies of his mother with great pomp. Brahmans and beggars were
+going from different parts with the expectation of receiving rich
+presents. Our Brahman was requested by his wife to seize this
+opportunity and get a little money; but his constitutional indolence
+stood in the way. The woman, however, gave her husband no rest till she
+extorted from him the promise that he would go. The good woman,
+accordingly, cut down a plantain tree and burnt it to ashes, with which
+ashes she cleaned the clothes of her husband, and made them as white as
+any fuller could make them. She did this because her <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb62" href="#pb62" name="pb62">62</a>]</span>husband
+was going to the palace of a great king, who could not be approached by
+men clothed in dirty rags; besides, as a Brahman, he was bound to
+appear neat and clean. The Brahman at last one morning left his house
+for the palace of the great king. As he was somewhat imbecile, he did
+not inquire of any one which road he should take; but he went on and
+on, and proceeded whithersoever his two eyes directed him. He was of
+course not on the right road, indeed he had reached a region where he
+did not meet with a single human being for many miles, and where he saw
+sights which he had never seen in his life. He saw hillocks of
+<i><span class="corr" id="xd19e1584" title=
+"Source: cowris">cowries</span></i> (shells used as money) on the
+roadside: he had not proceeded far from them when he saw hillocks of
+pice, then successively hillocks of four-anna pieces, hillocks of
+eight-anna pieces, and hillocks of rupees. To the infinite surprise of
+the poor Brahman, these hillocks of shining silver coins were succeeded
+by a large hill of burnished gold-mohurs, which were all as bright as
+if they had been just issued from the mint. Close to this hill of
+gold-mohurs was a large house which seemed to be the palace of a
+powerful and rich king, at the door of which stood a lady of exquisite
+beauty. The lady, seeing the Brahman, said, <span class="corr" id=
+"xd19e1587" title="Source: &lsquo;">&ldquo;</span>Come, my beloved
+husband; you married me when I was young, and you never came once after
+our marriage, though I have been daily expecting you. Blessed be this
+day which has made me see the face of my husband. Come, my sweet, come
+in, wash your feet and rest after the fatigues of your journey; eat and
+drink, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb63" href="#pb63" name=
+"pb63">63</a>]</span>and after that we shall make ourselves
+merry.&rdquo; The Brahman was astonished beyond measure. He had no
+recollection of having been married in early youth to any other woman
+than the woman who was now keeping house with him. But being a Kulin
+Brahman, he thought it was quite possible that his father had got him
+married when he was a little child, though the fact had made no
+impression on his mind. But whether he remembered it or not, the fact
+was certain, for the woman declared that she was his wedded
+wife,&mdash;and such a wife! as beautiful as the goddesses of
+Indra&rsquo;s heaven, and no doubt as wealthy as she was beautiful.
+While these thoughts were passing through the Brahman&rsquo;s mind, the
+lady said again, &ldquo;Are you doubting in your mind whether I am your
+wife? Is it possible that all recollection of that happy event has been
+effaced from your mind&mdash;all the pomp and circumstance of our
+nuptials? Come in, beloved; this is your own house, for whatever is
+mine is thine.&rdquo; The Brahman succumbed to the loving entreaties of
+the fair lady, and went into the house. The house was not an ordinary
+one&mdash;it was a magnificent palace, all the apartments being large
+and lofty and richly furnished. But one thing surprised the Brahman
+very much, and that was that there was no other person in the house
+besides the lady herself. He could not account for so singular a
+phenomenon; neither could he explain how it was that he did not meet
+with any human being in his morning and evening walks. The fact was
+that the lady was not a human being. She was a <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb64" href="#pb64" name=
+"pb64">64</a>]</span><i>Rakshasi</i>.<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1597src" href="#xd19e1597" name="xd19e1597src">1</a> She had
+eaten up the king, the queen, and all the members of the royal family,
+and gradually all his subjects. This was the reason why human beings
+were not seen in those parts.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1609width" id="p062"><img src="images/p062.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;At the door of which stood a lady of exquisite beauty&rdquo;"
+width="509" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;At the door of which stood a lady of
+exquisite beauty&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The Rakshasi and the Brahman lived together for about a week, when
+the former said to the latter, &ldquo;I am very anxious to see my
+sister, your other wife. You must go and fetch her, and we shall all
+live together happily in this large and beautiful house. You must go
+early to-morrow, and I will give you clothes and jewels for her.&rdquo;
+Next morning the Brahman, furnished with fine clothes and costly
+ornaments, set out for his home. The poor woman was in great distress;
+all the Brahmans and Pandits that had been to the funeral ceremony of
+the king&rsquo;s mother had returned home loaded with largesses; but
+her husband had not returned,&mdash;and no one could give any news of
+him, for no one had seen him there. The woman therefore concluded that
+he must have been murdered on the road by highwaymen. She was in this
+terrible suspense, when one day she heard a rumour in the village that
+her husband was seen coming home with fine clothes and costly jewels
+for his wife. And sure enough the Brahman soon appeared with his
+valuable load. On seeing his wife the Brahman thus accosted
+her:&mdash;&ldquo;Come with me, my dearest wife; I have found my first
+wife. She lives in a stately palace, near which are <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb65" href="#pb65" name="pb65">65</a>]</span>hillocks
+of rupees and a large hill of gold-mohurs. Why should you pine away in
+wretchedness and misery in this horrible place? Come with me to the
+house of my first wife, and we shall all live together happily.&rdquo;
+When the woman heard her husband speak of his first wife, of hillocks
+of rupees and of a hill of gold-mohurs, she thought in her mind that
+her half-witted good man had become quite mad; but when she saw the
+exquisitely beautiful silks and satins and the ornaments set with
+diamonds and precious stones, which only queens and princesses were in
+the habit of putting on, she concluded in her mind that her poor
+husband had fallen into the meshes of a Rakshasi. The Brahman, however,
+insisted on his wife&rsquo;s going with him, and declared that if she
+did not come she was at liberty to pine away in poverty, but that for
+himself he meant to return forthwith to his first and rich wife. The
+good woman, after a great deal of altercation with her husband,
+resolved to go with him and judge for herself how matters stood. They
+set out accordingly the next morning, and went by the same road on
+which the Brahman had travelled. The woman was not a little surprised
+to see hillocks of <i><span class="corr" id="xd19e1618" title=
+"Source: cowris">cowries</span></i>, of pice, of eight-anna pieces, of
+rupees, and last of all a lofty hill of gold-mohurs. She saw also an
+exceedingly beautiful lady coming out of the palace hard by, and
+hastening towards her. The lady fell on the neck of the Brahman woman,
+wept tears of joy, and said, &ldquo;Welcome, beloved sister! this is
+the happiest day of my life! I have seen the face of <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb66" href="#pb66" name="pb66">66</a>]</span>my
+dearest sister!&rdquo; The party then entered the palace.</p>
+<p>What with the stately mansion in which he was lodged, with the most
+delectable provisions which seemed to rise as if by enchantment, what
+with the caresses and endearments of his two wives, the one human and
+the other demoniac, who vied with each other in making him happy and
+comfortable, the Brahman had a jolly time of it. He was steeped as it
+were in an ocean of enjoyment. Some fifteen or sixteen years were spent
+by the Brahman in this state of Elysian pleasure, during which period
+his two wives presented him with two sons. The Rakshasi&rsquo;s son,
+who was the elder, and who looked more like a god than a human being,
+was named Sahasra Dal, literally the Thousand-Branched; and the son of
+the Brahman woman, who was a year younger, was named Champa Dal, that
+is, branch of a <i>champaka</i> tree. The two boys loved each other
+dearly. They were both sent to a school which was several miles
+distant, to which they used every day to go riding on two little ponies
+of extraordinary fleetness.</p>
+<p>The Brahman woman had all along suspected from a thousand little
+circumstances that her sister-in-law was not a human being but a
+Rakshasi; but her suspicion had not yet ripened into certainty, for the
+Rakshasi exercised great self-restraint on herself, and never did
+anything which human beings did not do. But the demoniac nature, like
+murder, will out. The Brahman having nothing to do, in order to pass
+his time had recourse to <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb67" href=
+"#pb67" name="pb67">67</a>]</span>hunting. The first day he returned
+from the hunt, he had bagged an antelope. The antelope was laid in the
+courtyard of the palace. At the sight of the antelope the mouth of the
+raw-eating Rakshasi began to water. Before the animal was dressed for
+the kitchen, she took it away into a room, and began devouring it. The
+Brahman woman, who was watching the whole scene from a secret place,
+saw her Rakshasi sister tear off a leg of the antelope, and opening her
+tremendous jaws, which seemed to her imagination to extend from earth
+to heaven, swallow it up. In this manner the body and other limbs of
+the antelope were devoured, till only a little bit of the meat was kept
+for the kitchen. The second day another antelope was bagged, and the
+third day another; and the Rakshasi, unable to restrain her appetite
+for raw flesh, devoured these two as she had devoured the first. On the
+third day the Brahman woman expressed to the Rakshasi her surprise at
+the disappearance of nearly the whole of the antelope with the
+exception of a little bit. The Rakshasi looked fierce and said,
+&ldquo;Do I eat raw flesh?&rdquo; To which the Brahman woman replied,
+&ldquo;Perhaps you do, for aught I know to the contrary.&rdquo; The
+Rakshasi, knowing herself to be discovered, looked fiercer than before,
+and vowed revenge. The Brahman woman concluded in her mind that the
+doom of herself, of her husband, and of her son was sealed. She spent a
+miserable night, believing that next day she would be killed and eaten
+up, and that her husband and son would share the same fate. Early
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb68" href="#pb68" name=
+"pb68">68</a>]</span>next morning, before her son Champa Dal went to
+school, she gave him in a small golden vessel a little quantity of her
+own breast milk, and told him to be constantly watching its colour.
+&ldquo;Should you,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;see the milk get a little
+red, then conclude that your father has been killed; and should you see
+it grow still redder, then conclude that I am killed: when you see
+this, gallop away for your life as fast as your horse can carry you,
+for if you do not, you also will be devoured.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Rakshasi on getting up from bed&mdash;and she had prevented the
+Brahman overnight from having any communication with his
+wife&mdash;proposed that she and the Brahman should go to bathe in the
+river, which was at some distance. She would take no denial; the
+Brahman had therefore to follow her as meekly as a lamb. The Brahman
+woman at once saw from the proposal that ruin was impending; but it was
+beyond her power to avert the catastrophe. The Rakshasi, on the
+river-side, assuming her own proper gigantic dimensions, took hold of
+the ill-fated Brahman, tore him limb by limb, and devoured him up. She
+then ran to her house, and seized the Brahman woman, and put her into
+her capacious stomach, clothes, hair and all. Young Champa Dal, who,
+agreeably to his mother&rsquo;s instructions, was diligently watching
+the milk in the small golden vessel, was horror-struck to find the milk
+redden a little. He set up a cry and said that his father was killed; a
+few minutes after, finding the milk become completely red, he cried yet
+louder, and rushing to his pony, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb69"
+href="#pb69" name="pb69">69</a>]</span>mounted it. His half-brother,
+Sahasra Dal, surprised at Champa Dal&rsquo;s conduct, said,
+&ldquo;Where are you going, Champa? Why are you crying? Let me
+accompany you.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh! do not come to me. Your mother has
+devoured my father and mother; don&rsquo;t you come and devour
+me.&rdquo; &ldquo;I will not devour you; I&rsquo;ll save you.&rdquo;
+Scarcely had he uttered these words and galloped away after Champa Dal,
+when he saw his mother in her own Rakshasi form appearing at a
+distance, and demanding that Champa Dal should come to her. He said,
+&ldquo;I will come to you, not Champa.&rdquo; So saying, he went to his
+mother, and with his sword, which he always wore as a young prince, cut
+off her head.</p>
+<p>Champa Dal had, in the meantime, galloped off a good distance, as he
+was running for his life; but Sahasra Dal, by pricking his horse
+repeatedly, soon overtook him, and told him that his mother was no
+more. This was small consolation to Champa Dal, as the Rakshasi, before
+being killed, had devoured both his father and mother; still he could
+not but feel that Sahasra Dal&rsquo;s friendship was sincere. They both
+rode fast, and as their horses were of the breed of <i>pakshirajes</i>
+(literally, kings of birds), they travelled over hundreds of miles. An
+hour or two before sundown they descried a village, to which they made
+up, and became guests in the house of one of its most respectable
+inhabitants. The two friends found the members of that respectable
+family in deep gloom. Evidently there was something agitating them very
+much. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb70" href="#pb70" name=
+"pb70">70</a>]</span>Some of them held private consultations, and
+others were weeping. The eldest lady of the house, the mother of its
+head, said aloud, &ldquo;Let me go, as I am the eldest. I have lived
+long enough; at the utmost my life would be cut short only by a year or
+two.&rdquo; The youngest member of the house, who was a little girl,
+said, &ldquo;Let me go, as I am young and useless to the family; if I
+die I shall not be missed.&rdquo; The head of the house, the son of the
+old lady, said, &ldquo;I am the head and representative of the family;
+it is but reasonable that I should give up my life.&rdquo; His younger
+brother said, &ldquo;You are the main prop and pillar of the family; if
+you go the whole family is ruined. It is not reasonable that you should
+go; let me go, as I shall not be much missed.&rdquo; The two strangers
+listened to all this conversation with no little curiosity. They
+wondered what it all meant. Sahasra Dal at last, at the risk of being
+thought meddlesome, ventured to ask the head of the house the subject
+of their consultations, and the reason of the deep misery but too
+visible in their countenances and words. The head of the house gave the
+following answer: &ldquo;Know then, worthy guests, that this part of
+the country is infested by a terrible Rakshasi, who has depopulated all
+the regions round. This town, too, would have been depopulated, but
+that our king became a suppliant before the Rakshasi, and begged her to
+show mercy to us his subjects. The Rakshasi replied, &lsquo;I will
+consent to show mercy to you and to your subjects only on this
+condition, that you every <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb71" href=
+"#pb71" name="pb71">71</a>]</span>night put a human being, either male
+or female, in a certain temple for me to feast upon. If I get a human
+being every night I will rest satisfied, and not commit any further
+depredations on your subjects.&rsquo; Our king had no other alternative
+than to agree to this condition, for what human beings can ever hope to
+contend against a Rakshasi? From that day the king made it a rule that
+every family in the town should in its turn send one of its members to
+the temple as a victim to appease the wrath and to satisfy the hunger
+of the terrible Rakshasi. All the families in this neighbourhood have
+had their turn, and this night it is the turn for one of us to devote
+himself to destruction. We are therefore discussing who should go. You
+must now perceive the cause of our distress.&rdquo; The two friends
+consulted together for a few minutes, and at the conclusion of their
+consultations, Sahasra Dal, who was the spokesman of the party, said,
+&ldquo;Most worthy host, do not any longer be sad: as you have been
+very kind to us, we have resolved to requite your hospitality by
+ourselves going to the temple and becoming the food of the Rakshasi. We
+go as your representatives.&rdquo; The whole family protested against
+the proposal. They declared that guests were like gods, and that it was
+the duty of the host to endure all sorts of privation for the comfort
+of the guest, and not the duty of the guest to suffer for the host. But
+the two strangers insisted on standing proxy to the family, who, after
+a great deal of yea and nay, at last consented to the arrangement.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb72" href="#pb72" name=
+"pb72">72</a>]</span></p>
+<p>Immediately after candle-light, Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal, with
+their two horses, installed themselves in the temple, and shut the
+door. Sahasra told his brother to go to sleep, as he himself was
+determined to sit up the whole night and watch against the coming of
+the terrible Rakshasi. Champa was soon in a fine sleep, while Sahasra
+lay awake. Nothing happened during the early hours of the night, but no
+sooner had the gong of the king&rsquo;s palace announced the dead hour
+of midnight than Sahasra heard the sound as of a rushing tempest, and
+immediately concluded, from his knowledge of Rakshasas, that the
+Rakshasi was nigh. A thundering knock was heard at the door,
+accompanied with the following words:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;How, mow, khow!</p>
+<p class="line">A human being I smell;</p>
+<p class="line">Who watches inside?&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">To this question Sahasra Dal made the following
+reply:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Sahasra Dal watcheth,</p>
+<p class="line">Champa Dal watcheth,</p>
+<p class="line">Two winged horses watch.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">On hearing this answer the Rakshasi turned away with a
+groan, knowing that Sahasra Dal had Rakshasa blood in his veins. An
+hour after, the Rakshasi returned, thundered at the door, and called
+out&mdash; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb73" href="#pb73" name=
+"pb73">73</a>]</span></p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;How, mow, khow!</p>
+<p class="line">A human being I smell;</p>
+<p class="line">Who watcheth inside?&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Sahasra Dal again replied&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Sahasra Dal watcheth,</p>
+<p class="line">Champa Dal watcheth,</p>
+<p class="line">Two winged horses watch.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">The Rakshasi again groaned and went away. At two
+o&rsquo;clock and at three o&rsquo;clock the Rakshasi again and again
+made her appearance, and made the usual inquiry, and obtaining the same
+answer, went away with a groan. After three o&rsquo;clock, however,
+Sahasra Dal felt very sleepy: he could not any longer keep awake. He
+therefore roused Champa, told him to watch, and strictly enjoined upon
+him, in reply to the query of the Rakshasi, to mention Sahasra&rsquo;s
+name first. With these instructions he went to sleep. At four
+o&rsquo;clock the Rakshasi again made her appearance, thundered at the
+door, and said&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;How, mow, khow!</p>
+<p class="line">A human being I smell;</p>
+<p class="line">Who watches inside?&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">As Champa Dal was in a terrible fright, he forgot the
+instructions of his brother for the moment, and answered&mdash;
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb74" href="#pb74" name=
+"pb74">74</a>]</span></p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Champa Dal watcheth,</p>
+<p class="line">Sahasra Dal watcheth,</p>
+<p class="line">Two winged horses watch.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">On hearing this reply the Rakshasi uttered a shout of
+exultation, laughed such a laugh as only demons can, and with a
+dreadful noise broke open the door. The noise roused Sahasra, who in a
+moment sprung to his feet, and with his sword, which was as supple as a
+palm-leaf, cut off the head of the Rakshasi. The huge mountain of a
+body fell to the ground, making a great noise, and lay covering many an
+acre. Sahasra Dal kept the severed head of the Rakshasi near him, and
+went to sleep. Early in the morning some wood-cutters, who were passing
+near the temple, saw the huge body on the ground. They could not from a
+distance make out what it was, but on coming near they knew that it was
+the carcase of the terrible Rakshasi, who had by her voracity nearly
+depopulated the country. Remembering the promise made by the king that
+the killer of the Rakshasi should be rewarded by the hand of his
+daughter and with a share of the kingdom, each of the wood-cutters,
+seeing no claimant at hand, thought of obtaining the reward.
+Accordingly each of them cut off a part of a limb of the huge carcase,
+went to the king, and represented himself to be the destroyer of the
+great raw-eater, and claimed the reward. The king, in order to find out
+the real hero and deliverer, inquired of his minister the name of the
+family whose turn it was <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb75" href=
+"#pb75" name="pb75">75</a>]</span>on the preceding night to offer a
+victim to the Rakshasi. The head of that family, on being brought
+before the king, related how two youthful travellers, who were guests
+in his house, volunteered to go into the temple in the room of a member
+of his family. The door of the temple was broken open; Sahasra Dal and
+Champa Dal and their horses were found all safe; and the head of the
+Rakshasi, which was with them, proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that
+they had killed the monster. The king kept his word. He gave his
+daughter in marriage to Sahasra Dal and the sovereignty of half his
+dominions. Champa Dal remained with his friend in the king&rsquo;s
+palace, and rejoiced in his prosperity.</p>
+<p>Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal lived together happily for some time,
+when a misunderstanding arose between them in this wise. There was in
+the service of the queen-mother a certain maid-servant who was the most
+useful domestic in the palace. There was nothing which she could not
+put her hands to and perform. She had uncommon strength for a woman;
+neither was her intelligence of a mean order. She was a woman of
+immense activity and energy; and if she were absent one day from the
+palace, the affairs of the zenana would be in perfect disorder. Hence
+her services were highly valued by the queen-mother and all the ladies
+of the palace. But this woman was not a woman; she was a Rakshasi, who
+had put on the appearance of a woman to serve some purposes of her own,
+and then taken service in the royal <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb76"
+href="#pb76" name="pb76">76</a>]</span>household. At night, when every
+one in the palace was asleep, she used to assume her own real form, and
+go about in quest of food, for the quantity of food that is sufficient
+for either man or woman was not sufficient for a Rakshasi. Now Champa
+Dal, having no wife, was in the habit of sleeping outside the zenana,
+and not far from the outer gate of the palace. He had noticed her going
+about on the premises and devouring sundry goats and sheep, horses and
+elephants. The maid-servant, finding that Champa Dal was in the way of
+her supper, determined to get rid of him. She accordingly went one day
+to the queen-mother, and said, &ldquo;Queen-mother! I am unable any
+longer to work in the palace.&rdquo; &ldquo;Why? what is the matter,
+Dasi?<a class="noteref" id="xd19e1714src" href="#xd19e1714" name=
+"xd19e1714src">2</a> How can I get on without you? Tell me your
+reasons. What ails you?&rdquo; &ldquo;Why,&rdquo; said the woman,
+&ldquo;nowadays it is impossible for a poor woman like me to preserve
+my honour in the palace. There is that Champa Dal, the friend of your
+son-in-law; he always cracks indecent jokes with me. It is better for
+me to beg for my rice than to lose my honour. If Champa Dal remains in
+the palace I must go away.&rdquo; As the maid-servant was an absolute
+necessity in the palace, the queen-mother resolved to sacrifice Champa
+Dal to her. She therefore told Sahasra Dal that Champa Dal was a bad
+man, that his character was loose, and that therefore he must leave the
+palace. Sahasra Dal earnestly pleaded on behalf of his friend, but in
+vain; the queen-mother had made <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb77"
+href="#pb77" name="pb77">77</a>]</span>up her mind to drive him out of
+the palace. Sahasra Dal had not the courage to speak personally to his
+friend on the subject; he therefore wrote a letter to him, in which he
+simply said that for certain reasons Champa must leave the palace
+immediately. The letter was put in his room after he had gone to bathe.
+On reading the letter Champa Dal, exceedingly grieved, mounted his
+fleet horse and left the palace.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1722width" id="p077"><img src="images/p077.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was&rdquo;"
+width="510" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed,
+and eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>As Champa&rsquo;s horse was uncommonly fleet, in a few hours he
+traversed thousands of miles, and at last found himself at the gateway
+of what seemed a magnificent palace. Dismounting from his horse, he
+entered the house, where he did not meet with a single creature. He
+went from apartment to apartment, but though they were all richly
+furnished he did not see a single human being. At last, in one of the
+side rooms, he found a young lady of heavenly beauty lying down on a
+splendid bedstead. She was asleep. Champa Dal looked upon the sleeping
+beauty with rapture&mdash;he had not seen any woman so beautiful. Upon
+the bed, near the head of the young lady, were two sticks, one of
+silver and the other of gold. Champa took the silver stick into his
+hand, and touched with it the body of the lady; but no change was
+perceptible. He then took up the gold stick and laid it upon the lady,
+when in a trice she woke up, sat in her bed, and eyeing the stranger,
+inquired who he was. Champa Dal briefly told his story. The young lady,
+or rather princess&mdash;for she was nothing less&mdash;said,
+&ldquo;Unhappy man! why have you come <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb78" href="#pb78" name="pb78">78</a>]</span>here? This is the country
+of Rakshasas, and in this house and round about there live no less than
+seven hundred Rakshasas. They all go away to the other side of the
+ocean every morning in search of provisions; and they all return every
+evening before dusk. My father was formerly king in these regions, and
+had millions of subjects, who lived in flourishing towns and cities.
+But some years ago the invasion of the Rakshasas took place, and they
+devoured all his subjects, and himself and my mother, and my brothers
+and sisters. They devoured also all the cattle of the country. There is
+no living human being in these regions excepting myself; and I too
+should long ago have been devoured had not an old Rakshasi, conceiving
+strange affection for me, prevented the other Rakshasas from eating me
+up. You see those sticks of silver and gold; the old Rakshasi, when she
+goes away in the morning, kills me with the silver stick, and on her
+return in the evening re-animates me with the gold stick. I do not know
+how to advise you; if the Rakshasas see you, you are a dead man.&rdquo;
+Then they both talked to each other in a very affectionate manner, and
+laid their heads together to devise if possible some means of escape
+from the hands of the Rakshasas. The hour of the return of the seven
+hundred raw-eaters was fast approaching; and Keshavati&mdash;for that
+was the name of the princess, so called from the abundance of her
+hair&mdash;told Champa to hide himself in the heaps of the sacred
+trefoil which were lying in the temple of Siva in the central
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb79" href="#pb79" name=
+"pb79">79</a>]</span>part of the palace. Before Champa went to his
+place of concealment, he touched Keshavati with the silver stick, on
+which she instantly died.</p>
+<p>Shortly after sunset Champa Dal heard from beneath the heaps of the
+sacred trefoil the sound as of a mighty rushing wind. Presently he
+heard terrible noises in the palace. The Rakshasas had come home from
+cruising, after having filled their stomachs, each one, with sundry
+goats, sheep, cows, horses, buffaloes, and elephants. The old Rakshasi,
+of whom we have already spoken, came to Keshavati&rsquo;s room, roused
+her by touching her body with the gold stick, and said&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Hye, mye, khye!</p>
+<p class="line">A human being I smell.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">On which Keshavati said, &ldquo;I am the only human
+being here; eat me if you like.&rdquo; To which the raw-eater replied,
+&ldquo;Let me eat up your enemies; why should I eat you?&rdquo; She
+laid herself down on the ground, as long and as high as the Vindhya
+Hills, and presently fell asleep. The other Rakshasas and Rakshasis
+also soon fell asleep, being all tired out on account of their gigantic
+labours in the day. Keshavati also composed herself to sleep; while
+Champa, not daring to come out of the heaps of leaves, tried his best
+to court the god of repose. At daybreak all the raw-eaters, seven
+hundred in number, got up and went as usual to their hunting and
+predatory excursions, and along with them went the old Rakshasi, after
+touching <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb80" href="#pb80" name=
+"pb80">80</a>]</span>Keshavati with the silver stick. When Champa Dal
+saw that the coast was clear, he came out of the temple, walked into
+Keshavati&rsquo;s room, and touched her with the gold stick, on which
+she woke up. They sauntered about in the gardens, enjoying the cool
+breeze of the morning; they bathed in a lucid tank which was in the
+grounds; they ate and drank, and spent the day in sweet converse. They
+concocted a plan for their deliverance. They settled that Keshavati
+should ask the old Rakshasi on what the life of a Rakshasa depended,
+and when the secret should be made known they would adopt measures
+accordingly. As on the preceding evening, Champa, after touching his
+fair friend with the silver stick, took refuge in the temple beneath
+the heaps of the sacred trefoil. At dusk the Rakshasas as usual came
+home; and the old Rakshasi, rousing her pet, said&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Hye, mye, khye!</p>
+<p class="line">A human being I smell.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">Keshavati answered, &ldquo;What other human being is
+here excepting myself? Eat me up, if you like.&rdquo; &ldquo;Why should
+I eat you, my darling? Let me eat up all your enemies.&rdquo; Then she
+laid down on the ground her huge body, which looked like a part of the
+Himalaya mountains. Keshavati, with a phial of heated mustard oil, went
+towards the feet of the Rakshasi, and said, &ldquo;Mother, your feet
+are sore with walking; let me rub them with oil.&rdquo; So saying, she
+began to rub with oil the Rakshasi&rsquo;s feet; and while she was in
+the act of doing so, a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb81" href="#pb81"
+name="pb81">81</a>]</span>few tear-drops from her eyes fell on the
+monster&rsquo;s leg. The Rakshasi smacked the tear-drops with her lips,
+and finding the taste briny, said, &ldquo;Why are you weeping, darling?
+What aileth thee?&rdquo; To which the princess replied, &ldquo;Mother,
+I am weeping because you are old, and when you die I shall certainly be
+devoured by one of the Rakshasas.&rdquo; &ldquo;When I die! Know,
+foolish girl, that we Rakshasas never die. We are not naturally
+immortal, but our life depends on a secret which no human being can
+unravel. Let me tell you what it is that you may be comforted. You know
+yonder tank; there is in the middle of it a
+<i>Sphatikasthambha</i>,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e1755src" href=
+"#xd19e1755" name="xd19e1755src">3</a> on the top of which in deep
+waters are two bees. If any human being can dive into the waters, and
+bring up to land the two bees from the pillar in one breath, and
+destroy them so that not a drop of their blood falls to the ground,
+then we Rakshasas shall certainly die; but if a single drop of blood
+falls to the ground, then from it will start up a thousand Rakshasas.
+But what human being will find out this secret, or, finding it, will be
+able to achieve the feat? You need not, therefore, darling, be sad; I
+am practically immortal.&rdquo; Keshavati treasured up the secret in
+her memory, and went to sleep.</p>
+<p>Early next morning the Rakshasas as usual went away; Champa came out
+of his hiding-place, roused Keshavati, and fell a-talking. The princess
+told him the secret she had learnt from the Rakshasi. Champa
+immediately made preparations <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb82" href=
+"#pb82" name="pb82">82</a>]</span>for accomplishing the mighty deed. He
+brought to the side of the tank a knife and a quantity of ashes. He
+disrobed himself, put a drop or two of mustard oil into each of his
+ears to prevent water from entering in, and dived into the waters. In a
+moment he got to the top of the crystal pillar in the middle of the
+tank, caught hold of the two bees he found there, and came up in one
+breath. Taking the knife, he cut up the bees over the ashes, a drop or
+two of the blood fell, not on the ground, but on the ashes. When Champa
+caught hold of the bees, a terrible scream was heard at a distance.
+This was the wailing of the Rakshasas, who were all running home to
+prevent the bees from being killed; but before they could reach the
+palace, the bees had perished. The moment the bees were killed, all the
+Rakshasas died, and their carcases fell on the very spot on which they
+were standing. Champa and the princess afterwards found that the
+gateway of the palace was blocked up by the huge carcases of the
+Rakshasas&mdash;some of them having nearly succeeded in getting to the
+palace. In this manner was effected the destruction of the seven
+hundred Rakshasas.</p>
+<p>After the destruction of the seven hundred raw-eating monsters,
+Champa Dal and Keshavati got married together by the exchange of
+garlands of flowers. The princess, who had never been out of the house,
+naturally expressed a desire to see the outer world. They used every
+day to take long walks both morning and evening, and as a <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb83" href="#pb83" name="pb83">83</a>]</span>large
+river was hard by Keshavati wished to bathe in it. The first day they
+went to bathe, one of Keshavati&rsquo;s hairs came off, and as it is
+the custom with women never to throw away a hair unaccompanied with
+something else, she tied the hair to a shell which was floating on the
+water; after which they returned home. In the meantime the shell with
+the hair tied to it floated down the stream, and in course of time
+reached that <i>ghat</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e1773src" href=
+"#xd19e1773" name="xd19e1773src">4</a> at which Sahasra Dal and his
+companions were in the habit of performing their ablutions. The shell
+passed by when Sahasra Dal and his friends were bathing; and he, seeing
+it at some distance, said to them, &ldquo;Whoever succeeds in catching
+hold of yonder shell shall be rewarded with a hundred rupees.&rdquo;
+They all swam towards it, and Sahasra Dal, being the fleetest swimmer,
+got it. On examining it he found a hair tied to it. But such hair! He
+had never seen so long a hair. It was exactly seven cubits long.
+&ldquo;The owner of this hair must be a remarkable woman, and I must
+see her&rdquo;&mdash;such was the resolution of Sahasra Dal. He went
+home from the river in a pensive mood, and instead of proceeding to the
+zenana for breakfast, remained in the outer part of the palace. The
+queen-mother, on hearing that Sahasra Dal was looking melancholy and
+had not come to breakfast, went to him and asked the reason. He showed
+her the hair, and said he must see the woman whose head it had adorned.
+The queen-mother <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb84" href="#pb84" name=
+"pb84">84</a>]</span>said, &ldquo;Very well, you shall have that lady
+in the palace as soon as possible. I promise you to bring her
+here.&rdquo; The queen-mother told her favourite maid-servant, whom she
+knew to be full of resources&mdash;the same who was a Rakshasi in
+disguise&mdash;that she must, as soon as possible, bring to the palace
+that lady who was the owner of the hair seven cubits long. The
+maid-servant said she would be quite able to fetch her. By her
+directions a boat was built of <i>Hajol</i> wood, the oars of which
+were of <i>Mon Paban</i> wood. The boat was launched on the stream, and
+she went on board of it with some baskets of wicker-work of curious
+workmanship; she also took with her some sweetmeats into which some
+poison had been mixed. She snapped her fingers thrice, and uttered the
+following charm:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Boat of Hajol!</p>
+<p class="line">Oars of Mon Paban!</p>
+<p class="line">Take me to the Ghat,</p>
+<p class="line">In which Keshavati bathes.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">No sooner had the words been uttered than the boat
+flew like lightning over the waters. It went on and on, leaving behind
+many a town and city. At last it stopped at a bathing-place, which the
+Rakshasi maid-servant concluded was the bathing <i>ghat</i> of
+Keshavati. She landed with the sweetmeats in her hand. She went to the
+gate of the palace, and cried aloud, &ldquo;O Keshavati! Keshavati! I
+am your aunt, your mother&rsquo;s sister. I am come to see you, my
+darling, after so many years. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb85" href=
+"#pb85" name="pb85">85</a>]</span>Are you in, Keshavati?&rdquo; The
+princess, on hearing these words, came out of her room, and making no
+doubt that she was her aunt, embraced and kissed her. They both wept
+rivers of joy&mdash;at least the Rakshasi maid-servant did, and
+Keshavati followed suit through sympathy. Champa Dal also thought that
+she was the aunt of his newly married wife. They all ate and drank and
+took rest in the middle of the day. Champa Dal, as was his habit, went
+to sleep after breakfast. Towards afternoon, the supposed aunt said to
+Keshavati, &ldquo;Let us both go to the river and wash
+ourselves.&rdquo; Keshavati replied, &ldquo;How can we go now? my
+husband is sleeping.&rdquo; &ldquo;Never mind,&rdquo; said the aunt,
+&ldquo;let him sleep on; let me put these sweetmeats, that I have
+brought, near his bedside, that he may eat them when he gets up.&rdquo;
+They then went to the river-side close to the spot where the boat was.
+Keshavati, when she saw from some distance the baskets of wicker-work
+in the boat, said, &ldquo;Aunt, what beautiful things are those! I wish
+I could get some of them.&rdquo; &ldquo;Come, my child, come and look
+at them; and you can have as many as you like.&rdquo; Keshavati at
+first refused to go into the boat, but on being pressed by her aunt,
+she went. The moment they two were on board, the aunt snapped her
+fingers thrice and said:&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Boat of Hajol!</p>
+<p class="line">Oars of Mon Paban!</p>
+<p class="line">Take me to the Ghat,</p>
+<p class="line">In which Sahasra Dal bathes.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb86" href="#pb86" name=
+"pb86">86</a>]</span></p>
+<p>As soon as these magical words were uttered the boat moved and flew
+like an arrow over the waters. Keshavati was frightened and began to
+cry, but the boat went on and on, leaving behind many towns and cities,
+and in a trice reached the <i>ghat</i> where Sahasra Dal was in the
+habit of bathing. Keshavati was taken to the palace; Sahasra Dal
+admired her beauty and the length of her hair; and the ladies of the
+palace tried their best to comfort her. But she set up a loud cry, and
+wanted to be taken back to her husband. At last when she saw that she
+was a captive, she told the ladies of the palace that she had taken a
+vow that she would not see the face of any strange man for six months.
+She was then lodged apart from the rest in a small house, the window of
+which overlooked the road; there she spent the livelong day and also
+the livelong night&mdash;for she had very little sleep&mdash;in sighing
+and weeping.</p>
+<p>In the meantime when Champa Dal awoke from sleep, he was distracted
+with grief at not finding his wife. He now thought that the woman, who
+pretended to be his wife&rsquo;s aunt, was a cheat and an impostor, and
+that she must have carried away Keshavati. He did not eat the
+sweetmeats, suspecting they might be poisoned. He threw one of them to
+a crow which, the moment it ate it, dropped down dead. He was now the
+more confirmed in his unfavourable opinion of the pretended aunt.
+Maddened with grief, he rushed out of the house, and determined to go
+whithersoever his eyes might lead him. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb87" href="#pb87" name="pb87">87</a>]</span>Like a madman, always
+blubbering &ldquo;O Keshavati! O Keshavati!&rdquo; he travelled on foot
+day after day, not knowing whither he went. Six months were spent in
+this wearisome travelling when, at the end of that period, he reached
+the capital of Sahasra Dal. He was passing by the palace-gate when the
+sighs and wailings of a woman sitting at the window of a house, on the
+road-side, attracted his attention. One moment&rsquo;s look, and they
+recognised each other. They continued to hold secret communications.
+Champa Dal heard everything, including the story of her vow, the period
+of which was to terminate the following day. It is customary, on the
+fulfilment of a vow, for some learned Brahman to make public
+recitations of events connected with the vow and the person who makes
+it. It was settled that Champa Dal should take upon himself the
+functions of the reciter. Accordingly, next morning, when it was
+proclaimed by beat of drum that the king wanted a learned Brahman who
+could recite the story of Keshavati on the fulfilment of her vow,
+Champa Dal touched the drum and said that he would make the recitation.
+Next morning a gorgeous assembly was held in the courtyard of the
+palace under a huge canopy of silk. The old king, Sahasra Dal, all the
+courtiers and the learned Brahmans of the country, were present there.
+Keshavati was also there behind a screen that she might not be exposed
+to the rude gaze of the people. Champa Dal, the reciter, sitting on a
+dais, began the story of Keshavati, as we have related <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb88" href="#pb88" name="pb88">88</a>]</span>it, from
+the beginning, commencing with the words&mdash;&ldquo;There was a poor
+and half-witted Brahman, etc.&rdquo; As he was going on with the story,
+the reciter every now and then asked Keshavati behind the screen
+whether the story was correct; to which question she as often replied,
+&ldquo;Quite correct; go on, Brahman.&rdquo; During the recitation of
+the story the Rakshasi maid-servant grew pale, as she perceived that
+her real character was discovered; and Sahasra Dal was astonished at
+the knowledge of the reciter regarding the history of his own life. The
+moment the story was finished, Sahasra Dal jumped up from his seat, and
+embracing the reciter, said, &ldquo;You can be none other than my
+brother Champa Dal.&rdquo; Then the prince, inflamed with rage, ordered
+the maid-servant into his presence. A large hole, as deep as the height
+of a man, was dug in the ground; the maid-servant was put into it in a
+standing posture; prickly thorn was heaped around her up to the crown
+of her head: in this wise was the maid-servant buried alive. After this
+Sahasra Dal and his princess, and Champa Dal and Keshavati, lived
+happily together many years.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb89" href="#pb89" name=
+"pb89">89</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1597" href="#xd19e1597src" name="xd19e1597">1</a></span>
+<i>Rakshasas</i> and <i>Rakshasis</i> (male and female) are in Hindu
+mythology huge giants and giantesses, or rather demons. The word means
+literally <i>raw-eaters</i>; they were probably the chiefs of the
+aborigines whom the Aryans overthrew on their first settlement in the
+country.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1714" href="#xd19e1714src" name="xd19e1714">2</a></span>
+<i>Dasi</i> is a general name for all maid-servants.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1755" href="#xd19e1755src" name="xd19e1755">3</a></span>
+<i>Sphatika</i> is crystal, and <i>sthambha</i> pillar.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1773" href="#xd19e1773src" name="xd19e1773">4</a></span>
+Bathing-place, either in a tank or on the bank of a river, generally
+furnished with flights of steps.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch5" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">V</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Story of Swet-Basanta</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a rich merchant who had an only son whom he
+loved passionately. He gave to his son whatever he wanted. His son
+wanted a beautiful house in the midst of a large garden. The house was
+built for him, and the grounds were laid out into a fine garden. One
+day as the merchant&rsquo;s son was walking in his garden, he put his
+hand into the nest of a small bird called <i>toontooni</i>, and found
+in it an egg, which he took and put in an almirah which was dug into
+the wall of his house. He closed the door of the almirah, and thought
+no more of the egg.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1839width" id="p090"><img src="images/p090.jpg"
+alt="The Girl of the Wall-Almirah" width="499" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">The Girl of the Wall-Almirah</p>
+</div>
+<p>Though the merchant&rsquo;s son had a house of his own, he had no
+separate establishment; at any rate he kept no cook, for his mother
+used to send him regularly his breakfast and dinner every day. The egg
+which he deposited in the wall-almirah one day burst, and out of it
+came a beautiful infant, a girl. But the merchant&rsquo;s son knew
+nothing about it. He had forgotten everything about the egg, and the
+door of the wall-almirah had been kept closed, though not locked, ever
+since the day <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb90" href="#pb90" name=
+"pb90">90</a>]</span>the egg was put there. The child grew up within
+the wall-almirah without the knowledge of the merchant&rsquo;s son or
+of any one else. When the child could walk, it had the curiosity one
+day to open the door; and seeing some food on the floor (the breakfast
+of the merchant&rsquo;s son sent by his mother), it came out, and ate a
+little of it, and returned to its cell in the wall-almirah. As the
+mother of the merchant&rsquo;s son sent him always more than he could
+himself eat, he perceived no diminution in the quantity. The girl of
+the wall-almirah used every day to come out and eat a part of the food,
+and after eating used to return to her place in the almirah. But as the
+girl got older and older, she began to eat more and more; hence the
+merchant&rsquo;s son began to perceive a diminution in the quantity of
+his food. Not dreaming of the existence of the wall-almirah girl, he
+wondered that his mother should send him such a small quantity of food.
+He sent word to his mother, complaining of the insufficiency of his
+meals, and of the slovenly manner in which the food was served up in
+the dish; for the girl of the wall-almirah used to finger the rice,
+curry, and other articles of food, and as she always went in a hurry
+back into the almirah that she might not be perceived by any one, she
+had no time to put the rice and the other things into proper order
+after she had eaten part of them. The mother was astonished at her
+son&rsquo;s complaint, for she gave always a much larger quantity than
+she knew her son could consume, and the food was served up on
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb91" href="#pb91" name=
+"pb91">91</a>]</span>a silver plate neatly by her own hand. But as her
+son repeated the same complaint day after day, she began to suspect
+foul play. She told her son to watch and see whether any one ate part
+of it unperceived. Accordingly, one day when the servant brought the
+breakfast and laid it in a clean place on the floor, the
+merchant&rsquo;s son, instead of going to bathe as it had hitherto been
+his custom, hid himself in a secret place and began to watch. In a few
+minutes he saw the door of the wall-almirah open; a beautiful damsel of
+sweet sixteen stepped out of it, sat on the carpet spread before the
+breakfast, and began to eat. The merchant&rsquo;s son came out of his
+hiding-place, and the damsel could not escape. &ldquo;Who are you,
+beautiful creature? You do not seem to be earth-born. Are you one of
+the daughters of the gods?&rdquo; asked the merchant&rsquo;s son. The
+girl replied, &ldquo;I do not know who I am. This I know, that one day
+I found myself in yonder almirah, and have been ever since living in
+it.&rdquo; The merchant&rsquo;s son thought it strange. He now
+remembered that sixteen years before he had put in the almirah an egg
+he had found in the nest of a <i>toontooni</i> bird. The uncommon
+beauty of the wall-almirah girl made a deep impression on the mind of
+the merchant&rsquo;s son, and he resolved in his mind to marry her. The
+girl no more went into the almirah, but lived in one of the rooms of
+the spacious house of the merchant&rsquo;s son.</p>
+<p>The next day the merchant&rsquo;s son sent word to his mother to the
+effect that he would like to get <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb92"
+href="#pb92" name="pb92">92</a>]</span>married. His mother reproached
+herself for not having long before thought of her son&rsquo;s marriage,
+and sent a message to her son to the effect that she and his father
+would the next day send <i>ghataks</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1858src" href="#xd19e1858" name="xd19e1858src">1</a> to different
+countries to seek for a suitable bride. The merchant&rsquo;s son sent
+word that he had secured for himself a most lovable young lady, and
+that if his parents had no objections he would produce her before them.
+Accordingly the young lady of the wall-almirah was taken to the
+merchant&rsquo;s house; and the merchant and his wife were so struck
+with the matchless beauty, grace, and loveliness of the stranger, that,
+without asking any questions as to her birth, the nuptials were
+celebrated.</p>
+<p>In course of time the merchant&rsquo;s son had two sons; the elder
+he named Swet and the younger Basanta. The old merchant died and so did
+his wife. Swet and Basanta grew up fine lads, and the elder was in due
+time married. Some time after Swet&rsquo;s marriage his mother, the
+wall-almirah lady, also died, and the widower lost no time in marrying
+a young and beautiful wife. As Swet&rsquo;s wife was older than his
+stepmother, she became the mistress of the house. The stepmother, like
+all stepmothers, hated Swet and Basanta with a perfect hatred; and the
+two ladies were naturally often at loggerheads with each other.</p>
+<p>It so happened one day that a fisherman brought to the merchant (we
+shall no longer call him the merchant&rsquo;s son, as his father had
+died) a fish of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb93" href="#pb93" name=
+"pb93">93</a>]</span>singular beauty. It was unlike any other fish that
+had been seen. The fish had marvellous qualities ascribed to it by the
+fisherman. If any one eats it, said he, when he laughs
+<i>maniks</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e1869src" href="#xd19e1869"
+name="xd19e1869src">2</a> will drop from his mouth, and when he weeps
+pearls will drop from his eyes. The merchant, hearing of the wonderful
+properties of the fish, bought it at one thousand rupees, and put it
+into the hands of Swet&rsquo;s wife, who was the mistress of the house,
+strictly enjoining on her to cook it well and to give it to him alone
+to eat. The mistress, or house-mother, who had overheard the
+conversation between her father-in-law and the fisherman, secretly
+resolved in her mind to give the cooked fish to her husband and to his
+brother to eat, and to give to her father-in-law instead a frog
+daintily cooked. When she had finished cooking both the fish and the
+frog, she heard the noise of a squabble between her stepmother-in-law
+and her husband&rsquo;s brother. It appears that Basanta, who was but a
+lad yet, was passionately fond of pigeons, which he tamed. One of these
+pigeons had flown into the room of his stepmother, who had secreted it
+in her clothes. Basanta rushed into the room, and loudly demanded the
+pigeon. His stepmother denied any knowledge of the pigeon, on which the
+elder brother, Swet, forcibly took out the bird from her clothes and
+gave it to his brother. The stepmother cursed and swore, and added,
+&ldquo;Wait, when the head of the house comes home I will make him shed
+the blood <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb94" href="#pb94" name=
+"pb94">94</a>]</span>of you both before I give him water to
+drink.&rdquo; Swet&rsquo;s wife called her husband and said to him,
+&ldquo;My dearest lord, that woman is a most wicked woman, and has
+boundless influence over my father-in-law. She will make him do what
+she has threatened. Our life is in imminent danger. Let us first eat a
+little, and let us all three run away from this place.&rdquo; Swet
+forthwith called Basanta to him, and told him what he had heard from
+his wife. They resolved to run away before nightfall. The woman placed
+before her husband and <span class="corr" id="xd19e1879" title=
+"Source: his">her</span> brother-in-law the fish of wonderful
+properties, and they ate of it heartily. The woman packed up all her
+jewels in a box. As there was only one horse, and it was of uncommon
+fleetness, the three sat upon it; Swet held the reins, the woman sat in
+the middle with the jewel-box in her lap, and Basanta brought up the
+rear.</p>
+<p>The horse galloped with the utmost swiftness. They passed through
+many a plain and many a noted town, till after midnight they found
+themselves in a forest not far from the bank of a river. Here the most
+untoward event took place. Swet&rsquo;s wife began to feel the pains of
+child-birth. They dismounted, and in an hour or two Swet&rsquo;s wife
+gave birth to a son. What were the two brothers to do in this forest? A
+fire must be kindled to give heat both to the mother and the new-born
+baby. But where was the fire to be got? There were no human habitations
+visible. Still fire must be procured&mdash;and it was the month of
+December&mdash;or else both the mother and the baby <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb95" href="#pb95" name="pb95">95</a>]</span>would
+certainly perish. Swet told Basanta to sit beside his wife, while he
+set out in the darkness of the night in search of fire.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1887width" id="p095"><img src="images/p095.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;On a sudden an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot across his path&rdquo;"
+width="504" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;On a sudden an elephant gorgeously
+caparisoned shot across his path&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Swet walked many a mile in darkness. Still he saw no human
+habitations. At last the genial light of Sukra<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1893src" href="#xd19e1893" name="xd19e1893src">3</a> somewhat
+illumined his path, and he saw at a distance what seemed a large city.
+He was congratulating himself on his journey&rsquo;s end and on his
+being able to obtain fire for the benefit of his poor wife lying cold
+in the forest with the new-born babe, when on a sudden an elephant,
+gorgeously caparisoned, shot across his path, and gently taking him up
+by his trunk, placed him on the rich <i>howdah</i><a class="noteref"
+id="xd19e1898src" href="#xd19e1898" name="xd19e1898src">4</a> on its
+back. It then walked rapidly towards the city. Swet was quite taken
+aback. He did not understand the meaning of the elephant&rsquo;s
+action, and wondered what was in store for him. A crown was in store
+for him. In that kingdom, the chief city of which he was approaching,
+every morning a king was elected, for the king of the previous day was
+always found dead in the morning in the room of the queen. What caused
+the death of the king no one knew; neither did the queen herself (for
+every successive king took her to wife) know the cause. And the
+elephant who took hold of Swet was the king-maker. Early in the morning
+it went about, sometimes to distant places, and whosoever was brought
+on its back was acknowledged king by the people. The elephant
+majestically marched through the crowded <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb96" href="#pb96" name="pb96">96</a>]</span>streets of the city, amid
+the acclamations of the people, the meaning of which Swet did not
+understand, entered the palace, and placed him on the throne. He was
+proclaimed king amid the rejoicings of some and the lamentations of
+others. In the course of the day he heard of the strange fatality which
+overtook every night the elected king of those realms, but being
+possessed of great discretion and courage, he took every precaution to
+avert the dreadful catastrophe. Yet he hardly knew what expedients to
+adopt, as he was unacquainted with the nature of the danger. He
+resolved, however, upon two things, and these were, to go armed into
+the queen&rsquo;s bedchamber, and to sit up awake the whole night. The
+queen was young and of exquisite beauty, and so guileless and
+benevolent was the expression of her face that it was impossible from
+looking at her to suppose that she could use any foul means of taking
+away the life of her nightly consort. In the queen&rsquo;s chamber Swet
+spent a very agreeable evening; as the night advanced the queen fell
+asleep, but Swet kept awake, and was on the alert, looking at every
+creek and corner of the room, and expecting every minute to be
+murdered. In the dead of night he perceived something like a thread
+coming out of the left nostril of the queen. The thread was so thin
+that it was almost invisible. As he watched it he found it several
+yards long, and yet it was coming out. When the whole of it had come
+out, it began to grow thick, and in a few minutes it assumed the form
+of a huge serpent. In a moment <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb97"
+href="#pb97" name="pb97">97</a>]</span>Swet cut off the head of the
+serpent, the body of which wriggled violently. He sat quiet in the
+room, expecting other adventures. But nothing else happened. The queen
+slept longer than usual as she had been relieved of the huge snake
+which had made her stomach its den. Early next morning the ministers
+came expecting as usual to hear of the king&rsquo;s death; but when the
+ladies of the bedchamber knocked at the door of the queen they were
+astonished to see Swet come out. It was then known to all the people
+how that every night a terrible snake issued from the queen&rsquo;s
+nostrils, how it devoured the king every night, and how it had at last
+been killed by the fortunate Swet. The whole country rejoiced in the
+prospect of a permanent king. It is a strange thing, nevertheless it is
+true, that Swet did not remember his poor wife with the new-born babe
+lying in the forest, nor his brother attending on her. With the
+possession of the throne he seemed to forget the whole of his past
+history.</p>
+<p>Basanta, to whom his brother had entrusted his wife and child, sat
+watching for many a weary hour, expecting every moment to see Swet
+return with fire. The whole night passed away without his return. At
+sunrise he went to the bank of the river which was close by, and
+anxiously looked about for his brother, but in vain. Distressed beyond
+measure, he sat on the river side and wept. A boat was passing by in
+which a merchant was returning to his country. As the boat was not far
+from the shore the merchant saw Basanta weeping; <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb98" href="#pb98" name="pb98">98</a>]</span>and what
+struck the attention of the merchant was the heap of what looked like
+pearls near the weeping man. At the request of the merchant the boatman
+took his vessel towards the bank; the merchant went to the weeping man,
+and found that the heap was a heap of real pearls of the finest lustre:
+and what astonished him most of all was that the heap was increasing
+every second, for the tear-drops that were falling from his eyes fell
+to the ground not as tears but as pearls. The merchant stowed away the
+heap of pearls into his boat, and with the help of his servants caught
+hold of Basanta himself, put him on board the vessel, and tied him to a
+post. Basanta, of course, resisted; but what could he do against so
+many? Thinking of his brother, his brother&rsquo;s wife and baby, and
+his own captivity, Basanta wept more bitterly than before, which
+mightily pleased the merchant, as the more tears his captive shed the
+richer he himself became. When the merchant reached his native town he
+confined Basanta in a room, and at stated hours every day scourged him
+in order to make him shed tears, every one of which was converted into
+a bright pearl. The merchant one day said to his servants, &ldquo;As
+the fellow is making me rich by his weeping, let us see what he gives
+me by laughing.&rdquo; Accordingly he began to tickle his captive, on
+which Basanta laughed, and as he laughed a great many <i>maniks</i>
+dropped from his mouth. After this poor Basanta was alternately whipped
+and tickled all the day and far into the night; and the merchant, in
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb99" href="#pb99" name=
+"pb99">99</a>]</span>consequence, became the wealthiest man in the
+land. Leaving Basanta subjected to the alternate processes of
+castigation and titillation, let us attend to the fortunes of the poor
+wife of Swet, alone in the forest, with a child just born.</p>
+<p>Swet&rsquo;s wife, apparently deserted by her husband and her
+brother-in-law, was overwhelmed with grief. A woman, but a few hours
+since delivered of a child&mdash;and her first child, alone, and in a
+forest, far from the habitations of men,&mdash;her case was indeed
+pitiable. She wept rivers of tears. Excessive grief, however, brought
+her relief. She fell asleep with the new-born baby in her arms. It so
+happened that at that hour the Kotwal (prefect of the police) of the
+country was passing that way. He had been very unfortunate with regard
+to his offspring; every child his wife presented him with died shortly
+after birth, and he was now going to bury the last infant on the banks
+of the river. As he was going, he saw in the forest a woman sleeping
+with a baby in her arms. It was a lively and beautiful boy. The Kotwal
+coveted the lovely infant. He quietly took it up, put in its place his
+own dead child, and returning home, told his wife that the child had
+not really died and had revived. Swet&rsquo;s wife, unconscious of the
+deceit practised upon her by the Kotwal, on waking found her child
+dead. The distress of her mind may be imagined. The whole world became
+dark to her. She was distracted with grief, and in her distraction she
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb100" href="#pb100" name=
+"pb100">100</a>]</span>formed the resolution of committing suicide. The
+river was not far from the spot, and she determined to drown herself in
+it. She took in her hand the bundle of jewels and proceeded to the
+river-side. An old Brahman was at no great distance, performing his
+morning ablutions. He noticed the woman going into the water, and
+naturally thought that she was going to bathe; but when he saw her
+going far into deep waters, some suspicion arose in his mind.
+Discontinuing his devotions, he bawled out and ordered the woman to
+come to him. Swet&rsquo;s wife seeing that it was an old man that was
+calling her, retraced her steps and came to him. On being asked what
+she was about to do, she said that she was going to make an end of
+herself, and that as she had some jewels with her she would be obliged
+if he would accept them as a present. At the request of the old Brahman
+she related to him her whole story. The upshot was, that she was
+prevented from drowning herself, and that she was received into the
+Brahman&rsquo;s family, where she was treated by the Brahman&rsquo;s
+wife as her own daughter.</p>
+<p>Years passed on. The reputed son of the Kotwal grew up a vigorous,
+robust lad. As the house of the old Brahman was not far from the
+Kotwal&rsquo;s, the Kotwal&rsquo;s son used accidentally to meet the
+handsome strange woman who passed for the Brahman&rsquo;s daughter. The
+lad liked the woman, and wanted to marry her. He spoke to his father
+about the woman, and the father spoke <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb101" href="#pb101" name="pb101">101</a>]</span>to the Brahman. The
+Brahman&rsquo;s rage knew no bounds. What! the infidel Kotwal&rsquo;s
+son aspiring to the hand of a Brahman&rsquo;s daughter! A dwarf may as
+well aspire to catch hold of the moon! But the Kotwal&rsquo;s son
+determined to have her by force. With this wicked object he one day
+scaled the wall that encompassed the Brahman&rsquo;s house, and got
+upon the thatched roof of the Brahman&rsquo;s cow-house. While he was
+reconnoitering from that lofty position, he heard the following
+conversation between two calves in the cow-house:&mdash;</p>
+<p><i>First Calf.</i> Men accuse us of brutish ignorance and
+immorality; but in my opinion men are fifty times worse.</p>
+<p><i>Second Calf.</i> What makes you say so, brother? Have you
+witnessed to-day any instance of human depravity?</p>
+<p><i>First Calf.</i> Who can be a greater monster of crime than the
+same lad who is at this moment standing on the thatched roof of this
+hut over our head?</p>
+<p><i>Second Calf.</i> Why, I thought it was only the son of our
+Kotwal; and I never heard that he was exceptionally vicious.</p>
+<p><i>First Calf.</i> You never heard, but now you hear from me. This
+wicked lad is now wishing to get married to his own mother!</p>
+<p>The First Calf then related to the inquisitive Second Calf in full
+the story of Swet and Basanta; how they and Swet&rsquo;s wife fled from
+the vengeance of their stepmother; how Swet&rsquo;s wife was
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb102" href="#pb102" name=
+"pb102">102</a>]</span>delivered of a child in the forest by the
+river-side; how Swet was made king by the elephant, and how he
+succeeded in killing the serpent which issued out of the queen&rsquo;s
+nostrils; how Basanta was carried away by the merchant, confined in a
+dungeon, and alternately flogged and tickled for pearls and
+<i>maniks</i>; how the Kotwal exchanged his dead child for the living
+one of Swet; how Swet&rsquo;s wife was prevented from drowning herself
+in the river by the Brahman; how she was received into the
+Brahman&rsquo;s family and treated as his daughter; how the
+Kotwal&rsquo;s son grew up a hardy, lusty youth, and fell in love with
+her; and how at that very moment he was intent on accomplishing his
+brutal object. All this story the Kotwal&rsquo;s son heard from the
+thatched roof of the cow-house, and was struck with horror. He
+forthwith got down from the thatch, and went home and told his father
+that he must have an interview with the king. Notwithstanding his
+reputed father&rsquo;s protestations to the contrary, he had an
+interview with the king, to whom he repeated the whole story as he had
+overheard it from the thatch of the cow-house. The king now remembered
+his poor wife&rsquo;s case. She was brought from the house of the
+Brahman, whom he richly rewarded, and put her in her proper position as
+the queen of the kingdom; the reputed son of the Kotwal was
+acknowledged as his own son, and proclaimed the heir-apparent to the
+throne; Basanta was brought out of the dungeon, and the wicked merchant
+who had maltreated him was buried alive in the earth <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb103" href="#pb103" name=
+"pb103">103</a>]</span>surrounded with thorns. After this, Swet, his
+wife and son, and Basanta, lived together happily for many years.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Now my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb104" href="#pb104" name=
+"pb104">104</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1858" href="#xd19e1858src" name="xd19e1858">1</a></span>
+Professional match-makers.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1869" href="#xd19e1869src" name="xd19e1869">2</a></span>
+<i>Manik</i>, or rather <i>manikya</i>, is a fabulous precious stone of
+incredible value. It is found on the head of some species of snakes,
+and is equal in value to the wealth of seven kings.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1893" href="#xd19e1893src" name="xd19e1893">3</a></span> Venus,
+the Morning Star.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1898" href="#xd19e1898src" name="xd19e1898">4</a></span> The seat
+on the back of an elephant.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch6" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">VI</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Evil Eye of Sani</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck,
+and Lakshmi, the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in
+heaven. Sani said he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said
+she was higher in rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of
+heaven were equally ranged on either side, the contending deities
+agreed to refer the matter to some human being who had a name for
+wisdom and justice. Now, there lived at that time upon earth a man of
+the name of Sribatsa,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e1965src" href=
+"#xd19e1965" name="xd19e1965src">1</a> who was as wise and just as he
+was rich. Him, therefore, both the god and the goddess chose as the
+settler of their dispute. One day, accordingly, Sribatsa was told that
+Sani and Lakshmi were wishing to pay him a visit to get their dispute
+settled. Sribatsa was in a fix. If he said Sani was higher in rank than
+Lakshmi, she would be angry with him and forsake him. If he said
+Lakshmi was higher in rank than Sani, Sani would cast his evil eye upon
+him. Hence he made up his mind <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb105"
+href="#pb105" name="pb105">105</a>]</span>not to say anything directly,
+but to leave the god and the goddess to gather his opinion from his
+action. He got two stools made, the one of gold and the other of
+silver, and placed them beside him. When Sani and Lakshmi came to
+Sribatsa, he told Sani to sit upon the silver stool, and Lakshmi upon
+the gold stool. Sani became mad with rage, and said in an angry tone to
+Sribatsa, &ldquo;Well, as you consider me lower in rank than Lakshmi, I
+will cast my eye on you for three years; and I should like to see how
+you fare at the end of that period.&rdquo; The god then went away in
+high dudgeon. Lakshmi, before going away, said to Sribatsa, &ldquo;My
+child, do not fear. I&rsquo;ll befriend you.&rdquo; The god and the
+goddess then went away.</p>
+<p>Sribatsa said to his wife, whose name was Chintamani,
+&ldquo;Dearest, as the evil eye of Sani will be upon me at once, I had
+better go away from the house; for if I remain in the house with you,
+evil will befall you and me; but if I go away, it will overtake me
+only.&rdquo; Chintamani said, &ldquo;That cannot be; wherever you go, I
+will go, your lot shall be my lot.&rdquo; The husband tried hard to
+persuade his wife to remain at home; but it was of no use. She would go
+with her husband. Sribatsa accordingly told his wife to make an opening
+in their mattress, and to stow away in it all the money and jewels they
+had. On the eve of leaving their house, Sribatsa invoked Lakshmi, who
+forthwith appeared. He then said to her, &ldquo;Mother Lakshmi! as the
+evil eye of Sani is upon us, we are going away into exile; but do thou
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb106" href="#pb106" name=
+"pb106">106</a>]</span>befriend us, and take care of our house and
+property.&rdquo; The goddess of good luck answered, &ldquo;Do not fear;
+I&rsquo;ll befriend you; all will be right at last.&rdquo; They then
+set out on their journey. Sribatsa rolled up the mattress and put it on
+his head. They had not gone many miles when they saw a river before
+them. It was not fordable; but there was a canoe there with a man
+sitting in it. The travellers requested the ferryman to take them
+across. The ferryman said, &ldquo;I can take only one at a time; but
+you are three&mdash;yourself, your wife, and the mattress.&rdquo;
+Sribatsa proposed that first his wife and the mattress should be taken
+across, and then he; but the ferryman would not hear of it. &ldquo;Only
+one at a time,&rdquo; repeated he; &ldquo;first let me take across the
+mattress.&rdquo; When the canoe with the mattress was in the middle of
+the stream, a fierce gale arose, and carried away the mattress, the
+canoe, and the ferryman, no one knows whither. And it was strange the
+stream also disappeared, for the place, where they saw a few minutes
+since the rush of waters, had now become firm ground. Sribatsa then
+knew that this was nothing but the evil eye of Sani.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e1980width" id="p106"><img src="images/p106.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;They then set out on their journey&rdquo;" width="499"
+height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;They then set out on their
+journey&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Sribatsa and his wife, without a pice in their pocket, went to a
+village which was hard by. It was dwelt in for the most part by
+wood-cutters, who used to go at sunrise to the forest to cut wood,
+which they sold in a town not far from the village. Sribatsa proposed
+to the wood-cutters that he should go along with them to cut wood. They
+agreed. So he began to fell trees as well as <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb107" href="#pb107" name="pb107">107</a>]</span>the
+best of them; but there was this difference between Sribatsa and the
+other wood-cutters, that whereas the latter cut any and every sort of
+wood, the former cut only precious wood like sandal-wood. The
+wood-cutters used to bring to market large loads of common wood, and
+Sribatsa only a few pieces of sandal-wood, for which he got a great
+deal more money than the others. As this was going on day after day,
+the wood-cutters through envy plotted together, and drove away from the
+village Sribatsa and his wife.</p>
+<p>The next place they went to was a village of weavers, or rather
+cotton-spinners. Here Chintamani, the wife of Sribatsa, made herself
+useful by spinning cotton. And as she was an intelligent and skilful
+woman, she spun finer thread than the other women; and she got more
+money. This roused the envy of the native women of the village. But
+this was not all. Sribatsa, in order to gain the good grace of the
+weavers, asked them to a feast, the dishes of which were all cooked by
+his wife. As Chintamani excelled in cooking, the barbarous weavers of
+the village were quite charmed by the delicacies set before them. When
+the men went to their homes, they reproached their wives for not being
+able to cook so well as the wife of Sribatsa, and called them
+good-for-nothing women. This thing made the women of the village hate
+Chintamani the more. One day Chintamani went to the river-side to bathe
+along with the other women of the village. A boat had been lying on the
+bank stranded on the sand <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb108" href=
+"#pb108" name="pb108">108</a>]</span>for many days; they had tried to
+move it, but in vain. It so happened that as Chintamani by accident
+touched the boat, it moved off to the river. The boatmen, astonished at
+the event, thought that the woman had uncommon power, and might be
+useful on similar occasions in future. They therefore caught hold of
+her, put her in the boat, and rowed off. The women of the village, who
+were present, did not offer any resistance as they hated Chintamani.
+When Sribatsa heard how his wife had been carried away by boatmen, he
+became mad with grief. He left the village, went to the river-side, and
+resolved to follow the course of the stream till he should meet the
+boat where his wife was a prisoner. He travelled on and on, along the
+side of the river, till it became dark. As there were no huts to be
+seen, he climbed into a tree for the night. Next morning as he got down
+from the tree he saw at the foot of it a cow called a Kapila-cow, which
+never calves, but which gives milk at all hours of the day whenever it
+is milked. Sribatsa milked the cow, and drank its milk to his
+heart&rsquo;s content. He was astonished to find that the cow-dung
+which lay on the ground was of a bright yellow colour; indeed, he found
+it was pure gold. While it was in a soft state he wrote his own name
+upon it, and when in the course of the day it became hardened, it
+looked like a brick of gold&mdash;and so it was. As the tree grew on
+the river-side, and as the Kapila-cow came morning and evening to
+supply him with milk, Sribatsa resolved to stay there till he should
+meet <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb109" href="#pb109" name=
+"pb109">109</a>]</span>the boat. In the meantime the gold-bricks were
+increasing in number every day, for the cow both morning and evening
+deposited there the precious article. He put the gold-bricks, upon all
+of which his name was engraved, one upon another in rows, so that from
+a distance they looked like a hillock of gold.</p>
+<p>Leaving Sribatsa to arrange his gold-bricks under the tree on the
+river-side we must follow the fortunes of his wife. Chintamani was a
+woman of great beauty; and thinking that her beauty might be her ruin,
+she, when seized by the boatmen, offered to Lakshmi the following
+prayer&mdash;&mdash;&ldquo;O Mother Lakshmi! have pity upon me. Thou
+hast made me beautiful, but now my beauty will undoubtedly prove my
+ruin by the loss of honour and chastity. I therefore beseech thee,
+gracious Mother, to make me ugly, and to cover my body with some
+loathsome disease, that the boatmen may not touch me.&rdquo; Lakshmi
+heard Chintamani&rsquo;s prayer; and in the twinkling of an eye, while
+she was in the arms of the boatmen, her naturally beautiful form was
+turned into a vile carcase. The boatmen, on putting her down in the
+boat, found her body covered with loathsome sores which were giving out
+a disgusting stench. They therefore threw her into the hold of the boat
+amongst the cargo, where they used morning and evening to send her a
+little boiled rice and some water. In that hold Chintamani had a
+miserable life of it; but she greatly preferred that misery to the loss
+of chastity. The boatmen went to some port, sold <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb110" href="#pb110" name="pb110">110</a>]</span>the
+cargo, and were returning to their country when the sight of what
+seemed a hillock of gold, not far from the river-side, attracted their
+attention. Sribatsa, whose eyes were ever directed towards the river,
+was delighted when he saw a boat turn towards the bank, as he fondly
+imagined his wife might be in it. The boatmen went to the hillock of
+gold, when Sribatsa said that the gold was his. They put all the
+gold-bricks on board their vessel, took Sribatsa prisoner, and put him
+into the hold not far from the woman covered with sores. They of course
+immediately recognised each other, in spite of the change Chintamani
+had undergone, but thought it prudent not to speak to each other. They
+communicated <span class="corr" id="xd19e1998" title=
+"Source: there">their</span> ideas, therefore, by signs and gestures.
+Now, the boatmen were fond of playing at dice, and as Sribatsa appeared
+to them from his looks to be a respectable man, they always asked him
+to join in the game. As he was an expert player, he almost always won
+the game, on which the boatmen, envying his superior skill, threw him
+overboard. Chintamani had the presence of mind, at that moment, to
+throw into the water a pillow which she had for resting her head upon.
+Sribatsa took hold of the pillow, by means of which he floated down the
+stream till he was carried at nightfall to what seemed a garden on the
+water&rsquo;s edge. There he stuck among the trees, where he remained
+the whole night, wet and shivering. Now, the garden belonged to an old
+widow who was in former years the chief flower-supplier to the king of
+that country. Through <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb111" href=
+"#pb111" name="pb111">111</a>]</span>some cause or other a blight
+seemed to have come over her garden, as almost all the trees and plants
+ceased flowering; she had therefore given up her place as the
+flower-supplier of the royal household. On the morning following the
+night on which Sribatsa had stuck among the trees, however, the old
+woman on getting up from her bed could scarcely believe her eyes when
+she saw the whole garden ablaze with flowers. There was not a single
+tree or plant which was not begemmed with flowers. Not understanding
+the cause of such a miraculous sight, she took a walk through the
+garden, and found on the river&rsquo;s brink, stuck among the trees, a
+man shivering and almost dying with cold. She brought him to her
+cottage, lighted a fire to give him warmth, and showed him every
+attention, as she ascribed the wonderful flowering of her trees to his
+presence. After making him as comfortable as she could, she ran to the
+king&rsquo;s palace, and told his chief servants that she was again in
+a position to supply the palace with flowers; so she was restored to
+her former office as the flower-woman of the royal household. Sribatsa,
+who stopped a few days with the woman, requested her to recommend him
+to one of the king&rsquo;s ministers for a berth. He was accordingly
+sent for to the palace, and as he was at once found to be a man of
+intelligence, the king&rsquo;s minister asked him what post he would
+like to have. Agreeably to his wish he was appointed collector of tolls
+on the river. While discharging his duties as river toll-gatherer, in
+the course of a few days <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb112" href=
+"#pb112" name="pb112">112</a>]</span>he saw the very boat in which his
+wife was a prisoner. He detained the boat, and charged the boatmen with
+the theft of gold-bricks which he claimed as his own. At the mention of
+gold-bricks the king himself came to the river-side, and was astonished
+beyond measure to see bricks made of gold, every one of which had the
+inscription&mdash;<span class="sc">Sribatsa</span>. At the same time
+Sribatsa rescued from the boatmen his wife, who, the moment she came
+out of the vessel, became as lovely as before. The king heard the story
+of Sribatsa&rsquo;s misfortunes from his lips, entertained him in a
+princely style for many days, and at last sent him and his wife to
+their own country with presents of horses and elephants. The evil eye
+of Sani was now turned away from Sribatsa, and he again became what he
+formerly was, the Child of Fortune.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb113" href="#pb113" name=
+"pb113">113</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e1965" href="#xd19e1965src" name="xd19e1965">1</a></span>
+<i>Sri</i> is another name of Lakshmi, and <i>batsa</i> means child; so
+that Sribatsa is literally the &ldquo;child of fortune.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch7" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">VII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there reigned a king who had seven
+queens. He was very sad, for the seven queens were all barren. A holy
+mendicant, however, one day told the king that in a certain forest
+there grew a tree, on a branch of which hung seven mangoes; if the king
+himself plucked those mangoes and gave one to each of the queens they
+would all become mothers. So the king went to the forest, plucked the
+seven mangoes that grew upon one branch, and gave a mango to each of
+the queens to eat. In a short time the king&rsquo;s heart was filled
+with joy, as he heard that the seven queens were all with child.</p>
+<p>One day the king was out hunting, when he saw a young lady of
+peerless beauty cross his path. He fell in love with her, brought her
+to his palace, and married her. This lady was, however, not a human
+being, but a Rakshasi; but the king of course did not know it. The king
+became dotingly fond of her; he did whatever she told him. She said one
+day to the king, &ldquo;You say that you love <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb114" href="#pb114" name="pb114">114</a>]</span>me
+more than any one else. Let me see whether you really love me so. If
+you love me, make your seven other queens blind, and let them be
+killed.&rdquo; The king became very sad at the request of his
+best-beloved queen, the more so as the seven queens were all with
+child. But there was nothing for it but to comply with the
+Rakshasi-queen&rsquo;s request. The eyes of the seven queens were
+plucked out of their sockets, and the queens themselves were delivered
+up to the chief minister to be destroyed. But the chief minister was a
+merciful man. Instead of killing the seven queens he hid them in a cave
+which was on the side of a hill. In course of time the eldest of the
+seven queens gave birth to a child. &ldquo;What shall I do with the
+child,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;now that we are blind and are dying for
+want of food? Let me kill the child, and let us all eat of its
+flesh.&rdquo; So saying she killed the infant, and gave to each of her
+sister-queens a part of the child to eat. The six ate their portion,
+but the seventh or youngest queen did not eat her share, but laid it
+beside her. In a few days the second queen also was delivered of a
+child, and she did with it as her eldest sister had done with hers. So
+did the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth queen. At last the
+seventh queen gave birth to a son; but she, instead of following the
+example of her sister-queens, resolved to nurse the child. The other
+queens demanded their portions of the newly-born babe. She gave each of
+them the portion she had got of the six children which had been killed,
+and which she had not eaten but laid aside. The <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb115" href="#pb115" name=
+"pb115">115</a>]</span>other queens at once perceived that their
+portions were dry, and could not therefore be the parts of the child
+just born. The seventh queen told them that she had made up her mind
+not to kill the child but to nurse it. The others were glad to hear
+this, and they all said that they would help her in nursing the child.
+So the child was suckled by seven mothers, and it became after some
+years the hardiest and strongest boy that ever lived.</p>
+<p>In the meantime the Rakshasi-wife of the king was doing infinite
+mischief to the royal household and to the capital. What she ate at the
+royal table did not fill her capacious stomach. She therefore, in the
+darkness of night, gradually ate up all the members of the royal
+family, all the king&rsquo;s servants and attendants, all his horses,
+elephants, and cattle; till none remained in the palace except she
+herself and her royal consort. After that she used to go out in the
+evenings into the city and eat up a stray human being here and there.
+The king was left unattended by servants; there was no person left to
+cook for him, for no one would take his service. At last the boy who
+had been suckled by seven mothers, and who had now grown up to a
+stalwart youth, volunteered his services. He attended on the king, and
+took every care to prevent the queen from swallowing him up, for he
+went away home long before nightfall; and the Rakshasi-queen never
+seized her victims except at night. Hence the queen determined in some
+other way to get rid of the boy. As the boy always boasted that he was
+equal to any work, however <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb116" href=
+"#pb116" name="pb116">116</a>]</span>hard, the queen told him that she
+was suffering from some disease which could be cured only by eating a
+certain species of melon, which was twelve cubits long, but the stone
+of which was thirteen cubits long, and that that fruit could be had
+only from her mother, who lived on the other side of the ocean. She
+gave him a letter of introduction to her mother, in which she requested
+her to devour the boy the moment he put the letter into her hands. The
+boy, suspecting foul play, tore up the letter and proceeded on his
+journey. The dauntless youth passed through many lands, and at last
+stood on the shore of the ocean, on the other side of which was the
+country of the Rakshasis. He then bawled as loud as he could, and said,
+&ldquo;Granny! granny! come and save your daughter; she is dangerously
+ill.&rdquo; An old Rakshasi on the other side of the ocean heard the
+words, crossed the ocean, came to the boy, and on hearing the message
+took the boy on her back and re-crossed the ocean. So the boy was in
+the country of the Rakshasis. The twelve-cubit melon with its
+thirteen-cubit stone was given to the boy at once, and he was told to
+perform the journey back. But the boy pleaded fatigue, and begged to be
+allowed to rest one day. To this the old Rakshasi consented. Observing
+a stout club and a rope hanging in the Rakshasi&rsquo;s room, the boy
+inquired what they were there for. She replied, &ldquo;Child, by that
+club and rope I cross the ocean. If any one takes the club and the rope
+in his hands, and addresses them in the following magical words&mdash;
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb117" href="#pb117" name=
+"pb117">117</a>]</span></p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;O stout club! O strong rope!</p>
+<p class="line">Take me at once to the other side,&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">then immediately the club and rope will take him to
+the other side of the ocean.&rdquo; Observing a bird in a cage hanging
+in one corner of the room, the boy inquired what it was. The old
+Rakshasi replied, &ldquo;It contains a secret, child, which must not be
+disclosed to mortals, and yet how can I hide it from my own grandchild?
+That bird, child, contains the life of your mother. If the bird is
+killed, your mother will at once die.&rdquo; Armed with these secrets,
+the boy went to bed that night. Next morning the old Rakshasi, together
+with all the other Rakshasis, went to distant countries for forage. The
+boy took down the cage from the ceiling, as well as the club and rope.
+Having well secured the bird, he addressed the club and rope
+thus&mdash;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;O stout club! O strong rope!</p>
+<p class="line">Take me at once to the other side.&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p class="first">In the twinkling of an eye the boy was put on this
+side <span class="corr" id="xd19e2046" title="Not in source">of</span>
+the ocean. He then retraced his steps, came to the queen, and gave her,
+to her astonishment, the twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit
+stone; but the cage with the bird in it he kept carefully
+concealed.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2050width" id="p117"><img src="images/p117.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace&rdquo;"
+width="493" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;A monstrous bird comes out apparently from
+the palace&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>In the course of time the people of the city came to the king and
+said, &ldquo;A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace
+every evening, and seizes the passengers in the streets and swallows
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb118" href="#pb118" name=
+"pb118">118</a>]</span>them up. This has been going on for so long a
+time that the city has become almost desolate.&rdquo; The king could
+not make out what this monstrous bird was. The king&rsquo;s servant,
+the boy, replied that he knew the monstrous bird, and that he would
+kill it provided the queen stood beside the king. By royal command the
+queen was made to stand beside the king. The boy then took the bird
+from the cage which he had brought from the other side of the ocean, on
+seeing which she fell into a fainting fit. Turning to the king the boy
+said, &ldquo;Sire, you will soon perceive who the monstrous bird is
+that devours your subjects every evening. As I tear off each limb of
+this bird, the corresponding limb of the man-devourer will fall
+off.&rdquo; The boy then tore off one leg of the bird in his hand;
+immediately, to the astonishment of the whole assembly, for the
+citizens were all present, one of the legs of the queen fell off. And
+when the boy squeezed the throat of the bird, the queen gave up the
+ghost. The boy then related his own history and that of his mother and
+his stepmothers. The seven queens, whose eyesight was miraculously
+restored, were brought back to the palace; and the boy that was suckled
+by seven mothers was recognised by the king as his rightful heir. So
+they lived together happily.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, &amp;c.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb119" href="#pb119" name=
+"pb119">119</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch8" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">VIII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Story of Prince Sobur</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once upon a time there lived a certain merchant who
+had seven daughters. One day the merchant put to his daughters the
+question: &ldquo;By whose fortune do you get your living?&rdquo; The
+eldest daughter answered&mdash;&ldquo;Papa, I get my living by your
+fortune.&rdquo; The same answer was given by the second daughter, the
+third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth; but his youngest daughter
+said&mdash;&ldquo;I get my living by my own fortune.&rdquo; The
+merchant got very angry with the youngest daughter, and said to
+her&mdash;&ldquo;As you are so ungrateful as to say that you get your
+living by your own fortune, let me see how you fare alone. This very
+day you shall leave my house without a pice in your pocket.&rdquo; He
+forthwith called his palki-bearers, and ordered them to take away the
+girl and leave her in the midst of a forest. The girl begged hard to be
+allowed to take with her her work-box containing her needles and
+threads. She was allowed to do so. She then got into the palki, which
+the bearers lifted on their shoulders. The bearers had not gone many
+hundred yards to the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb120" href="#pb120"
+name="pb120">120</a>]</span>tune of &ldquo;Hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon!
+hoon! hoon!&rdquo; when an old woman bawled out to them and bid them
+stop. On coming up to the palki, she said, &ldquo;Where are you taking
+away my daughter?&rdquo; for she was the nurse of the merchant&rsquo;s
+youngest child. The bearers replied, &ldquo;The merchant has ordered us
+to take her away and leave her in the midst of a forest; and we are
+going to do his bidding.&rdquo; &ldquo;I must go with her,&rdquo; said
+the old woman. &ldquo;How will you be able to keep pace with us, as we
+must needs run?&rdquo; said the bearers. &ldquo;Anyhow I must go where
+my daughter goes,&rdquo; rejoined the old woman. The upshot was that,
+at the entreaty of the merchant&rsquo;s youngest daughter, the old
+woman was put inside the palki along with her. In the afternoon the
+palki-bearers reached a dense forest. They went far into it; and
+towards sunset they put down the girl and the old woman at the foot of
+a large tree, and retraced their steps homewards.</p>
+<p>The case of the merchant&rsquo;s youngest daughter was truly
+pitiable. She was scarcely fourteen years old; she had been bred in the
+lap of luxury; and she was now here at sundown in the heart of what
+seemed an interminable forest, with not a penny in her pocket, and with
+no other protection than what could be given her by an old, decrepit,
+imbecile woman. The very trees of the forest looked upon her with pity.
+The gigantic tree, at whose foot she was mingling her tears with those
+of the old woman, said to her (for trees could speak in those
+days)&mdash;&ldquo;Unhappy girl! I much pity you. In a short time the
+wild beasts of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb121" href="#pb121"
+name="pb121">121</a>]</span>forest will come out of their lairs and
+roam about for their prey; and they are sure to devour you and your
+companion. But I can help you; I will make an opening for you in my
+trunk. When you see the opening go into it; I will then close it up;
+and you will remain safe inside; nor can the wild beasts touch
+you.&rdquo; In a moment the trunk of the tree was split into two. The
+merchant&rsquo;s daughter and the old woman went inside the hollow, on
+which the tree resumed its natural shape. When the shades of night
+darkened the forest the wild beasts came out of their lairs. The fierce
+tiger was there; the wild bear was there; the hard-skinned rhinoceros
+was there; the bushy bear was there; the musty elephant was there; and
+the horned buffalo was there. They all growled round about the tree,
+for they got the scent of human blood. The merchant&rsquo;s daughter
+and the old woman heard from within the tree the growl of the beasts.
+The beasts came dashing against the tree; they broke its branches; they
+pierced its trunk with their horns; they scratched its bark with their
+claws: but in vain. The merchant&rsquo;s daughter and her old nurse
+were safe within. Towards dawn the wild beasts went away. After sunrise
+the good tree said to her two inmates, &ldquo;Unhappy women, the wild
+beasts have gone into their lairs after greatly tormenting me. The sun
+is up; you can now come out.&rdquo; So saying the tree split itself
+into two, and the merchant&rsquo;s daughter and the old woman came out.
+They saw the extent of the mischief done by the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb122" href="#pb122" name="pb122">122</a>]</span>wild
+beasts to the tree. Many of its branches had been broken down; in many
+places the trunk had been pierced; and in other places the bark had
+been stripped off. The merchant&rsquo;s daughter said to the tree,
+&ldquo;Good mother, you are truly good to give us shelter at such a
+fearful cost. You must be in great pain from the torture to which the
+wild beasts subjected you last night.&rdquo; So saying she went to the
+tank which was near the tree, and bringing thence a quantity of mud,
+she besmeared the trunk with it, especially those parts which had been
+pierced and scratched. After she had done this, the tree said,
+&ldquo;Thank you, my good girl, I am now greatly relieved of my pain. I
+am, however, concerned not so much about myself as about you both. You
+must be hungry, not having eaten the whole of yesterday. And what can I
+give you? I have no fruit of my own to give you. Give to the old woman
+whatever money you have, and let her go into the city hard by and buy
+some food.&rdquo; They said they had no money. On searching, however,
+in the work-box she found five <i>cowries</i>.<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2083src" href="#xd19e2083" name="xd19e2083src">1</a> The tree
+then told the old woman to go with the <i>cowries</i> to the city and
+buy some <i>khai</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2093src" href=
+"#xd19e2093" name="xd19e2093src">2</a> The old woman went to the city,
+which was not far, and said to one confectioner, &ldquo;Please give me
+five <i>cowries</i>&rsquo; worth of <i>khai</i>.&rdquo; The
+confectioner laughed at her and said, &ldquo;Be off, you old hag, do
+you think <i>khai</i> can be had for five <i>cowries</i>?&rdquo; She
+tried another shop, and the shopkeeper, <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb123" href="#pb123" name="pb123">123</a>]</span>thinking the woman to
+be in great distress, compassionately gave her a large quantity of
+<i>khai</i> for the five <i>cowries</i>.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2118width" id="p123"><img src="images/p123.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the embankments to eat the khai&rdquo;"
+width="498" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes
+came to the embankments to eat the <i>khai</i>&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>When the old woman returned with the <i>khai</i>, the tree said to
+the merchant&rsquo;s daughter, &ldquo;Each of you eat a little of the
+<i>khai</i>, lay by more than half, and strew the rest on the
+embankments of the tank all round.&rdquo; They did as they were bidden,
+though they did not understand the reason why they were told to scatter
+the <i>khai</i> on the sides of the tank. They spent the day in
+bewailing their fate, and at night they were housed inside the trunk of
+the tree as on the previous night. The wild beasts came as before,
+further mutilated the tree, and tortured it as in the preceding night.
+But during the night a scene was being enacted on the embankments of
+the tank of which the two women saw the outcome only on the following
+morning. Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the
+embankments to eat the <i>khai</i> which had been strewed on them; and
+as they strove with each other for the tempting food many of their
+plumes fell off their bodies. Early in the morning the tree told the
+two women to gather the plumes together, out of which the
+merchant&rsquo;s daughter made a beautiful fan. This fan was taken into
+the city to the palace, where the son of the king admired it greatly
+and paid for it a large sum of money. As each morning a quantity of
+plumes was collected, every day one fan was made and sold. So that in a
+short time the two women got rich. The tree then advised <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb124" href="#pb124" name="pb124">124</a>]</span>them
+to employ men in building a house for them to live in. Accordingly
+bricks were burnt, trees were cut down for beams and rafters, bricks
+were reduced to powder, lime was manufactured, and in a few months a
+stately, palace-like house was built for the merchant&rsquo;s daughter
+and her old nurse. It was thought advisable to lay out the adjoining
+grounds as a garden, and to dig a tank for supplying them with
+water.</p>
+<p>In the meantime the merchant himself with his wife and six daughters
+had been frowned upon by the goddess of wealth. By a sudden stroke of
+misfortune he lost all his money, his house and property were sold, and
+he, his wife, and six daughters, were turned adrift penniless into the
+world. It so happened that they lived in a village not far from the
+place where the two strange women had built a palace and were digging a
+tank. As the once rich merchant was now supporting his family by the
+pittance which he obtained every day for his manual labour, he
+bethought himself of employing himself as a day labourer in digging the
+tank of the strange lady on the skirts of the forest. His wife said she
+would also go to dig the tank with him. So one day while the strange
+lady was amusing herself from the window of her palace with looking at
+the labourers digging her tank, to her utter surprise she saw her
+father and mother coming towards the palace, apparently to engage
+themselves as day labourers. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at
+them, for they were clothed in rags. She immediately <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb125" href="#pb125" name="pb125">125</a>]</span>sent
+servants to bring them inside the house. The poor man and woman were
+frightened beyond measure. They saw that the tank was all ready; and as
+it was customary in those days to offer a human sacrifice when the
+digging was over, they thought that they were called inside in order to
+be sacrificed. Their fears increased when they were told to throw away
+their rags and to put on fine clothes which were given to them. The
+strange lady of the palace, however, soon dispelled their fears; for
+she told them that she was their daughter, fell on their necks and
+wept. The rich daughter related her adventures, and the father felt she
+was right when she said that she lived upon her own fortune and not on
+that of her father. She gave her father a large fortune, which enabled
+him to go to the city in which he formerly lived, and to set himself up
+again as a merchant.</p>
+<p>The merchant now bethought himself of going in his ship to distant
+countries for purposes of trade. All was ready. He got on board, ready
+to start, but, strange to say, the ship would not move. The merchant
+was at a loss what to make of this. At last the idea occurred to him
+that he had asked each of his six daughters, who were living with him,
+what thing she wished he should bring for her; but he had not asked
+that question of his seventh daughter who had made him rich. He
+therefore immediately despatched a messenger to his youngest daughter,
+asking her what she wished her father to bring for her on his return
+from his <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb126" href="#pb126" name=
+"pb126">126</a>]</span>mercantile travels. When the messenger arrived
+she was engaged in her devotions, and hearing that a messenger had
+arrived from her father she said to him &ldquo;Sobur,&rdquo; meaning
+&ldquo;wait.&rdquo; The messenger understood that she wanted her father
+to bring for her something called <i>Sobur</i>. He returned to the
+merchant and told him that she wanted him to bring for her
+<i>Sobur</i>. The ship now moved of itself, and the merchant started on
+his travels. He visited many ports, and by selling his goods obtained
+immense profit. The things his six daughters wanted him to bring for
+them he easily got, but <i>Sobur</i>, the thing which he understood his
+youngest daughter wished to have, he could get nowhere. He asked at
+every port whether <i>Sobur</i> could be had there, but the merchants
+all told him that they had never heard of such an article of commerce.
+At the last port he went through the streets bawling
+out&mdash;&ldquo;Wanted <i>Sobur</i>! wanted <i>Sobur</i>!&rdquo; The
+cry attracted the notice of the son of the king of that country whose
+name was Sobur. The prince, hearing from the merchant that his daughter
+wanted <i>Sobur</i>, said that he had the article in question, and
+bringing out a small box of wood containing a magical fan with a
+looking-glass in it, said&mdash;&ldquo;This is <i>Sobur</i> which your
+daughter wishes to have.&rdquo; The merchant having obtained the
+long-wished-for <i>Sobur</i> weighed anchor, and sailed for his native
+land. On his arrival he sent to his youngest daughter the said
+wonderful box. The daughter, thinking it to be a common wooden box,
+laid it aside. Some days after when she was at <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb127" href="#pb127" name=
+"pb127">127</a>]</span>leisure she bethought herself of opening the box
+which her father had sent her. When she opened it she saw in it a
+beautiful fan, and in it a looking-glass. As she shook the fan, in a
+moment the Prince Sobur stood before her, and said&mdash;&ldquo;You
+called me, here I am. What&rsquo;s your wish?&rdquo; The
+merchant&rsquo;s daughter, astonished at the sudden appearance of a
+prince of such exquisite beauty, asked who he was, and how he had made
+his appearance there. The prince told her of the circumstances under
+which he gave the box to her father, and informed her of the secret
+that whenever the fan would be shaken he would make his appearance. The
+prince lived for a day or two in the house of the merchant&rsquo;s
+daughter, who entertained him hospitably. The upshot was, that they
+fell in love with each other, and vowed to each other to be husband and
+wife. The prince returned to his royal father and told him that he had
+selected a wife for himself. The day for the wedding was fixed. The
+merchant and his six daughters were invited. The nuptial knot was tied.
+But there was death in the marriage-bed. The six daughters of the
+merchant, envying the happy lot of their youngest sister, had
+determined to put an end to the life of her newly-wedded husband. They
+broke several bottles, reduced the broken pieces into fine powder, and
+scattered it profusely on the bed. The prince, suspecting no danger,
+laid himself down in the bed; but he had scarcely been there two
+minutes when he felt acute pain through his whole system, for the fine
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb128" href="#pb128" name=
+"pb128">128</a>]</span>bottle-powder had gone through every pore of his
+body. As the prince became restless through pain, and was shrieking
+aloud, his attendants hastily took him away to his own country.</p>
+<p>The king and queen, the parents of Prince Sobur, consulted all the
+physicians and surgeons of the kingdom; but in vain. The young prince
+was day and night screaming with pain, and no one could ascertain the
+disease, far less give him relief. The grief of the merchant&rsquo;s
+daughter may be imagined. The marriage knot had been scarcely tied when
+her husband was attacked, as she thought, by a terrible disease and
+carried away many hundreds of miles off. Though she had never seen her
+husband&rsquo;s country she determined to go there and nurse him. She
+put on the garb of a Sannyasi, and with a dagger in her hand set out on
+her journey. Of tender years, and unaccustomed to make long journeys on
+foot, she soon got weary and sat under a tree to rest. On the top of
+the tree was the nest of the divine bird Bihangama and his mate
+Bihangami. They were not in their nest at the time, but two of their
+young ones were in it. Suddenly the young ones on the top of the tree
+gave a scream which roused the half-drowsy merchant&rsquo;s daughter
+whom we shall now call the young Sannyasi. He saw near him a huge
+serpent raising its hood and about to climb into the tree. In a moment
+he cut the serpent into two, on which the young birds left off
+screaming. Shortly after the Bihangama and Bihangami came sailing
+through the air; and the latter said to the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb129" href="#pb129" name=
+"pb129">129</a>]</span>former&mdash;&ldquo;I suppose our offspring as
+usual have been devoured by our great enemy the serpent. Ah me! I do
+not hear the cries of my young ones.&rdquo; On nearing the nest,
+however, they were agreeably surprised to find their offspring alive.
+The young ones told their dams how the young Sannyasi under the tree
+had destroyed the serpent. And sure enough the snake was lying there
+cut into two.</p>
+<p>The Bihangami then said to her mate&mdash;&ldquo;The young Sannyasi
+has saved our offspring from death, I wish we could do him some service
+in return.&rdquo; The Bihangama replied, &ldquo;We shall presently do
+her service, for the person under the tree is not a man but a woman.
+She got married only last night to Prince Sobur, who, a few hours
+after, when jumping into his bed, had every pore of his body pierced
+with fine particles of ground bottles which had been spread over his
+bed by his envious sisters-in-law. He is still suffering pain in his
+native land, and, indeed, is at the point of death. And his heroic
+bride taking the garb of a Sannyasi is going to nurse him.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;But,&rdquo; asked the Bihangami, &ldquo;is there no cure for the
+prince?&rdquo; &ldquo;Yes, there is,&rdquo; replied the Bihangama:
+&ldquo;if our dung which is lying on the ground round about, and which
+is hardened, be reduced to powder, and applied by means of a brush to
+the body of the prince after bathing him seven times with seven jars of
+water and seven jars of milk, Prince Sobur will undoubtedly get
+well.&rdquo; &ldquo;But,&rdquo; asked the Bihangami, &ldquo;how can the
+poor daughter of the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb130" href="#pb130"
+name="pb130">130</a>]</span>merchant walk such a distance? It must take
+her many days, by which time the poor prince will have died.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;I can,&rdquo; replied the Bihangama, &ldquo;take the young lady
+on my back, and put her in the capital of Prince Sobur, and bring her
+back, provided she does not take any presents there.&rdquo; The
+merchant&rsquo;s daughter, in the garb of a Sannyasi, heard this
+conversation between the two birds, and begged the Bihangama to take
+her on his back. To this the bird readily consented. Before mounting on
+her aerial car she gathered a quantity of birds&rsquo; dung and reduced
+it to fine powder. Armed with this potent drug she got up on the back
+of the kind bird, and sailing through the air with the rapidity of
+lightning, soon reached the capital of Prince Sobur. The young Sannyasi
+went up to the gate of the palace, and sent word to the king that he
+was acquainted with potent drugs and would cure the prince in a few
+hours. The king, who had tried all the best doctors in the kingdom
+without success, looked upon the Sannyasi as a mere pretender, but on
+the advice of his councillors agreed to give him a trial. The Sannyasi
+ordered seven jars of water and seven jars of milk to be brought to
+him. He poured the contents of all the jars on the body of the prince.
+He then applied, by means of a feather, the dung-powder he had already
+prepared to every pore of the prince&rsquo;s body. Thereafter seven
+jars of water and seven jars of milk were again six times poured upon
+him. When the prince&rsquo;s body was wiped, he felt perfectly well.
+The king ordered that the richest <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb131"
+href="#pb131" name="pb131">131</a>]</span>treasures he had should be
+presented to the wonderful doctor; but the Sannyasi refused to take
+any. He only wanted a ring from the prince&rsquo;s finger to preserve
+as a memorial. The ring was readily given him. The merchant&rsquo;s
+daughter hastened to the sea-shore where the Bihangama was awaiting
+her. In a moment they reached the tree of the divine birds. Hence the
+young bride walked to her house on the skirts of the forest. The
+following day she shook the magical fan, and forthwith Prince Sobur
+appeared before her. When the lady showed him the ring, he learnt with
+infinite surprise that his own wife was the doctor that cured him. The
+prince took away his bride to his palace in his far-off kingdom,
+forgave his sisters-in-law, lived happily for scores of years, and was
+blessed with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb132" href="#pb132" name=
+"pb132">132</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2083" href="#xd19e2083src" name="xd19e2083">1</a></span> Shells
+used as money, one hundred and sixty of which could have been got a few
+years ago for one pice.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2093" href="#xd19e2093src" name="xd19e2093">2</a></span> Fried
+paddy.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch9" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">IX</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Origin of Opium<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2204src" href="#xd19e2204" name="xd19e2204src">1</a></h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived on the banks of the holy
+Ganga a Rishi,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2211src" href="#xd19e2211"
+name="xd19e2211src">2</a> who spent his days and nights in the
+performance of religious rites and in meditation upon God. From sunrise
+to sunset he sat on the river bank engaged in devotion, and at night he
+took shelter in a hut of palm-leaves which his own hand had raised in a
+bush hard by. There were no men and women for miles round. In the hut,
+however, there was a mouse, which used to live upon the leavings of the
+Rishi&rsquo;s supper. As it was not in the nature of the sage to hurt
+any living thing, our mouse never ran away from him, but, on the
+contrary, went to him, touched his feet, and played with him. The
+Rishi, partly in kindness to the little brute, and partly to have some
+one by to talk to at times, gave the mouse the power of speech. One
+night the mouse, standing on its hind-legs and joining together its
+fore-legs reverently, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb133" href=
+"#pb133" name="pb133">133</a>]</span>said to the Rishi, &ldquo;Holy
+sage, you have been so kind as to give me the power to speak like men.
+If it will not displease your reverence, I have one more boon to
+ask.&rdquo; &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; said the Rishi. &ldquo;What is
+it, little mousie? Say what you want.&rdquo; The mouse
+answered&mdash;&ldquo;When your reverence goes in the day to the
+river-side for devotion, a cat comes to the hut to catch me. And had it
+not been for fear of your reverence, the cat would have eaten me up
+long ago; and I fear it will eat me some day. My prayer is that I may
+be changed into a cat that I may prove a match for my foe.&rdquo; The
+Rishi became propitious to the mouse, and threw some holy water on its
+body, and it was at once changed into a cat.</p>
+<p>Some nights after, the Rishi asked his pet, &ldquo;Well, little
+puss, how do you like your present life?&rdquo; &ldquo;Not much, your
+reverence,&rdquo; answered the cat. &ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; demanded the
+sage. &ldquo;Are you not strong enough to hold your own against all the
+cats in the world?&rdquo; &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; rejoined the cat.
+&ldquo;Your reverence has made me a strong cat, able to cope with all
+the cats in the world. But I do not now fear cats; I have got a new
+foe. Whenever your reverence goes to the river-side, a pack of dogs
+comes to the hut, and sets up such a loud barking that I am frightened
+out of my life. If your reverence will not be displeased with me, I beg
+you to change me into a dog.&rdquo; The Rishi said, &ldquo;Be turned
+into a dog,&rdquo; and the cat forthwith became a dog.</p>
+<p>Some days passed, when one night the dog <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb134" href="#pb134" name="pb134">134</a>]</span>said
+thus to the Rishi: &ldquo;I cannot thank your reverence enough for your
+kindness to me. I was but a poor mouse, and you not only gave me speech
+but turned me into a cat; and again you were kind enough to change me
+into a dog. As a dog, however, I suffer a great deal of trouble, I do
+not get enough food: my only food is the leavings of your supper, but
+that is not sufficient to fill the maw of such a large beast as you
+have made me. O how I envy those apes who jump about from tree to tree,
+and eat all sorts of delicious fruits! If your reverence will not get
+angry with me, I pray that I be changed into an ape.&rdquo; The
+kind-hearted sage readily granted his pet&rsquo;s wish, and the dog
+became an ape.</p>
+<p>Our ape was at first wild with joy. He leaped from one tree to
+another, and sucked every luscious fruit he could find. But his joy was
+short-lived. Summer came on with its drought. As a monkey he found it
+hard to drink water out of a river or of a pool; and he saw the wild
+boars splashing in the water all the day long. He envied their lot, and
+exclaimed, &ldquo;O how happy those boars are! All day their bodies are
+cooled and refreshed by water. I wish I were a boar.&rdquo; Accordingly
+at night he recounted to the Rishi the troubles of the life of an ape
+and the pleasures of that of a boar, and begged of him to change him
+into a boar. The sage, whose kindness knew no bounds, complied with his
+pet&rsquo;s request, and turned him into a wild boar. For two whole
+days our boar kept his body soaking wet, and on the third day, as he
+was splashing about in his favourite element, whom <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb135" href="#pb135" name=
+"pb135">135</a>]</span>should he see but the king of the country riding
+on a richly caparisoned elephant. The king was out hunting, and it was
+only by a lucky chance that our boar escaped being bagged. He dwelt in
+his own mind on the dangers attending the life of a wild boar, and
+envied the lot of the stately elephant who was so fortunate as to carry
+about the king of the country on his back. He longed to be an elephant,
+and at night besought the Rishi to make him one.</p>
+<p>Our elephant was roaming about in the wilderness, when he saw the
+king out hunting. The elephant went towards the king&rsquo;s suite with
+the view of being caught. The king, seeing the elephant at a distance,
+admired it on account of its beauty, and gave orders that it should be
+caught and tamed. Our elephant was easily caught, and taken into the
+royal stables, and was soon tamed. It so chanced that the queen
+expressed a wish to bathe in the waters of the holy Ganga. The king,
+who wished to accompany his royal consort, ordered that the
+newly-caught elephant should be brought to him. The king and queen
+mounted on his back. One would suppose that the elephant had now got
+his wishes, as the king had mounted on his back. But no. There was a
+fly in the ointment. The elephant, who looked upon himself as a lordly
+beast, could not brook the idea that a woman, though a queen, should
+ride on his back. He thought himself degraded. He jumped up so
+violently that both the king and queen fell to the ground. The king
+carefully picked up the queen, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb136"
+href="#pb136" name="pb136">136</a>]</span>took her in his arms, asked
+her whether she had been much hurt, wiped off the dust from her clothes
+with his handkerchief, and tenderly kissed her a hundred times. Our
+elephant, after witnessing the king&rsquo;s caresses, scampered off to
+the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. As he ran he thought
+within himself thus: &ldquo;After all, I see that a queen is the
+happiest of all creatures. Of what infinite regard is she the object!
+The king lifted her up, took her in his arms, made many tender
+inquiries, wiped off the dust from her clothes with his own royal
+hands, and kissed her a hundred times! O the happiness of being a
+queen! I must tell the Rishi to make me a queen!&rdquo; So saying the
+elephant, after traversing the woods, went at sunset to the
+Rishi&rsquo;s hut, and fell prostrate on the ground at the feet of the
+holy sage. The Rishi said, &ldquo;Well, what&rsquo;s the news? Why have
+you left the king&rsquo;s stud?&rdquo; &ldquo;What shall I say to your
+reverence? You have been very kind to me; you have granted every wish
+of mine. I have one more boon to ask, and it will be the last. By
+becoming an elephant I have got only my bulk increased, but not my
+happiness. I see that of all creatures a queen is the happiest in the
+world. Do, holy father, make me a queen.&rdquo; &ldquo;Silly
+child,&rdquo; answered the Rishi, &ldquo;how can I make you a queen?
+Where can I get a kingdom for you, and a royal husband to boot? All I
+can do is to change you into an exquisitely beautiful girl, possessed
+of charms to captivate the heart of a prince, if ever the gods grant
+you an interview <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb137" href="#pb137"
+name="pb137">137</a>]</span>with some great prince! &ldquo;Our elephant
+agreed to the change; and in a moment the sagacious beast was
+transformed into a beautiful young lady, to whom the holy sage gave the
+name of Postomani, or the poppy-seed lady.</p>
+<p>Postomani lived in the Rishi&rsquo;s hut, and spent her time in
+tending the flowers and watering the plants. One day, as she was
+sitting at the door of the hut during the Rishi&rsquo;s absence, she
+saw a man dressed in a very rich garb come towards the cottage. She
+stood up and asked the stranger who he was, and what he had come there
+for. The stranger answered that he had come a-hunting in those parts,
+that he had been chasing in vain a deer, that he felt thirsty, and that
+he came to the hut of the hermit for refreshment.</p>
+<p><i>Postomani.</i> Stranger, look upon this cot as your own house.
+I&rsquo;ll do everything I can to make you comfortable; I am only sorry
+we are too poor suitably to entertain, a man of your rank, for if I
+mistake not you are the king of this country.</p>
+<p>The king smiled. Postomani then brought out a water-pot, and made as
+if she would wash the feet of her royal guest with her own hands, when
+the king said, &ldquo;Holy maid, do not touch my feet, for I am only a
+Kshatriya, and you are the daughter of a holy sage.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Postomani.</i> Noble sir, I am not the daughter of the Rishi,
+neither am I a Brahmani girl; so there can be no harm in my touching
+your feet. Besides, you are my guest, and I am bound to wash your feet.
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb138" href="#pb138" name=
+"pb138">138</a>]</span></p>
+<p><i>King.</i> Forgive my impertinence. What caste do you belong
+to?</p>
+<p><i>Postomani.</i> I have heard from the sage that my parents were
+Kshatriyas.</p>
+<p><i>King.</i> May I ask you whether your father was a king, for your
+uncommon beauty and your stately demeanour show that you are a born
+princess.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2259width" id="p138"><img src="images/p138.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;&lsquo;You would adorn the palace of the mightiest sovereign&rsquo;&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="499">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;&lsquo;You would adorn the palace of the
+mightiest sovereign&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Postomani, without answering the question, went inside the hut,
+brought out a tray of the most delicious fruits, and set it before the
+king. The king, however, would not touch the fruits till the maid had
+answered his questions. When pressed hard Postomani gave the following
+answer: &ldquo;The holy sage says that my father was a king. Having
+been overcome in battle, he, along with my mother, fled into the woods.
+My poor father was eaten up by a tiger, and my mother at that time was
+brought to bed of me, and she closed her eyes as I opened mine. Strange
+to say, there was a bee-hive on the tree at the foot of which I lay;
+drops of honey fell into my mouth and kept alive the spark of life till
+the kind Rishi found me and brought me into his hut. This is the simple
+story of the wretched girl who now stands before the king.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>King.</i> Call not yourself wretched. You are the loveliest and
+most beautiful of women. You would adorn the palace of the mightiest
+sovereign.</p>
+<p>The upshot was, that the king made love to the girl and they were
+joined in marriage by the Rishi. Postomani was treated as the favourite
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb139" href="#pb139" name=
+"pb139">139</a>]</span>queen, and the former queen was in disgrace.
+Postomani&rsquo;s happiness, however, was short-lived. One day as she
+was standing by a well, she became giddy, fell into the water, and
+died. The Rishi then appeared before the king and said: &ldquo;O king,
+grieve not over the past. What is fixed by fate must come to pass. The
+queen, who has just been drowned, was not of royal blood. She was born
+a mouse; I then changed her successively, according to her own wish,
+into a cat, a dog, an ape, a boar, an elephant, and a beautiful girl.
+Now that she is gone, do you again take into favour your former queen.
+As for my reputed daughter, through the favour of the gods I&rsquo;ll
+make her name immortal. Let her body remain in the well; fill the well
+up with earth. Out of her flesh and bones will grow a tree which shall
+be called after her Posto, that is, the Poppy tree. From this tree will
+be obtained a drug called opium, which will be celebrated as a powerful
+medicine through all ages, and which will always be either swallowed or
+smoked as a wonderful narcotic to the end of time. The opium swallower
+or smoker will have one quality of each of the animals to which
+Postomani was transformed. He will be mischievous like a mouse, fond of
+milk like a cat, quarrelsome like a dog, filthy like an ape, savage
+like a boar, and high-tempered like a queen.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb140" href="#pb140" name=
+"pb140">140</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2204" href="#xd19e2204src" name="xd19e2204">1</a></span> This
+story is not my own. It was recited to me by a story-teller of the
+other sex who rejoices in the <i lang="fr">nom de plume</i> &ldquo;An
+Inmate of the Calcutta Lunatic Asylum.&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2211" href="#xd19e2211src" name="xd19e2211">2</a></span> A holy
+sage.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch10" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">X</h2>
+<h2 class="main">Strike but Hear</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once upon a time there reigned a king who had three
+sons. His subjects one day came to him and said, &ldquo;O incarnation
+of justice! the kingdom is infested with thieves and robbers. Our
+property is not safe. We pray your majesty to catch hold of these
+thieves and punish them.&rdquo; The king said to his sons, &ldquo;O my
+sons, I am old, but you are all in the prime of manhood. How is it that
+my kingdom is full of thieves? I look to you to catch hold of these
+thieves.&rdquo; The three princes then made up their minds to patrol
+the city every night. With this view they set up a station in the
+outskirts of the city, where they kept their horses. In the early part
+of the night the eldest prince rode upon his horse and went through the
+whole city, but did not see a single thief. He came back to the
+station. About midnight the second prince got upon his horse and rode
+through every part of the city, but he did not see or hear of a single
+thief. He came also back to the station. Some hours after midnight the
+youngest <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb141" href="#pb141" name=
+"pb141">141</a>]</span>prince went the rounds, and when he came near
+the gate of the palace where his father lived, he saw a beautiful woman
+coming out of the palace. The prince accosted the woman, and asked who
+she was and where she was going at that hour of the night. The woman
+answered, &ldquo;I am Rajlakshmi,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2288src"
+href="#xd19e2288" name="xd19e2288src">1</a> the guardian deity of this
+palace. The king will be killed this night. I am therefore not needed
+here. I am going away.&rdquo; The prince did not know what to make of
+this message. After a moment&rsquo;s reflection he said to the goddess,
+&ldquo;But suppose the king is not killed to-night, then have you any
+objection to return to the palace and stay there?&rdquo; &ldquo;I have
+no objection,&rdquo; replied the goddess. The prince then begged the
+goddess to go in, promising to do his best to prevent the king from
+being killed. Then the goddess entered the palace again, and in a
+moment went the prince knew not whither.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2292width" id="p141"><img src="images/p141.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="508">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the
+palace&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The prince went straight into the bedroom of his royal father. There
+he lay immersed in deep sleep. His second and young wife, the
+stepmother of our prince, was sleeping in another bed in the room. A
+light was burning dimly. What was his surprise when the prince saw a
+huge cobra going round and round the golden bedstead on which his
+father was sleeping. The prince with his sword cut the serpent in two.
+Not satisfied with killing the cobra, he cut it up into a hundred
+pieces, and put them inside the <i>pan</i> dish<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2301src" href="#xd19e2301" name="xd19e2301src">2</a> which
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb142" href="#pb142" name=
+"pb142">142</a>]</span>was in the room. While the prince was cutting up
+the serpent a drop of blood fell on the breast of his stepmother who
+was sleeping hard by. The prince was in great distress. He said to
+himself, &ldquo;I have saved my father but killed my mother.&rdquo; How
+was the drop of blood to be taken out of his mother&rsquo;s breast? He
+wrapped round his tongue a piece of cloth sevenfold, and with it licked
+up the drop of blood. But while he was in the act of doing this, his
+stepmother woke up, and opening her eyes saw that it was her stepson,
+the youngest prince. The young prince rushed out of the room. The
+queen, intending to ruin the youngest prince, whom she hated, called
+out to her husband, &ldquo;My lord, my lord, are you awake? are you
+awake? Rouse yourself up. Here is a nice piece of business.&rdquo; The
+king on awaking inquired what the matter was. &ldquo;The matter, my
+lord? Your worthy son, the youngest prince, of whom you speak so
+highly, was just here. I caught him in the act of touching my breast.
+Doubtless he came with a wicked intent. And this is your worthy
+son!&rdquo; The king was horror-struck. The prince went to the station
+to his brothers, but told them nothing.</p>
+<p>Early in the morning the king called his eldest son to him and said,
+&ldquo;If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove
+faithless, how should he be punished?&rdquo; The eldest prince replied,
+&ldquo;Doubtless such a man&rsquo;s head should be cut off; but before
+you kill, you should see whether the man is really faithless.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;What <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb143" href="#pb143" name=
+"pb143">143</a>]</span>do you mean?&rdquo; inquired the king.
+&ldquo;Let your majesty be pleased to listen,&rdquo; answered the
+prince.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Once on a time there lived a goldsmith who had a grown-up
+son. And this son had a wife who had the rare faculty of understanding
+the language of beasts; but neither her husband nor any one else knew
+that she had this uncommon gift. One night she was lying in bed beside
+her husband in their house, which was close to a river, when she heard
+a jackal howl out, &lsquo;There goes a carcase floating on the river;
+is there any one who will take off the diamond ring from the finger of
+the dead man and give me the corpse to eat?&rsquo; The woman understood
+the jackal&rsquo;s language, got up from bed and went to the
+river-side. The husband, who was not asleep, followed his wife at some
+distance so as not to be observed by her. The woman went into the
+water, tugged the floating corpse towards the shore, and saw the
+diamond ring on the finger. Unable to loosen it with her hand, as the
+fingers of the dead body had swelled, she bit it off with her teeth,
+and put the dead body upon land. She then went to her bed, whither she
+had been preceded by her husband. The young goldsmith lay beside his
+wife almost petrified with fear, for he concluded after what he saw
+that his wife was not a human being but a Rakshasi. He spent the rest
+of the night in tossing in his bed, and early in the morning spoke to
+his father in the following manner: &lsquo;Father, the woman whom thou
+hast given me to wife is not a real woman but a Rakshasi. Last night as
+I was lying in bed with <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb144" href=
+"#pb144" name="pb144">144</a>]</span>her, I heard outside the house,
+towards the river-side, a jackal set up a fearful howl. On this she,
+thinking that I was asleep, got up from bed, opened the door, and went
+out to the river-side. Surprised to see her go out alone at the dead
+hour of night, I suspected evil and followed her, but so that she could
+not see me. What did she do, do you think? O horror of horrors! She
+went into the stream, dragged towards the shore the dead body of a man
+which was floating by, and began to eat it! I saw this with mine own
+eyes. I then returned home while she was feasting upon the carcase, and
+jumped into bed. In a few minutes she also returned, bolted the door,
+and lay beside me. O my father, how can I live with a Rakshasi? She
+will certainly kill me and eat me up one night.&rsquo; The old
+goldsmith was not a little shocked to hear this account. Both father
+and son agreed that the woman should be taken into the forest and there
+left to be devoured by wild beasts. Accordingly the young goldsmith
+spoke to his wife thus: &lsquo;My dear love, you had better not cook
+much this morning; only boil rice and burn a brinjal, for I must take
+you to-day to see your father and mother, who are dying to see
+you.&rsquo; At the mention of her father&rsquo;s house she became full
+of joy, and finished the cooking in no time. The husband and wife
+snatched a hasty breakfast and started on their journey. The way lay
+through a dense jungle, in which the goldsmith bethought himself of
+leaving his wife alone to be eaten up by wild beasts. But while they
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb145" href="#pb145" name=
+"pb145">145</a>]</span>were passing through this jungle the woman heard
+a serpent hiss, the meaning of which hissing, as understood by her, was
+as follows: &lsquo;O passer-by, how thankful should I be to you if you
+would catch hold of that croaking frog in yonder hole, which is full of
+gold and precious stones, and give me the frog to swallow, and you take
+the gold and precious stones.&rsquo; The woman forthwith made for the
+frog, and began digging the hole with a stick. The young goldsmith was
+now quaking with fear, thinking his Rakshasi-wife was about to kill
+him. She called out to him and said, &lsquo;Husband, take up all this
+large quantity of gold and these precious stones.&rsquo; The goldsmith,
+not knowing what to make of it, timidly went to the place, and to his
+infinite surprise saw the gold and the precious stones. They took up as
+much as they could. On the husband&rsquo;s asking his wife how she came
+to know of the existence of all this riches, she said that she
+understood the language of animals, and that the snake coiled up hard
+by had informed her of it. The goldsmith, on finding out what an
+accomplished wife he was blessed with, said to her, &lsquo;My love, it
+has got very late to-day; it would be impossible to reach your
+father&rsquo;s house before nightfall, and we may be devoured by wild
+beasts in the jungle; I propose therefore that we both return
+home.&rsquo; It took them a long time to reach home, for they were
+laden with a large quantity of gold and precious stones. On coming near
+the house, the goldsmith said to his wife, &lsquo;My dear, you go by
+the back door, while I go by the front <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb146" href="#pb146" name="pb146">146</a>]</span>door and see my
+father in his shop and show him all this gold and these precious
+stones.&rsquo; So she entered the house by the back door, and the
+moment she entered she was met by the old goldsmith, who had come that
+minute into the house for some purpose with a hammer in his hand. The
+old goldsmith, when he saw his Rakshasi daughter-in-law, concluded in
+his mind that she had killed and swallowed up his son. He therefore
+struck her on the head with the hammer, and she immediately died. That
+moment the son came into the house, but it was too late. Hence it is
+that I told your majesty that before you cut off a man&rsquo;s head you
+should inquire whether the man is really guilty.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2322width" id="p145"><img src="images/p145.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;&lsquo;Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold and these precious stones&rsquo;&rdquo;"
+width="503" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;&lsquo;Husband, take up all this large
+quantity of gold and these precious stones&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The king then called his second son to him, and said, &ldquo;If a
+man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless, how should
+he be punished?&rdquo; The second prince replied, &ldquo;Doubtless such
+a man&rsquo;s head should be cut off, but before you kill you should
+see whether the man is really faithless.&rdquo; &ldquo;What do you
+mean?&rdquo; inquired the king. &ldquo;Let your majesty be pleased to
+listen,&rdquo; answered the prince.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Once on a time there reigned a king who was very fond of
+going out a-hunting. Once while he was out hunting his horse took him
+into a dense forest far from his followers. He rode on and on, and did
+not see either villages or towns. He became very thirsty, but he could
+see neither pond, lake, nor stream. At last he found something dripping
+from the top of a tree. Concluding it to <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb147" href="#pb147" name="pb147">147</a>]</span>be rain-water which
+had rested in some cavity of the tree, he stood on horseback under the
+tree and caught the dripping contents in a small cup. It was, however,
+no rain-water. A huge cobra, which was on the top of the tree, was
+dashing in rage its fangs against the tree; and its poison was coming
+out and was falling in drops. The king, however, thought it was
+rain-water; though his horse knew better. When the cup was nearly
+filled with the liquid snake-poison, and the king was about to drink it
+off, the horse, to save the life of his royal master, so moved about
+that the cup fell from the king&rsquo;s hand and all the liquid spilled
+about. The king became very angry with his horse, and with his sword
+gave a cut to the horse&rsquo;s neck, and the horse died immediately.
+Hence it is that I told your majesty that before you cut off a
+man&rsquo;s head you should inquire whether the man is really
+guilty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The king then called to him his third and youngest son, and said,
+&ldquo;If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove
+faithless, how should he be punished?&rdquo; The youngest prince
+replied, &ldquo;Doubtless such a man&rsquo;s head should be cut off,
+but before you kill you should see whether the man is really
+faithless.&rdquo; &ldquo;What do you mean?&rdquo; inquired the king.
+&ldquo;Let your majesty be pleased to listen,&rdquo; answered the
+prince.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Once on a time there reigned a king who had in his palace a
+remarkable bird of the Suka species. One day as the Suka went out to
+the fields for an airing, he saw his dad and dam, who pressed him
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb148" href="#pb148" name=
+"pb148">148</a>]</span>to come and spend some days with them in their
+nest in some far-off land. The Suka answered he would be very happy to
+come, but he could not go without the king&rsquo;s leave; he added that
+he would speak to the king that very day, and would be ready to go the
+following morning if his dad and dam would come to that very spot. The
+Suka spoke to the king, and the king gave leave with reluctance as he
+was very fond of the bird. So the next morning the Suka met his dad and
+dam at the place appointed, and went with them to his paternal nest on
+the top of some high tree in a far-off land. The three birds lived
+happily together for a fortnight, at the end of which period the Suka
+said to his dad and dam, &lsquo;My beloved parents, the king granted me
+leave only for a fortnight, and to-day the fortnight is over: to-morrow
+I must start for the city of the king.&rsquo; His dad and dam readily
+agreed to the reasonable proposal, and told him to take a present to
+the king. After laying their heads together for some time they agreed
+that the present should be a fruit of the tree of Immortality. So early
+next morning the Suka plucked a fruit off the tree of Immortality, and
+carefully catching it in his beak, started on his aerial journey. As he
+had a heavy weight to carry, the Suka was not able to reach the city of
+the king that day, and was benighted on the road. He took shelter in a
+tree, and was at a loss to know where to keep the fruit. If he kept it
+in his beak it was sure, he thought, to fall out when he fell asleep.
+Fortunately he saw a hole in the trunk of <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb149" href="#pb149" name="pb149">149</a>]</span>the tree in which he
+had taken shelter, and accordingly put the fruit in it. It so happened
+that in that hole there was a snake; in the course of the night the
+snake darted its fangs on the fruit, and thus besmeared it with its
+poison. Early before crow-cawing the Suka, suspecting nothing, took up
+the fruit of Immortality in its beak, and began his aerial voyage. The
+Suka reached the palace while the king was sitting with his ministers.
+The king was delighted to see his pet bird come again, and greatly
+admired the beautiful fruit which the Suka had brought as a present.
+The fruit was very fair to look at; it was the loveliest fruit in all
+the earth; and as its name implies it makes the eater of it immortal.
+The king was going to eat it, but his courtiers said that it was not
+advisable for the king to eat it, as it might be a poisonous fruit. He
+accordingly threw it to a crow which was perched on the wall; the crow
+ate a part of it; but in a moment the crow fell down and died. The
+king, imagining that the Suka had intended to take away his life, took
+hold of the bird and killed it. The king ordered the stone of the
+deadly fruit, as it was thought to be, to be planted in a garden
+outside the city. The stone in course of time became a large tree
+bearing lovely fruit. The king ordered a fence to be put round the
+tree, and placed a guard lest people should eat of the fruit and die.
+There lived in that city an old Brahman and his wife, who used to live
+upon charity. The Brahman one day mourned his hard lot, and told his
+wife that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb150" href="#pb150" name=
+"pb150">150</a>]</span>instead of leading the wretched life of a beggar
+he would eat the fruit of the poisonous tree in the king&rsquo;s garden
+and thus end his days. So that very night he got up from his bed in
+order to get into the king&rsquo;s garden. His wife, suspecting her
+husband&rsquo;s intention, followed him, resolved also to eat of the
+fruit and die with her husband. As at that dead hour of night the guard
+was asleep, the old Brahman plucked a fruit and ate it. The woman said
+to her husband, &lsquo;If you die what is the use of my life?
+I&rsquo;ll also eat and die.&rsquo; So saying she plucked a fruit and
+ate it. Thinking that the poison would take some time to produce its
+due effect, they both went home and lay in bed, supposing that they
+would never rise again. To their infinite surprise next morning they
+found themselves to be not only alive, but young and vigorous. Their
+neighbours could scarcely recognise them&mdash;they had become so
+changed. The old Brahman had become handsome and vigorous, no grey
+hairs, no wrinkles on his cheeks; and as for his wife, she had become
+as beautiful as any lady in the king&rsquo;s household. The king,
+hearing of this wonderful change, sent for the old Brahman, who told
+him all the circumstances. The king then greatly lamented the sad fate
+of his pet bird, and blamed himself for having killed it without fully
+inquiring into the case.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hence it is,&rdquo; continued the youngest prince,
+&ldquo;that I told your majesty that before you cut off a man&rsquo;s
+head you should inquire whether the man is really guilty. I know your
+majesty thinks that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb151" href="#pb151"
+name="pb151">151</a>]</span>last night I entered your chamber with
+wicked intent. Be pleased to hear me before you strike. Last night as I
+was on my rounds I saw a female figure come out of the palace. On
+challenging her she said that she was Rajlakshmi, the guardian deity of
+the palace; and that she was leaving the palace as the king would be
+killed that night. I told her to come in, and that I would prevent the
+king from being killed. I went straight into your bedroom, and saw a
+large cobra going round and round your golden bedstead. I killed the
+cobra, cut it up into a hundred pieces, and put them in the <i>pan</i>
+dish. But while I was cutting up the snake, a drop of its blood fell on
+the breast of my mother; and then I thought that while I had saved my
+father I had killed my mother. I wrapped round my tongue a piece of
+cloth sevenfold and licked up the drop of blood. While I was licking up
+the blood, my mother opened her eyes and noticed me. This is what I
+have done; now cut off my head if your majesty wishes it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The king filled with joy and gratitude embraced his son, and from
+that time loved him more even than he had loved him before.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Thus my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb152" href="#pb152" name=
+"pb152">152</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2288" href="#xd19e2288src" name="xd19e2288">1</a></span> The
+tutelary goddess of a king&rsquo;s household.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2301" href="#xd19e2301src" name="xd19e2301">2</a></span> A
+vessel, made generally of brass, for keeping the <i>pan</i> leaf
+together with betel-nut and other spices.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch11" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XI</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons</h2>
+<div class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h3 class="main">Part I</h3>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived two thieves in a village
+who earned their livelihood by stealing. As they were well-known
+thieves, every act of theft in the village was ascribed to them whether
+they committed it or not; they therefore left the village, and, being
+resolved to support themselves by honest labour, went to a neighbouring
+town for service. Both of them were engaged by a householder; the one
+had to tend a cow, and the other to water a <i>champaka</i> plant. The
+elder thief began watering the plant early in the morning, and as he
+had been told to go on pouring water till some of it collected itself
+round the foot of the plant he went on pouring bucketful after
+bucketful: but to no purpose. No sooner was the water poured on the
+foot of the plant than it was forthwith sucked up by the thirsty earth;
+and it was late in the afternoon when the thief, tired with drawing
+water, laid himself down on the ground, and fell <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb153" href="#pb153" name=
+"pb153">153</a>]</span>asleep. The younger thief fared no better. The
+cow which he had to tend was the most vicious in the whole country.
+When taken out of the village for pasturage it galloped away to a great
+distance with its tail erect; it ran from one paddy-field to another,
+and ate the corn and trod upon it; it entered into sugar-cane
+plantations and destroyed the sweet cane;&mdash;for all which damage
+and acts of trespass the neat-herd was soundly rated by the owners of
+the fields. What with running after the cow from field to field, from
+pool to pool; what with the abusive language poured not only upon him,
+but upon his forefathers up to the fourteenth generation, by the owners
+of the fields in which the corn had been destroyed,&mdash;the younger
+thief had a miserable day of it. After a world of trouble he succeeded
+about sunset in catching hold of the cow, which he brought back to the
+house of his master. The elder thief had just roused himself from sleep
+when he saw the younger one bringing in the cow. Then the elder said to
+the younger&mdash;&ldquo;Brother, why are you so late in coming from
+the fields?&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Younger.</i> What shall I say, brother? I took the cow to that
+part of the meadow where there is a tank, near which there is a large
+tree. I let the cow loose, and it began to graze about without giving
+the least trouble. I spread my <i>gamchha</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2379src" href="#xd19e2379" name="xd19e2379src">1</a> upon the
+grass under the tree; and there was such a delicious breeze that I soon
+fell asleep, and I did not wake till after sunset; and when I awoke I
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb154" href="#pb154" name=
+"pb154">154</a>]</span>saw my good cow grazing contentedly at the
+distance of a few paces. But how did you fare, brother?</p>
+<p><i>Elder.</i> Oh, as for me, I had a jolly time of it. I had poured
+only one bucketful of water on the plant, when a large quantity rested
+round it. So my work was done, and I had the whole day to myself. I
+laid myself down on the ground; I meditated on the joys of this new
+mode of life; I whistled; I sang; and at last fell asleep. And I am up
+only this moment.</p>
+<p>When this talk was ended, the elder thief, believing that what the
+younger thief had said was true, thought that tending the cow was more
+comfortable than watering the plant; and the younger thief, for the
+same reason, thought that watering the plant was more comfortable than
+tending the cow: each therefore resolved to exchange his own work for
+that of the other.</p>
+<p><i>Elder.</i> Well, brother, I have a wish to tend the cow. Suppose
+to-morrow you take my work, and I yours. Have you any objection?</p>
+<p><i>Younger.</i> Not the slightest, brother. I shall be glad to take
+up your work, and you are quite welcome to take up mine. Only let me
+give you a bit of advice. I felt it rather uncomfortable to sleep
+nearly the whole of the day on the bare ground. If you take a
+<i>charpoy</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2400src" href="#xd19e2400"
+name="xd19e2400src">2</a> with you, you will have a merry time of
+it.</p>
+<p>Early the following morning the elder thief went out with the cow to
+the fields, not forgetting <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb155" href=
+"#pb155" name="pb155">155</a>]</span>to take with him a <i>charpoy</i>
+for his ease and comfort; and the younger thief began watering the
+plant. The latter had thought that one bucketful, or at the outside two
+bucketfuls, of water would be enough. But what was his surprise when he
+found that even a hundred bucketfuls were not sufficient to saturate
+the ground around the roots of the plant. He was dead tired with
+drawing water. The sun was almost going down, and yet his work was not
+over. At last he gave it up through sheer weariness.</p>
+<p>The elder thief in the fields was in no better case. He took the cow
+beside the tank which the younger thief had spoken of, put his
+<i>charpoy</i> under the large tree hard by, and then let the cow
+loose. As soon as the cow was let loose it went scampering about in the
+meadow, jumping over hedges and ditches, running through paddy-fields,
+and injuring sugar-cane plantations. The elder thief was not a little
+put about. He had to run about the whole day, and to be insulted by the
+people whose fields had been trespassed upon. But the worst of it was,
+that our thief had to run about the meadow with the <i>charpoy</i> on
+his head, for he could not put it anywhere for fear it should be taken
+away. When the other neat-herds who were in the meadow saw the elder
+thief running about in breathless haste after the cow with the
+<i>charpoy</i> on his head, they clapped their hands and raised shouts
+of derision. The poor fellow, hungry and angry, bitterly repented of
+the exchange he had made. After infinite trouble, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb156" href="#pb156" name="pb156">156</a>]</span>and
+with the help of the other neat-herds, he at last caught hold of the
+precious cow, and brought it home long after the village lamps had been
+lit.</p>
+<p>When the two thieves met in the house of their master, they merely
+laughed at each other without speaking a word. Their dinner over, they
+laid themselves to rest, when there took place the following
+conversation:&mdash;</p>
+<p><i>Younger.</i> Well, how did you fare, brother?</p>
+<p><i>Elder.</i> Just as you fared, and perhaps some degrees
+better.</p>
+<p><i>Younger.</i> I am of opinion that our former trade of thieving
+was infinitely preferable to this sort of honest labour, as people call
+it.</p>
+<p><i>Elder.</i> What doubt is there of that? But, by the gods, I have
+never seen a cow which can be compared to this. It has no second in the
+world in point of viciousness.</p>
+<p><i>Younger.</i> A vicious cow is not a rare thing. I have seen some
+cows as vicious. But have you ever seen a plant like this
+<i>champaka</i> plant which you were told to water? I wonder what
+becomes of all the water that is poured round about it. Is there a tank
+below its roots?</p>
+<p><i>Elder.</i> I have a good mind to dig round it and see what is
+beneath it.</p>
+<p><i>Younger.</i> We had better do so this night when the good man of
+the house and his wife are asleep.</p>
+<p>At about midnight the two thieves took spades and shovels and began
+digging round the plant. After digging a good deal the younger thief
+lighted upon some hard thing against which the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb157" href="#pb157" name=
+"pb157">157</a>]</span>shovel struck. The curiosity of both was
+excited. The younger thief saw that it was a large jar; he thrust his
+hand into it and found that it was full of gold mohurs. But he said to
+the elder thief&mdash;&ldquo;Oh, it is nothing; it is only a large
+stone.&rdquo; The elder thief, however, suspected that it was something
+else; but he took care not to give vent to his suspicion. Both agreed
+to give up digging as they had found nothing; and they went to sleep.
+An hour or two after, when the elder thief saw that the younger thief
+was asleep, he quietly got up and went to the spot which had been
+digged. He saw the jar filled with gold mohurs. Digging a little near
+it, he found another jar also filled with gold mohurs. Overjoyed to
+find the treasure, he resolved to secure it. He took up both the jars,
+went to the tank which was near, and from which water used to be drawn
+for the plant, and buried them in the mud of its bank. He then returned
+to the house, and quietly laid himself down beside the younger thief,
+who was then fast asleep. The younger thief, who had first found the
+jar of gold mohurs, now woke, and softly stealing out of bed, went to
+secure the treasure he had seen. On going to the spot he did not see
+any jar; he therefore naturally thought that his companion the elder
+thief had secreted it somewhere. He went to his sleeping partner, with
+a view to discover if possible by any marks on his body the place where
+the treasure had been hidden. He examined the person of his friend with
+the eye of a detective, and saw mud on his feet and near the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb158" href="#pb158" name=
+"pb158">158</a>]</span>ankles. He immediately concluded the treasure
+must have been concealed somewhere in the tank. But in what part of the
+tank? on which bank? His ingenuity did not forsake him here. He walked
+round all the four banks of the tank. When he walked round three sides,
+the frogs on them jumped into the water; but no frogs jumped from the
+fourth bank. He therefore concluded that the treasure must have been
+buried on the fourth bank. In a little he found the two jars filled
+with gold mohurs; he took them up, and going into the cow-house brought
+out the vicious cow he had tended, and put the two jars on its back. He
+left the house and started for his native village.</p>
+<p>When the elder thief at crow-cawing got up from sleep, he was
+surprised not to find his companion beside him. He hastened to the tank
+and found that the jars were not there. He went to the cow-house, and
+did not see the vicious cow. He immediately concluded the younger thief
+must have run away with the treasure on the back of the cow. And where
+could he think of going? He must be going to his native village. No
+sooner did this process of reasoning pass through his mind than he
+resolved forthwith to set out and overtake the younger thief. As he
+passed through the town, he invested all the money he had in a costly
+pair of shoes covered with gold lace. He walked very fast, avoiding the
+public road and making short cuts. He descried the younger thief
+trudging on slowly with his cow. He went before him in the highway
+about a <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb159" href="#pb159" name=
+"pb159">159</a>]</span>distance of 200 yards, and threw down on the
+road one shoe. He walked on another 200 yards and threw the other shoe
+at a place near which was a large tree; amid the thick leaves of that
+tree he hid himself. The younger thief coming along the public road saw
+the first shoe and said to himself&mdash;&ldquo;What a beautiful shoe
+that is! It is of gold lace. It would have suited me in my present
+circumstances now that I have got rich. But what shall I do with one
+shoe?&rdquo; So he passed on. In a short time he came to the place
+where the other shoe was lying. The younger thief said within
+himself&mdash;&ldquo;Ah, here is the other shoe! What a fool I was,
+that I did not pick up the one I first saw! However it is not too late.
+I&rsquo;ll tie the cow to yonder tree and go for the other shoe.&rdquo;
+He tied the cow to the tree, and taking up the second shoe went for the
+first, lying at a distance of about 200 yards. In the meantime the
+elder thief got down from the tree, loosened the cow, and drove it
+towards his native village, avoiding the king&rsquo;s highway. The
+younger thief on returning to the tree found that the cow was gone. He
+of course concluded that it could have been done only by the elder
+thief. He walked as fast as his legs could carry him, and reached his
+native village long before the elder thief with the cow. He hid himself
+near the door of the elder thief&rsquo;s house. The moment the elder
+thief arrived with the cow, the younger thief accosted him,
+saying&mdash;&ldquo;So you are come safe, brother. Let us go in and
+divide the money.&rdquo; To this <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb160"
+href="#pb160" name="pb160">160</a>]</span>proposal the elder thief
+readily agreed. In the inner yard of the house the two jars were taken
+down from the back of the cow; they went to a room, bolted the door,
+and began dividing. Two mohurs were taken up by the hand, one was put
+in one place, and the other in another; and they went on doing that
+till the jars became empty. But last of all one gold mohur remained.
+The question was&mdash;Who was to take it? Both agreed that it should
+be changed the next morning, and the silver cash equally divided. But
+with whom was the single mohur to remain? There was not a little
+wrangling about the matter. After a great deal of yea and nay, it was
+settled that it should remain with the elder thief, and that next
+morning it should be changed and equally divided.</p>
+<p>At night the elder thief said to his wife and the other women of the
+house, &ldquo;Look here, ladies, the younger thief will come to-morrow
+morning to demand the share of the remaining gold mohur; but I
+don&rsquo;t mean to give it to him. You do one thing to-morrow. Spread
+a cloth on the ground in the yard. I will lay myself on the cloth
+pretending to be dead; and to convince people that I am dead, put a
+<i>tulasi</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2473src" href="#xd19e2473"
+name="xd19e2473src">3</a> plant near my head. And when you see the
+younger thief coming to the door, you set up a loud cry and
+lamentation. Then he will of course go away, and I shall not have to
+pay his share of the gold mohur.&rdquo; To this proposal the women
+readily agreed. Accordingly the next day, about noon, the elder thief
+laid himself down <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb161" href="#pb161"
+name="pb161">161</a>]</span>in the yard like a corpse with the sacred
+basil near his head. When the younger thief was seen coming near the
+house, the women set up a loud cry, and when he came nearer and nearer,
+wondering what it all meant, they said, &ldquo;Oh, where did you both
+go? What did you bring? What did you do to him? Look, he is
+dead!&rdquo; So saying they rent the air with their cries. The younger
+thief, seeing through the whole, said, &ldquo;Well, I am sorry my
+friend and brother is gone. I must now attend to his funeral. You all
+go away from this place, you are but women. I&rsquo;ll see to it that
+the remains are well burnt.&rdquo; He brought a quantity of straw and
+twisted it into a rope, which he fastened to the legs of the deceased
+man, and began tugging him, saying that he was going to take him to the
+place of burning. While the elder thief was being dragged through the
+streets, his body was getting dreadfully scratched and bruised, but he
+held his peace, being resolved to act his part out, and thus escape
+giving the share of the gold mohur. The sun had gone down when the
+younger thief with the corpse reached the place of burning. But as he
+was making preparations for a funeral pile, he remembered that he had
+not brought fire with him. If he went for fire leaving the elder thief
+behind, he would undoubtedly run away. What then was to be done? At
+last he tied the straw rope to the branch of a tree, and kept the
+pretended corpse hanging in the air, and he himself climbed into the
+tree and sat on that branch, keeping tight hold of the rope lest it
+should break, and the elder <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb162" href=
+"#pb162" name="pb162">162</a>]</span>thief run away. While they were in
+this state, a gang of robbers passed by. On seeing the corpse hanging,
+the head of the gang said, &ldquo;This raid of ours has begun very
+auspiciously. Brahmans and Pandits say that if on starting on a journey
+one sees a corpse, it is a good omen. Well, we have seen a corpse, it
+is therefore likely that we shall meet with success this night. If we
+do, I propose one thing: on our return let us first burn this dead body
+and then return home.&rdquo; All the robbers agreed to this proposal.
+The robbers then entered into the house of a rich man in the village,
+put its inmates to the sword, robbed it of all its treasures, and
+withal managed it so cleverly that not a mouse stirred in the village.
+As they were successful beyond measure, they resolved on their return
+to burn the dead body they had seen. When they came to the place of
+burning they found the corpse hanging as before, for the elder thief
+had not yet opened his mouth lest he should be obliged to give half of
+the gold mohur. The thieves dug a hollow in the ground, brought fuel,
+and laid it upon the hollow. They took down the corpse from the tree,
+and laid it upon the pile; and as they were going to set it on fire,
+the corpse gave out an unearthly scream and jumped up. That very moment
+the younger thief jumped down from the tree with a similar scream. The
+robbers were frightened beyond measure. They thought that a <i>Dana</i>
+(evil spirit) had possessed the corpse, and that a ghost jumped down
+from the tree. They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb163" href="#pb163" name=
+"pb163">163</a>]</span>money and the jewels which they had obtained by
+robbery. The two thieves laughed heartily, took up all the riches of
+the robbers, went home, and lived merrily for a long time.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2486width" id="p162"><img src="images/p162.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them the money and jewels&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="501">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;They ran away in great fear, leaving
+behind them the money and jewels&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div2 section"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h3 class="main">Part II</h3>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">The elder thief and the younger thief had one son
+each. As they had been so far successful in life by practising the art
+of thieving, they resolved to train up their sons to the same
+profession. There was in the village a Professor of the Science of
+Roguery, who took pupils, and gave them lessons in that difficult
+science. The two thieves put their sons under this renowned Professor.
+The son of the elder thief distinguished himself very much, and bade
+fair to surpass his father in the art of stealing. The lad&rsquo;s
+cleverness was tested in the following manner. Not far from the
+Professor&rsquo;s house there lived a poor man in a hut, upon the
+thatch of which climbed a creeper of the gourd kind. In the middle of
+the thatch, which was also its topmost part, there was a splendid
+gourd, which the man and his wife watched day and night. They certainly
+slept at night, but then the thatch was so old and rickety that if even
+a mouse went up to it bits of straw and particles of earth used to fall
+inside the hut, and the man and his wife slept right below the spot
+where the gourd was; so that it was next to impossible to steal the
+gourd without the knowledge of its owners. The Professor said to his
+pupils&mdash;for he had many&mdash;<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb164"
+href="#pb164" name="pb164">164</a>]</span>that any one who stole the
+gourd without being caught would be pronounced the dux of the school.
+Our elder thief&rsquo;s son at once accepted the offer. He said he
+would steal away the gourd if he were allowed the use of three things,
+namely, a string, a cat, and a knife. The Professor allowed him the use
+of these three things. Two or three hours after nightfall, the lad,
+furnished with the three things mentioned above, sat behind the thatch
+under the eaves, listening to the conversation carried on by the man
+and his wife lying in bed inside the hut. In a short time the
+conversation ceased. The lad then concluded that they must both have
+fallen asleep. He waited half an hour longer, and hearing no sound
+inside, gently climbed up on the thatch. Chips of straw and particles
+of earth fell upon the couple sleeping inside. The woman woke up, and
+rousing her husband said, &ldquo;Look there, some one is stealing the
+gourd!&rdquo; That moment the lad squeezed the throat of the cat, and
+puss immediately gave out her usual &ldquo;Mew! mew! mew!&rdquo; The
+husband said, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you hear the cat mewing? There is no
+thief; it is only a cat.&rdquo; The lad in the meantime cut the gourd
+from the plant with his knife, and tied the string which he had with
+him to its stalk. But how was he to get down without being discovered
+and caught, especially as the man and the woman were now awake? The
+woman was not convinced that it was only a cat; the shaking of the
+thatch, and the constant falling of bits of straw and particles of
+dust, made her think that it was a human being <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb165" href="#pb165" name="pb165">165</a>]</span>that
+was upon the thatch. She was telling her husband to go out and see
+whether a man was not there; but he maintained that it was only a cat.
+While the man and woman were thus disputing with each other, the lad
+with great force threw down the cat upon the ground, on which the poor
+animal purred most vociferously; and the man said aloud to his wife,
+&ldquo;There it is; you are now convinced that it was only a
+cat.&rdquo; In the meantime, during the confusion created by the
+clamour of the cat and the loud talk of the man, the lad quietly came
+down from the thatch with the gourd tied to the string. Next morning
+the lad produced the gourd before his teacher, and described to him and
+to his admiring comrades the manner in which he had committed the
+theft. The Professor was in ecstasy, and remarked, &ldquo;The worthy
+son of a worthy father.&rdquo; But the elder thief, the father of our
+hopeful genius, was by no means satisfied that his son was as yet fit
+to enter the world. He wanted to prove him still further. Addressing
+his son he said, &ldquo;My son, if you can do what I tell you,
+I&rsquo;ll think you fit to enter the world. If you can steal the gold
+chain of the queen of this country from her neck, and bring it to me,
+I&rsquo;ll think you fit to enter the world.&rdquo; The gifted son
+readily agreed to do the daring deed.</p>
+<p>The young thief&mdash;for so we shall now call the son of the elder
+thief&mdash;made a reconnaissance of the palace in which the king and
+queen lived. He reconnoitred all the four gates, and all the outer and
+inner walls as far as he could; and <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb166" href="#pb166" name="pb166">166</a>]</span>gathered incidentally
+a good deal of information, from people living in the neighbourhood,
+regarding the habits of the king and queen, in what part of the palace
+they slept, what guards there were near the bedchamber, and who, if
+any, slept in the antechamber. Armed with all this knowledge the young
+thief fixed upon one dark night for doing the daring deed. He took with
+him a sword, a hammer and some large nails, and put on very dark
+clothes. Thus accoutred he went prowling about the Lion gate of the
+palace. Before the zenana<a class="noteref" id="xd19e2503src" href=
+"#xd19e2503" name="xd19e2503src">4</a> could be got at, four doors,
+including the Lion gate, had to be passed; and each of these doors had
+a guard of sixteen stalwart men. The same men, however, did not remain
+all night at their post. As the king had an infinite number of soldiers
+at his command, the guards at the doors were relieved every hour; so
+that once every hour at each door there were thirty-two men present,
+consisting of the relieving party and of the relieved. The young thief
+chose that particular moment of time for entering each of the four
+doors. At the time of relief when he saw the Lion gate crowded with
+thirty-two men, he joined the crowd without being taken notice of; he
+then spent the hour preceding the next relief in the large open space
+and garden between two doors; and he could not be taken notice of, as
+the night as well as his clothes was pitch dark. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb167" href="#pb167" name="pb167">167</a>]</span>In a
+similar manner he passed the second door, the third door, and the
+fourth door. And now the queen&rsquo;s bedchamber stared him in the
+face. It was in the third loft; there was a bright light in it; and a
+low voice was heard as that of a woman saying something in a humdrum
+manner. The young thief thought that the voice must be the voice of a
+maid-servant reciting a story, as he had learnt was the custom in the
+palace every night, for composing the king and queen to sleep. But how
+to get up into the third loft? The inner doors were all closed, and
+there were guards everywhere. But the young thief had with him nails
+and a hammer: why not drive the nails into the wall and climb up by
+them? True; but the driving of nails into the wall would make a great
+noise which would rouse the guards, and possibly the king and
+queen,&mdash;at any rate the maid-servant reciting stories would give
+the alarm. Our erratic genius had considered that matter well before
+engaging in the work. There is a water-clock in the palace which shows
+the hours; and at the end of every hour a very large Chinese gong is
+struck, the sound of which is so loud that it is not only heard all
+over the palace, but over most part of the city; and the peculiarity of
+the gong, as of every Chinese gong, was that nearly one minute must
+elapse after the first stroke before the second stroke could be made,
+to allow the gong to give out the whole of its sound. The thief fixed
+upon the minutes when the gong was struck at the end of every hour for
+driving nails <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb168" href="#pb168" name=
+"pb168">168</a>]</span>into the wall. At ten o&rsquo;clock when the
+gong was struck ten times, the thief found it easy to drive ten nails
+into the wall. When the gong stopped, the thief also stopped, and
+either sat or stood quiet on the ninth nail catching hold of the tenth
+which was above the other. At eleven o&rsquo;clock he drove into the
+wall in a similar manner eleven nails, and got a little higher than the
+second story; and by twelve o&rsquo;clock he was in the loft where the
+royal bedchamber was. Peeping in he saw a drowsy maid-servant drowsily
+reciting a story, and the king and queen apparently asleep. He went
+stealthily behind the story-telling maid-servant and took his seat. The
+queen was lying down on a richly furnished bedstead of gold beside the
+king. The massive chain of gold round the neck of the queen was
+gleaming in candle-light. The thief quietly listened to the story of
+the drowsy maid-servant. She was becoming more and more sleepy. She
+stopped for a second, nodded her head, and again resumed the story. It
+was plain she was under the influence of sleep. In a moment the thief
+cut off the head of the maid-servant with his sword, and himself went
+on reciting for some minutes the story which the woman was telling. The
+king and queen were unconscious of any change as to the person of the
+story-teller, for they were both in deep sleep. He stripped the
+murdered woman of her clothes, put them on himself, tied up his own
+clothes in a bundle, and walking softly, gently took off the chain from
+the neck of the queen. He then went <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb169" href="#pb169" name="pb169">169</a>]</span>through the rooms
+down stairs, ordered the inner guard to open the door, as she was
+obliged to go out of the palace for purposes of necessity. The guards,
+seeing that it was the queen&rsquo;s maid-servant, readily allowed her
+to go out. In the same manner, and with the same pretext, he got
+through the other doors, and at last out into the street. That very
+night, or rather morning, the young thief put into his father&rsquo;s
+hand the gold chain of the queen. The elder thief could scarcely
+believe his own eyes. It was so like a dream. His joy knew no bounds.
+Addressing his son he said&mdash;&ldquo;Well done, my son; you are not
+only as clever as your father, but you have beaten me hollow. The gods
+give you long life, my son.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Next morning when the king and queen got up from bed, they were
+shocked to see the maid-servant lying in a pool of blood. The queen
+also found that her gold chain was not round her neck. They could not
+make out how all this could have taken place. How could any thief
+manage to elude the vigilance of so many guards? How could he get into
+the queen&rsquo;s bedchamber? And how could he again escape? The king
+found from the reports of the guards that a person calling herself the
+royal maid-servant had gone out of the palace some hours before dawn.
+All sorts of inquiries were made, but in vain. Proclamation was made in
+the city; a large reward was offered to any one who would give
+information tending to the apprehension of the thief and murderer. But
+no one responded to the call. At last the king <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb170" href="#pb170" name=
+"pb170">170</a>]</span>ordered a camel to be brought to him. On the
+back of the animal was placed two large bags filled with gold mohurs.
+The man taking charge of the bags upon the camel was ordered to go
+through every part of the city making the following
+challenge:&mdash;&ldquo;As the thief was daring enough to steal away a
+gold chain from the neck of the queen, let him further show his daring
+by stealing the gold mohurs from the back of this camel.&rdquo; Two
+days and nights the camel paraded through the city, but nothing
+happened. On the third night as the camel-driver was going his rounds
+he was accosted by a <i>sannyasi</i>,<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2519src" href="#xd19e2519" name="xd19e2519src">5</a> who sat on a
+tiger&rsquo;s skin before a fire, and near whom was a monstrous pair of
+tongs. This <i>sannyasi</i> was no other than the young thief in
+disguise. The <i>sannyasi</i> said to the
+camel-driver&mdash;&ldquo;Brother, why are you going through the city
+in this manner? Who is there so daring as to steal from the back of the
+king&rsquo;s camel? Come down, friend, and smoke with me.&rdquo; The
+camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began
+smoking. The mendicant supplied him not only with tobacco, but with
+<i>ganja</i> and other intoxicating drugs, so that in a short time the
+camel-driver became quite intoxicated and fell asleep. The young thief
+led away the camel with the treasure on its back in the dead of night,
+through narrow lanes and bye-paths to his own house. That very night
+the camel was killed, and its carcase buried in deep pits in the earth,
+and the thing was so <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb171" href="#pb171"
+name="pb171">171</a>]</span>managed that no one could discover any
+trace of it.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2535width" id="p170"><img src="images/p170.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began smoking&rdquo;"
+width="512" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel
+to a tree on the spot, and began smoking&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The next morning when the king heard that the camel-driver was lying
+drunk in the street, and that the camel had been made away with
+together with the treasure, he was almost beside himself with anger.
+Proclamation was made in the city to the effect that whoever caught the
+thief would get the reward of a lakh of rupees. The son of the younger
+thief&mdash;who, by the way, was in the same school of roguery with the
+son of the elder thief, though he did not distinguish himself so
+much&mdash;now came to the front and said that he would apprehend the
+thief. He of course suspected that the son of the elder thief must have
+done it&mdash;for who so daring and clever as he? In the evening of the
+following day the son of the younger thief disguised himself as a
+woman, and coming to that part of the town where the young thief lived,
+began to weep very much, and went from door to door
+saying&mdash;&ldquo;O sirs, can any of you give me a bit of
+camel&rsquo;s flesh, for my son is dying, and the doctors say nothing
+but eating camel&rsquo;s meat can save his life. O for pity&rsquo;s
+sake, do give me a bit of camel&rsquo;s flesh.&rdquo; At last he went
+to the house of the young thief, and begged of the wife&mdash;for the
+young thief himself was out&mdash;to tell him where he could get hold
+of camel&rsquo;s flesh, as his son would assuredly perish if it could
+not be got. Saying this he rent the air with his cries, and fell down
+at the feet of the young thief&rsquo;s wife. Woman as she was, though
+the wife of a thief, she <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb172" href=
+"#pb172" name="pb172">172</a>]</span>felt pity for the supposed woman,
+and said&mdash;&ldquo;Wait, and I will try and get some camel&rsquo;s
+flesh for your son.&rdquo; So saying, she secretly went to the spot
+where the dead camel had been buried, brought a small quantity of
+flesh, and gave it to the party. The son of the younger thief was now
+entranced with joy. He went and told the king that he had succeeded in
+tracing the thief, and would be ready to deliver him up at night if the
+king would send some constables with him. At night the elder thief and
+his son were captured, the body of the camel dug out, and all the
+treasures in the house seized. The following morning the king sat in
+judgment. The son of the elder thief confessed that he had stolen the
+queen&rsquo;s gold chain, and killed the maid-servant, and had taken
+away the camel; but he added that the person who had detected him and
+his father&mdash;the younger thief&mdash;were also thieves and
+murderers, of which fact he gave undoubted proofs. As the king had
+promised to give a lakh of rupees to the detective, that sum was placed
+before the son of the younger thief. But soon after he ordered four
+pits to be dug in the earth in which were buried alive, with all sorts
+of thorns and thistles, the elder thief and the younger thief, and
+their two sons.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb173" href="#pb173" name=
+"pb173">173</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2379" href="#xd19e2379src" name="xd19e2379">1</a></span> A towel
+used in bathing.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2400" href="#xd19e2400src" name="xd19e2400">2</a></span> A sort
+of bed made of rope, supported by posts of wood.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2473" href="#xd19e2473src" name="xd19e2473">3</a></span> The
+sacred basil.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2503" href="#xd19e2503src" name="xd19e2503">4</a></span> Zenana
+is not the name of a province in India, as the good people of Scotland
+the other day took it to be, but the innermost department of a Hindu or
+Mohammedan house which the women occupy.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2519" href="#xd19e2519src" name="xd19e2519">5</a></span> A
+religious mendicant.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch12" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Ghost-Brahman</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman, who not
+being a Kulin, found it the hardest thing in the world to get married.
+He went to rich people and begged of them to give him money that he
+might marry a wife. And a large sum of money was needed, not so much
+for the expenses of the wedding, as for giving to the parents of the
+bride. He begged from door to door, flattered many rich folk, and at
+last succeeded in scraping together the sum needed. The wedding took
+place in due time; and he brought home his wife to his mother. After a
+short time he said to his mother&mdash;&ldquo;Mother, I have no means
+to support you and my wife; I must therefore go to distant countries to
+get money somehow or other. I may be away for years, for I won&rsquo;t
+return till I get a good sum. In the meantime I&rsquo;ll give you what
+I have; you make the best of it, and take care of my wife.&rdquo; The
+Brahman receiving his mother&rsquo;s blessing set out on his travels.
+In the evening of that very day, a ghost assuming the exact appearance
+of the Brahman came into the house. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb174" href="#pb174" name="pb174">174</a>]</span>The newly married
+woman, thinking it was her husband, said to him&mdash;&ldquo;How is it
+that you have returned so soon? You said you might be away for years;
+why have you changed your mind?&rdquo; The ghost
+said&mdash;&ldquo;To-day is not a lucky day, I have therefore returned
+home; besides, I have already got some money.&rdquo; The mother did not
+doubt but that it was her son. So the ghost lived in the house as if he
+was its owner, and as if he was the son of the old woman and the
+husband of the young woman. As the ghost and the Brahman were exactly
+like each other in everything, like two peas, the people in the
+neighbourhood all thought that the ghost was the real Brahman. After
+some years the Brahman returned from his travels; and what was his
+surprise when he found another like him in the house. The ghost said to
+the Brahman&mdash;&ldquo;Who are you? what business have you to come to
+my house?&rdquo; &ldquo;Who am I?&rdquo; replied the Brahman,
+&ldquo;let me ask who you are. This is my house; that is my mother, and
+this is my wife.&rdquo; The ghost said&mdash;&ldquo;Why herein is a
+strange thing. Every one knows that this is my house, that is my wife,
+and yonder is my mother; and I have lived here for years. And you
+pretend this is your house, and that woman is your wife. Your head must
+have got turned, Brahman.&rdquo; So saying the ghost drove away the
+Brahman from his house. The Brahman became mute with wonder. He did not
+know what to do. At last he bethought himself of going to the king and
+of laying his case <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb175" href="#pb175"
+name="pb175">175</a>]</span>before him. The king saw the ghost-Brahman
+as well as the Brahman, and the one was the picture of the other; so he
+was in a fix, and did not know how to decide the quarrel. Day after day
+the Brahman went to the king and besought him to give him back his
+house, his wife, and his mother; and the king, not knowing what to say
+every time, put him off to the following day. Every day the king tells
+him to&mdash;&ldquo;Come to-morrow&rdquo;; and every day the Brahman
+goes away from the palace weeping and striking his forehead with the
+palm of his hand, and saying&mdash;&ldquo;What a wicked world this is!
+I am driven from my own house, and another fellow has taken possession
+of my house and of my wife! And what a king this is! He does not do
+justice.&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2562width" id="p174"><img src="images/p174.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;&lsquo;How is it that you have returned so soon?&rsquo;&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="505">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;&lsquo;How is it that you have returned so
+soon?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Now, it came to pass that as the Brahman went away every day from
+the court outside the town, he passed a spot at which a great many
+cowboys used to play. They let the cows graze on the meadow, while they
+themselves met together under a large tree to play. And they played at
+royalty. One cowboy was elected king; another, prime minister or
+vizier; another, <i>kotwal</i>, or prefect of the police; and others,
+constables. Every day for several days together they saw the Brahman
+passing by weeping. One day the cowboy king asked his vizier whether he
+knew why the Brahman wept every day. On the vizier not being able to
+answer the question, the cowboy king ordered one of his constables to
+bring the Brahman to him. One of them went and said to <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb176" href="#pb176" name="pb176">176</a>]</span>the
+Brahman&mdash;&ldquo;The king requires your immediate
+attendance.&rdquo; The Brahman replied&mdash;&ldquo;What for? I have
+just come from the king, and he put me off till to-morrow. Why does he
+want me again?&rdquo; &ldquo;It is our king that wants you&mdash;our
+neat-herd king,&rdquo; rejoined the constable. &ldquo;Who is neat-herd
+king?&rdquo; asked the Brahman. &ldquo;Come and see,&rdquo; was the
+reply. The neat-herd king then asked the Brahman why he every day went
+away weeping. The Brahman then told him his sad story. The neat-herd
+king, after hearing the whole, said, &ldquo;I understand your case; I
+will give you again all your rights. Only go to the king and ask his
+permission for me to decide your case.&rdquo; The Brahman went back to
+the king of the country, and begged his Majesty to send his case to the
+neat-herd king, who had offered to decide it. The king, whom the case
+had greatly puzzled, granted the permission sought. The following
+morning was fixed for the trial. The neat-herd king, who saw through
+the whole, brought with him next day a phial with a narrow neck. The
+Brahman and the ghost-Brahman both appeared at the bar. After a great
+deal of examination of witnesses and of speech-making, the neat-herd
+king said&mdash;&ldquo;Well, I have heard enough. I&rsquo;ll decide the
+case at once. Here is this phial. Whichever of you will enter into it
+shall be declared by the court to be the rightful owner of the house
+the title of which is in dispute. Now, let me see, which of you will
+enter.&rdquo; The Brahman said&mdash;&ldquo;You are a neat-herd, and
+your intellect is that of a neat-herd. <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb177" href="#pb177" name="pb177">177</a>]</span>What man can enter
+into such a small phial?&rdquo; &ldquo;If you cannot enter,&rdquo; said
+the neat-herd king, &ldquo;then you are not the rightful owner. What do
+you say, sir, to this?&rdquo; turning to the ghost-Brahman and
+addressing him. &ldquo;If you can enter into the phial, then the house
+and the wife and the mother become yours.&rdquo; &ldquo;Of course I
+will enter,&rdquo; said the ghost. And true to his word, to the wonder
+of all, he made himself into a small creature like an insect, and
+entered into the phial. The neat-herd king forthwith corked up the
+phial, and the ghost could not get out. Then, addressing the Brahman,
+the neat-herd king said, &ldquo;Throw this phial into the bottom of the
+sea, and take possession of your house, wife, and mother.&rdquo; The
+Brahman did so, and lived happily for many years and begat sons and
+daughters.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb178" href="#pb178" name=
+"pb178">178</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch13" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XIII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Man who wished to be Perfect</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time a religious mendicant came to a king
+who had no issue, and said to him, &ldquo;As you are anxious to have a
+son, I can give to the queen a drug, by swallowing which she will give
+birth to twin sons; but I will give the medicine on this condition,
+that of those twins you will give one to me, and keep the other
+yourself.&rdquo; The king thought the condition somewhat hard, but as
+he was anxious to have a son to bear his name, and inherit his wealth
+and kingdom, he at last agreed to the terms. Accordingly the queen
+swallowed the drug, and in due time gave birth to two sons. The twin
+brothers became one year old, two years old, three years old, four
+years old, five years old, and still the mendicant did not appear to
+claim his share; the king and queen therefore thought that the
+mendicant, who was old, was dead, and dismissed all fears from their
+minds. But the mendicant was not dead, but living; he was counting the
+years carefully. The young princes were put under tutors, and
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb179" href="#pb179" name=
+"pb179">179</a>]</span>made rapid progress in learning, as well as in
+the arts of riding and shooting with the bow; and as they were
+uncommonly handsome, they were admired by all the people. When the
+princes were sixteen years old the mendicant made his appearance at the
+palace gate, and demanded the fulfilment of the king&rsquo;s promise.
+The hearts of the king and of the queen were dried up within them. They
+had thought that the mendicant was no more in the land of the living;
+but what was their surprise when they saw him standing at the gate in
+flesh and blood, and demanding one of the young princes for himself?
+The king and queen were plunged into a sea of grief. There was nothing
+for it, however, but to part with one of the princes; for the mendicant
+might by his curse turn into ashes not only both the princes, but also
+the king, queen, palace, and the whole of the kingdom to boot. But
+which one was to be given away? The one was as dear as the other. A
+fearful struggle arose in the hearts of the king and queen. As for the
+young princes, each of them said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll go,&rdquo;
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll go.&rdquo; The younger one said to the elder,
+&ldquo;You are older, if only by a few minutes; you are the pride of my
+father; you remain at home, I&rsquo;ll go with the mendicant.&rdquo;
+The elder said to the younger, &ldquo;You are younger than I am; you
+are the joy of my mother; you remain at home, I&rsquo;ll go with the
+mendicant.&rdquo; After a great deal of yea and nay, after a great deal
+of mourning and lamentation, after the queen had wetted her clothes
+with her tears, the elder prince was let go with the <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb180" href="#pb180" name=
+"pb180">180</a>]</span>mendicant. But before the prince left his
+father&rsquo;s roof he planted with his own hands a tree in the
+courtyard of the palace, and said to his parents and brother,
+&ldquo;This tree is my life. When you see the tree green and fresh,
+then know that it is well with me; when you see the tree fade in some
+parts, then know that I am in an ill case; and when you see the whole
+tree fade, then know that I am dead and gone.&rdquo; Then kissing and
+embracing the king and queen and his brother, he followed the
+mendicant.</p>
+<p>As the mendicant and the prince were wending their way towards the
+forest they saw some dog&rsquo;s whelps on the roadside. One of the
+whelps said to its dam, &ldquo;Mother, I wish to go with that handsome
+young man, who must be a prince.&rdquo; The dam said, &ldquo;Go&rdquo;;
+and the prince gladly took the puppy as his companion. They had not
+gone far when upon a tree on the roadside they saw a hawk and its young
+ones. One of the young ones said to its dam, &ldquo;Mother, I wish to
+go with that handsome young man, who must be the son of a king.&rdquo;
+The hawk said, &ldquo;Go&rdquo;; and the prince gladly took the young
+hawk as his companion. So the mendicant, the prince, with the puppy and
+the young hawk, went on their journey. At last they went into the depth
+of the forest far away from the houses of men, where they stopped
+before a hut thatched with leaves. That was the mendicant&rsquo;s cell.
+The mendicant said to the prince, &ldquo;You are to live in this hut
+with me. Your chief work will be to cull flowers from the forest for my
+devotions. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb181" href="#pb181" name=
+"pb181">181</a>]</span>You can go on every side except the north. If
+you go towards the north evil will betide you. You can eat whatever
+fruit or root you like; and for your drink, you will get it from the
+brook.&rdquo; The prince disliked neither the place nor his work. At
+dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest and give them to the
+mendicant; after which the mendicant went away somewhere the whole day
+and did not return till sundown; so the prince had the whole day to
+himself. He used to walk about in the forest with his two
+companions&mdash;the puppy and the young hawk. He used to shoot arrows
+at the deer, of which there was a great number; and thus made the best
+of his time. One day as he pierced a stag with an arrow, the wounded
+stag ran towards the north, and the prince, not thinking of the
+mendicant&rsquo;s behest, followed the stag, which entered into a
+fine-looking house that stood close by. The prince entered, but instead
+of finding the deer he saw a young woman of matchless beauty sitting
+near the door with a dice-table set before her. The prince was rooted
+to the spot while he admired the heaven-born beauty of the lady.
+&ldquo;Come in, stranger,&rdquo; said the lady; &ldquo;chance has
+brought you here, but don&rsquo;t go away without having with me a game
+of dice.&rdquo; The prince gladly agreed to the proposal. As it was a
+game of risk they agreed that if the prince lost the game he should
+give his young hawk to the lady; and that if the lady lost it, she
+should give to the prince a young hawk just like that of the prince.
+The lady won the game; she therefore took the prince&rsquo;s
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb182" href="#pb182" name=
+"pb182">182</a>]</span>young hawk and kept it in a hole covered with a
+plank. The prince offered to play a second time, and the lady agreeing
+to it, they fell to it again, on the condition that if the lady won the
+game she should take the prince&rsquo;s puppy, and if she lost it she
+should give to the prince a puppy just like that of the prince. The
+lady won again, and stowed away the puppy in another hole with a plank
+upon it. The prince offered to play a third time, and the wager was
+that, if the prince lost the game, he should give himself up to the
+lady to be done to by her anything she pleased; and that if he won, the
+lady should give him a young man exactly like himself. The lady won the
+game a third time; she therefore caught hold of the prince and put him
+in a hole covered over with a plank. Now, the beautiful lady was not a
+woman at all; she was a Rakshasi who lived upon human flesh, and her
+mouth watered at the sight of the tender body of the young prince. But
+as she had had her food that day she reserved the prince for the meal
+of the following day.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2599width" id="p181"><img src="images/p181.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;At dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="508">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;At dawn he used to cull flowers in the
+forest&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>Meantime there was great weeping in the house of the prince&rsquo;s
+father. His brother used every day to look at the tree planted in the
+courtyard by his own hand. Hitherto he had found the leaves of a living
+green colour; but suddenly he found some leaves fading. He gave the
+alarm to the king and queen, and told them how the leaves were fading.
+They concluded that the life of the elder prince must be in great
+danger. The younger prince therefore resolved to go to <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb183" href="#pb183" name="pb183">183</a>]</span>the
+help of his brother, but before going he planted a tree in the
+courtyard of the palace, similar to the one his brother had planted,
+and which was to be the index of the manner of his life. He chose the
+swiftest steed in the king&rsquo;s stables, and galloped towards the
+forest. In the way he saw a dog with a puppy, and the puppy thinking
+that the rider was the same that had taken away his
+fellow-cub&mdash;for the two princes were exactly like each
+other&mdash;said, &ldquo;As you have taken away my brother, take me
+also with you.&rdquo; The younger prince understanding that his brother
+had taken away a puppy, he took up that cub as a companion. Further on,
+a young hawk, which was perched on a tree on the roadside, said to the
+prince, &ldquo;You have taken away my brother; take me also, I beseech
+you&rdquo;; on which the younger prince readily took it up. With these
+companions he went into the heart of the forest, where he saw a hut
+which he supposed to be the mendicant&rsquo;s. But neither the
+mendicant nor his brother was there. Not knowing what to do or where to
+go, he dismounted from his horse, allowed it to graze, while he himself
+sat inside the house. At sunset the mendicant returned to his hut, and
+seeing the younger prince, said, &ldquo;I am glad to see you. I told
+your brother never to go towards the north, for evil in that case would
+betide him; but it seems that, disobeying my orders, he has gone to the
+north and has fallen into the toils of a Rakshasi who lives there.
+There is no hope of rescuing him; perhaps he has already been
+devoured.&rdquo; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb184" href="#pb184"
+name="pb184">184</a>]</span>The younger prince forthwith went towards
+the north, where he saw a stag which he pierced with an arrow. The stag
+ran into a house which stood by, and the younger prince followed it. He
+was not a little astonished when, instead of seeing a stag, he saw a
+woman of exquisite beauty. He immediately concluded, from what he had
+heard from the mendicant, that the pretended woman was none other than
+the Rakshasi in whose power his brother was. The lady asked him to play
+a game of dice with her. He complied with the request, and on the same
+conditions on which the elder prince had played. The younger prince
+won; on which the lady produced the young hawk from the hole and gave
+it to the prince. The joy of the two hawks on meeting each other was
+great. The lady and the prince played a second time, and the prince won
+again. The lady therefore brought to the prince the young puppy lying
+in the hole. They played a third time, and the prince won a third time.
+The lady demurred to producing a young man exactly like the prince,
+pretending that it was impossible to get one; but on the prince
+insisting upon the fulfilment of the condition, his brother was
+produced. The joy of the two brothers on meeting each other was great.
+The Rakshasi said to the princes, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t kill me, and I
+will tell you a secret which will save the life of the elder
+prince.&rdquo; She then told them that the mendicant was a worshipper
+of the goddess Kali, who had a temple not far off; that he belonged to
+that sect of Hindus who seek perfection <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb185" href="#pb185" name="pb185">185</a>]</span>from intercourse with
+the spirits of departed men; that he had already sacrificed at the
+altar of Kali six human victims whose skulls could be seen in niches
+inside her temple; that he would become perfect when the seventh victim
+was sacrificed; and that the elder prince was intended for the seventh
+victim. The Rakshasi then told the prince to go immediately to the
+temple to find out the truth of what she had said. To the temple they
+accordingly went. When the elder prince went inside the temple, the
+skulls in the niches laughed a ghastly laugh. Horror-struck at the
+sight and sound, he inquired the cause of the laughter; and the skulls
+told him that they were glad because they were about to get another
+added to their number. One of the skulls, as spokesman of the rest,
+said, &ldquo;Young prince, in a few days the mendicant&rsquo;s
+devotions will be completed, and you will be brought into this temple
+and your head will be cut off, and you will keep company with us. But
+there is one way by which you can escape that fate and do us
+good.&rdquo; &ldquo;Oh, do tell me,&rdquo; said the prince, &ldquo;what
+that way is, and I promise to do you all the good I can.&rdquo; The
+skull replied, &ldquo;When the mendicant brings you into this temple to
+offer you up as a sacrifice, before cutting off your head he will tell
+you to prostrate yourself before Mother Kali, and while you prostrate
+yourself he will cut off your head. But take our advice, when he tells
+you to bow down before Kali, you tell him that as a prince you never
+bowed down to any one, that you never knew <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb186" href="#pb186" name="pb186">186</a>]</span>what
+bowing down was, and that the mendicant should show it to you by
+himself doing it in your presence. And when he bows down to show you
+how it is done, you take up your sword and separate his head from his
+body. And when you do that we shall all be restored to life, as the
+mendicant&rsquo;s vows will be unfulfilled.&rdquo; The elder prince
+thanked the skulls for their advice, and went into the hut of the
+mendicant along with his younger brother.</p>
+<p>In the course of a few days the mendicant&rsquo;s devotions were
+completed. On the following day he told the prince to go along with him
+to the temple of Kali, for what reason he did not mention; but the
+prince knew it was to offer him up as a victim to the goddess. The
+younger prince also went with them, but he was not allowed to go inside
+the temple. The mendicant then stood in the presence of Kali and said
+to the prince, &ldquo;Bow down to the goddess.&rdquo; The prince
+replied, &ldquo;I have not, as a prince, bowed to any one; I do not
+know how to perform the act of prostration. Please show me the way
+first, and I&rsquo;ll gladly do it.&rdquo; The mendicant then
+prostrated himself before the goddess; and while he was doing so the
+prince at one stroke of his sword separated his head from his body.
+Immediately the skulls in the niches of the temple laughed aloud, and
+the goddess herself became propitious to the prince and gave him that
+virtue of perfection which the mendicant had sought to obtain. The
+skulls were <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb187" href="#pb187" name=
+"pb187">187</a>]</span>again united to their respective bodies and
+became living men, and the two princes returned to their country.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb188" href="#pb188" name=
+"pb188">188</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch14" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XIV</h2>
+<h2 class="main">A Ghostly Wife</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a Brahman who had married a
+wife, and who lived in the same house with his mother. Near his house
+was a tank, on the embankment of which stood a tree, on the boughs of
+which lived a ghost of the kind called <i>Sankchinni</i>.<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd19e2633src" href="#xd19e2633" name="xd19e2633src">1</a>
+One night the Brahman&rsquo;s wife had occasion to go to the tank, and
+as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni who stood near; on which the
+she-ghost got very angry with the woman, seized her by the throat,
+climbed into her tree, and thrust her into a hole in the trunk. There
+the woman lay almost dead with fear. The ghost put on the clothes of
+the woman and went into the house of the Brahman. Neither the Brahman
+nor his mother had any inkling of the change. The Brahman thought his
+wife returned from the tank, and the mother thought that it was her
+daughter-in-law. Next morning the mother-in-law discovered some change
+in her daughter-in-law. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb189" href=
+"#pb189" name="pb189">189</a>]</span>Her daughter-in-law, she knew, was
+constitutionally weak and languid, and took a long time to do the work
+of the house. But she had apparently become quite a different person.
+All of a sudden she had become very active. She now did the work of the
+house in an incredibly short time. Suspecting nothing, the old woman
+said nothing either to her son or to her daughter-in-law; on the
+contrary, she inly rejoiced that her daughter-in-law had turned over a
+new leaf. But her surprise became every day greater and greater. The
+cooking of the household was done in much less time than before. When
+the mother-in-law wanted the daughter-in-law to bring anything from the
+next room, it was brought in much less time than was required in
+walking from one room to the other. The ghost, instead of going inside
+the next room, would stretch a long arm&mdash;for ghosts can lengthen
+or shorten any limb of their bodies&mdash;from the door and get the
+thing. One day the old woman observed the ghost doing this. She ordered
+her to bring a vessel from some distance, and the ghost unconsciously
+stretched her hand to several yards&rsquo; distance, and brought it in
+a trice. The old woman was struck with wonder at the sight. She said
+nothing to her, but spoke to her son. Both mother and son began to
+watch the ghost more narrowly. One day the old woman knew that there
+was no fire in the house, and she knew also that her daughter-in-law
+had not gone out of doors to get it; and yet, strange to say, the
+hearth in the kitchen-room was quite <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb190" href="#pb190" name="pb190">190</a>]</span>in a blaze. She went
+in, and, to her infinite surprise, found that her daughter-in-law was
+not using any fuel for cooking, but had thrust into the oven her foot,
+which was blazing brightly. The old mother told her son what she had
+seen, and they both concluded that the young woman in the house was not
+his real wife but a she-ghost. The son witnessed those very acts of the
+ghost which his mother had seen. An <i>Ojha</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2647src" href="#xd19e2647" name="xd19e2647src">2</a> was
+therefore sent for. The exorcist came, and wanted in the first instance
+to ascertain whether the woman was a real woman or a ghost. For this
+purpose he lighted a piece of turmeric and set it below the nose of the
+supposed woman. Now this was an infallible test, as no ghost, whether
+male or female, can put up with the smell of burnt turmeric. The moment
+the lighted turmeric was taken near her, she screamed aloud and ran
+away from the room. It was now plain that she was either a ghost or a
+woman possessed by a ghost. The woman was caught hold of by main force
+and asked who she was. At first she refused to make any disclosures, on
+which the <i>Ojha</i> took up his slippers and began belabouring her
+with them. Then the ghost said with a strong nasal accent&mdash;for all
+ghosts speak through the nose&mdash;that she was a <i>Sankchinni</i>,
+that she lived on a tree by the side of the tank, that she had seized
+the young Brahmani and put her in the hollow of her tree because one
+night she had touched her, and that if any person went to the hole the
+woman would be <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb191" href="#pb191" name=
+"pb191">191</a>]</span>found. The woman was brought from the tree
+almost dead; the ghost was again shoebeaten, after which process, on
+her declaring solemnly that she would not again do any harm to the
+Brahman and his family, she was released from the spell of the
+<i>Ojha</i> and sent away; and the wife of the Brahman recovered
+slowly. After which the Brahman and his wife lived many years happily
+together and begat many sons and daughters.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2663width" id="p188"><img src="images/p188.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The Brahman&rsquo;s wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni&rdquo;"
+width="508" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The Brahman&rsquo;s wife had occasion to
+go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb192" href="#pb192" name=
+"pb192">192</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2633" href="#xd19e2633src" name="xd19e2633">1</a></span>
+<i>Sankchinnis</i> or <i>Sankhachurnis</i> are female ghosts of white
+complexion. They usually stand at the dead of night at the foot of
+trees, and look like sheets of white cloth.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2647" href="#xd19e2647src" name="xd19e2647">2</a></span> An
+exorcist, one who drives away ghosts from possessed persons.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch15" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XV</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Story of a Brahmadaitya<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2678src" href="#xd19e2678" name="xd19e2678src">1</a></h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman who had a
+wife. As he had no means of livelihood, he used every day to beg from
+door to door, and thus got some rice which they boiled and ate,
+together with some greens which they gleaned from the fields. After
+some time it chanced that the village changed its owner, and the
+Brahman bethought himself of asking some boon of the new laird. So one
+morning the Brahman went to the laird&rsquo;s house to pay him court.
+It so happened that at that time the laird was making inquiries of his
+servants about the village and its various parts. The laird was told
+that a certain banyan-tree in the outskirts of the village was haunted
+by a number of ghosts; and that no man had ever the boldness to go to
+that tree at night. In bygone days some rash fellows went to the tree
+at night, but the necks of them all were wrung, and they all died.
+Since that time no man had ventured to go to the tree at night, though
+in the day some neat-herds <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb193" href=
+"#pb193" name="pb193">193</a>]</span>took their cows to the spot. The
+new laird on hearing this said, that if any one would go at night to
+the tree, cut one of its branches and bring it to him, he would make
+him a present of a hundred <i>bighas</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2686src" href="#xd19e2686" name="xd19e2686src">2</a> of rent-free
+land. None of the servants of the laird accepted the challenge, as they
+were sure they would be throttled by the ghosts. The Brahman, who was
+sitting there, thought within himself thus&mdash;&ldquo;I am almost
+starved to death now, as I never get my bellyful. If I go to the tree
+at night and succeed in cutting off one of its branches I shall get one
+hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land, and become independent for
+life. If the ghosts kill me, my case will not be worse, for to die of
+hunger is no better than to be killed by ghosts.&rdquo; He then offered
+to go to the tree and cut off a branch that night. The laird renewed
+his promise, and said to the Brahman that if he succeeded in bringing
+one of the branches of that haunted tree at night he would certainly
+give him one hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2699width" id="p194"><img src="images/p194.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The moment the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards the Brahman&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="503">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The moment the first stroke was given, a
+great many ghosts rushed towards the Brahman&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>In the course of the day when the people of the village heard of the
+laird&rsquo;s promise and of the Brahman&rsquo;s offer, they all pitied
+the poor man. They blamed him for his foolhardiness, as they were sure
+the ghosts would kill him, as they had killed so many before. His wife
+tried to dissuade him from the rash undertaking; but in vain. He said
+he would die in any case; but there was some chance of his escaping,
+and of thus becoming independent for life. Accordingly, one hour after
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb194" href="#pb194" name=
+"pb194">194</a>]</span>sundown, the Brahman set out. He went to the
+outskirts of the village without the slightest fear as far as a certain
+<i>vakula</i>-tree (Mimusops Elengi), from which the haunted tree was
+about one rope distant. But under the <i>vakula</i>-tree the
+Brahman&rsquo;s heart misgave him. He began to quake with fear, and the
+heaving of his heart was like the upward and downward motion of the
+paddy-husking pedal. The <i>vakula</i>-tree was the haunt of a
+Brahmadaitya, who, seeing the Brahman stop under the tree, spoke to
+him, and said, &ldquo;Are you afraid, Brahman? Tell me what you wish to
+do, and I&rsquo;ll help you. I am a Brahmadaitya.&rdquo; The Brahman
+replied, &ldquo;O blessed spirit, I wish to go to yonder banyan-tree,
+and cut off one of its branches for the zemindar, who has promised to
+give me one hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land for it. But my
+courage is failing me. I shall thank you very much for helping
+me.&rdquo; The Brahmadaitya answered, &ldquo;Certainly I&rsquo;ll help
+you, Brahman. Go on towards the tree, and I&rsquo;ll come with
+you.&rdquo; The Brahman, relying on the supernatural strength of his
+invisible patron, who is the object of the fear and reverence of common
+ghosts, fearlessly walked towards the haunted tree, on reaching which
+he began to cut a branch with the bill which was in his hand. But the
+moment the first stroke was given, a great many ghosts rushed towards
+the Brahman, who would have been torn to pieces but for the
+interference of the Brahmadaitya. The Brahmadaitya said in a commanding
+tone, &ldquo;Ghosts, listen. This is a poor Brahman. He wishes to
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb195" href="#pb195" name=
+"pb195">195</a>]</span>get a branch of this tree which will be of great
+use to him. It is my will that you let him cut a branch.&rdquo; The
+ghosts, hearing the voice of the Brahmadaitya, replied, &ldquo;Be it
+according to thy will, lord. At thy bidding we are ready to do
+anything. Let not the Brahman take the trouble of cutting; we ourselves
+will cut a branch for him.&rdquo; So saying, in the twinkling of an
+eye, the ghosts put into the hands of the Brahman a branch of the tree,
+with which he went as fast as his legs could carry him to the house of
+the zemindar. The zemindar and his people were not a little surprised
+to see the branch; but he said, &ldquo;Well, I must see to-morrow
+whether this branch is a branch of the haunted tree or not; if it be,
+you will get the promised reward.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Next morning the zemindar himself went along with his servants to
+the haunted tree, and found to their infinite surprise that the branch
+in their hands was really a branch of that tree, as they saw the part
+from which it had been cut off. Being thus satisfied, the zemindar
+ordered a deed to be drawn up, by which he gave to the Brahman for ever
+one hundred <i>bighas</i> of rent-free land. Thus in one night the
+Brahman became a rich man.</p>
+<p>It so happened that the fields, of which the Brahman became the
+owner, were covered with ripe paddy, ready for the sickle. But the
+Brahman had not the means to reap the golden harvest. He had not a pice
+in his pocket for paying the wages of the reapers. What was the Brahman
+to do? He went to his spirit-friend the <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb196" href="#pb196" name="pb196">196</a>]</span>Brahmadaitya, and
+said, &ldquo;Oh, Brahmadaitya, I am in great distress. Through your
+kindness I got the rent-free land all covered with ripe paddy. But I
+have not the means of cutting the paddy, as I am a poor man. What shall
+I do?&rdquo; The kind Brahmadaitya answered, &ldquo;Oh, Brahman,
+don&rsquo;t be troubled in your mind about the matter. I&rsquo;ll see
+to it that the paddy is not only cut, but that the corn is threshed and
+stored up in granaries, and the straw piled up in ricks. Only you do
+one thing. Borrow from men in the village one hundred sickles, and put
+them all at the foot of this tree at night. Prepare also the exact spot
+on which the grain and the straw are to be stored up.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The joy of the Brahman knew no bounds. He easily got a hundred
+sickles, as the husbandmen of the village, knowing that he had become
+rich, readily lent him what he wanted. At sunset he took the hundred
+sickles and put them beneath the <i>vakula</i>-tree. He also selected a
+spot of ground near his hut for his magazine of paddy and for his ricks
+of straw; and washed the spot with a solution of cow-dung and water.
+After making these preparations he went to sleep.</p>
+<p>In the meantime, soon after nightfall, when the villagers had all
+retired to their houses, the Brahmadaitya called to him the ghosts of
+the haunted tree, who were one hundred in number, and said to them,
+&ldquo;You must to-night do some work for the poor Brahman whom I am
+befriending. The hundred <i>bighas</i> of land which he <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb197" href="#pb197" name="pb197">197</a>]</span>has
+got from the zemindar are all covered with standing ripe corn. He has
+not the means to reap it. This night you all must do the work for him.
+Here are, you see, a hundred sickles; let each of you take a sickle in
+hand and come to the field I shall show him. There are a hundred of
+you. Let each ghost cut the paddy of one <i>bigha</i>, bring the
+sheaves on his back to the Brahman&rsquo;s house, thresh the corn, put
+the corn in one large granary, and pile up the straw in separate ricks.
+Now, don&rsquo;t lose time. You must do it all this very night.&rdquo;
+The hundred ghosts at once said to the Brahmadaitya, &ldquo;We are
+ready to do whatever your lordship commands us.&rdquo; The Brahmadaitya
+showed the ghosts the Brahman&rsquo;s house, and the spot prepared for
+receiving the grain and the straw, and then took them to the
+Brahman&rsquo;s fields, all waving with the golden harvest. The ghosts
+at once fell to it. A ghost harvest-reaper is different from a human
+harvest-reaper. What a man cuts in a whole day, a ghost cuts in a
+minute. <i>Mash</i>, <i>mash</i>, <i>mash</i>, the sickles went round,
+and the long stalks of paddy fell to the ground. The reaping over, the
+ghosts took up the sheaves on their huge backs and carried them all to
+the Brahman&rsquo;s house. The ghosts then separated the grain from the
+straw, stored up the grain in one huge store-house, and piled up the
+straw in many a fantastic rick. It was full two hours before sunrise
+when the ghosts finished their work and retired to rest on their tree.
+No words can tell either the joy of the Brahman and his wife when early
+next morning <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb198" href="#pb198" name=
+"pb198">198</a>]</span>they opened the door of their hut, or the
+surprise of the villagers, when they saw the huge granary and the
+fantastic ricks of straw. The villagers did not understand it. They at
+once ascribed it to the gods.</p>
+<p>A few days after this the Brahman went to the <i>vakula</i>-tree and
+said to the Brahmadaitya, &ldquo;I have one more favour to ask of you,
+Brahmadaitya. As the gods have been very gracious to me, I wish to feed
+one thousand Brahmans; and I shall thank you for providing me with the
+materials of the feast.&rdquo; &ldquo;With the greatest
+pleasure,&rdquo; said the polite Brahmadaitya; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll supply
+you with the requirements of a feast for a thousand Brahmans; only show
+me the cellars in which the provisions are to be stored away.&rdquo;
+The Brahman improvised a store-room. The day before the feast the
+store-room was overflowing with provisions. There were one hundred jars
+of <i>ghi</i> (clarified butter), one hill of flour, one hundred jars
+of sugar, one hundred jars of milk, curds, and congealed milk, and the
+other thousand and one things required in a great Brahmanical feast.
+The next morning one hundred Brahman pastrycooks were employed; the
+thousand Brahmans ate their fill; but the host, the Brahman of the
+story, did not eat. He thought he would eat with the Brahmadaitya. But
+the Brahmadaitya, who was present there though unseen, told him that he
+could not gratify him on that point, as by befriending the Brahman the
+Brahmadaitya&rsquo;s allotted period had come to an end, and the
+<i>pushpaka</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2768src" href="#xd19e2768"
+name="xd19e2768src">3</a> chariot had been sent to <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb199" href="#pb199" name="pb199">199</a>]</span>him
+from heaven. The Brahmadaitya, being released from his ghostly life,
+was taken up into heaven; and the Brahman lived happily for many years,
+begetting sons and grandsons.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb200" href="#pb200" name=
+"pb200">200</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2678" href="#xd19e2678src" name="xd19e2678">1</a></span> The
+ghost of a Brahman who dies unmarried.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2686" href="#xd19e2686src" name="xd19e2686">2</a></span> A
+<i>bigha</i> is about the third part of an acre.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2768" href="#xd19e2768src" name="xd19e2768">3</a></span> The
+chariot of Kuvera, the Hindu god of riches.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch16" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XVI</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Story of a Hiraman<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2785src" href="#xd19e2785" name="xd19e2785src">1</a></h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a fowler who had a wife. The fowler&rsquo;s
+wife said to her husband one day, &ldquo;My dear, I&rsquo;ll tell you
+the reason why we are always in want. It is because you sell every bird
+you catch by your rods, whereas if we sometimes eat some of the birds
+you catch, we are sure to have better luck. I propose therefore that
+whatever bird or birds you bag to-day we do not sell, but dress and
+eat.&rdquo; The fowler agreed to his wife&rsquo;s proposal, and went
+out a-bird-catching. He went about from wood to wood with his limed
+rods, accompanied by his wife, but in vain. Somehow or other they did
+not succeed in catching any bird till near sundown. But just as they
+were returning homewards they caught a beautiful hiraman. The
+fowler&rsquo;s wife, taking the bird in her hand and feeling it all
+over, said, &ldquo;What a small bird this is! how much meat can it
+have? There is no use in killing it.&rdquo; The hiraman said,
+&ldquo;Mother, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb201" href="#pb201" name=
+"pb201">201</a>]</span>do not kill me, but take me to the king, and you
+will get a large sum of money by selling me.&rdquo; The fowler and his
+wife were greatly taken aback on hearing the bird speak, and they asked
+the bird what price they should set upon it. The hiraman answered,
+&ldquo;Leave that to me; take me to the king and offer me for sale; and
+when the king asks my price, say, &lsquo;The bird will tell its own
+price,&rsquo; and then I&rsquo;ll mention a large sum.&rdquo; The
+fowler accordingly went the next day to the king&rsquo;s palace, and
+offered the bird for sale. The king, delighted with the beauty of the
+bird, asked the fowler what he would take for it. The fowler said,
+&ldquo;O great king, the bird will tell its own price.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;What! can the bird speak?&rdquo; asked the king. &ldquo;Yes, my
+lord; be pleased to ask the bird its price,&rdquo; replied the fowler.
+The king, half in jest and half in seriousness, said, &ldquo;Well,
+hiraman, what is your price?&rdquo; The hiraman answered, &ldquo;Please
+your majesty, my price is ten thousand rupees. Do not think that the
+price is too high. Count out the money for the fowler, for I&rsquo;ll
+be of the greatest service to your majesty.&rdquo; &ldquo;What service
+can you be of to me, hiraman?&rdquo; asked the king. &ldquo;Your
+majesty will see that in due time,&rdquo; replied the hiraman. The
+king, surprised beyond measure at hearing the hiraman talk, and talk so
+sensibly, took the bird, and ordered his treasurer to tell down the sum
+of ten thousand rupees to the fowler.</p>
+<p>The king had six queens, but he was so taken up with the bird that
+he almost forgot that they <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb202" href=
+"#pb202" name="pb202">202</a>]</span>lived; at any rate, his days and
+nights were spent in the company, not of the queens, but of the bird.
+The hiraman not only replied intelligently to every question the king
+put, but it recited to him the names of the three hundred and thirty
+millions of the gods of the Hindu pantheon, the hearing of which is
+always regarded as an act of piety. The queens felt that they were
+neglected by the king, became jealous of the bird, and determined to
+kill it. It was long before they got an opportunity, as the bird was
+the king&rsquo;s inseparable companion. One day the king went out
+a-hunting, and he was to be away from the palace for two days. The six
+queens determined to avail themselves of the opportunity and put an end
+to the life of the bird. They said to one another, &ldquo;Let us go and
+ask the bird which of us is the ugliest in his estimation, and she whom
+he pronounces the ugliest shall strangle the bird.&rdquo; Thus
+resolved, they all went into the room where the bird was; but before
+the queens could put any questions the bird so sweetly and so piously
+recited the names of the gods and goddesses, that the hearts of them
+all were melted into tenderness, and they came away without
+accomplishing their purpose. The following day, however, their evil
+genius returned, and they called themselves a thousand fools for having
+been diverted from their purpose. They therefore determined to steel
+their hearts against all pity, and to kill the bird without delay. They
+all went into the room, and said to the bird, &ldquo;O hiraman, you are
+a very wise bird, we hear, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb203"
+href="#pb203" name="pb203">203</a>]</span>your judgments are all right;
+will you please tell us which of us is the handsomest and which the
+ugliest?&rdquo; The bird, knowing the evil design of the queens, said
+to them, &ldquo;How can I answer your questions remaining in this cage?
+In order to pronounce a correct judgment I must look minutely on every
+limb of you all, both in front and behind. If you wish to know my
+opinion you must set me free.&rdquo; The women were at first afraid of
+setting the bird free lest it should fly away; but on second thoughts
+they set it free after shutting all the doors and windows of the room.
+The bird, on examining the room, saw that it had a water-passage
+through which it was possible to escape. When the question was repeated
+several times by the queens, the bird said, &ldquo;The beauty of not
+one of you can be compared to the beauty of the little toe of the lady
+that lives beyond the seven oceans and the thirteen rivers.&rdquo; The
+queens, on hearing their beauty spoken of in such slighting terms,
+became exceedingly furious, and rushed towards the bird to tear it in
+pieces; but before they could get at it, it escaped through the
+water-passage, and took shelter in a wood-cutter&rsquo;s hut which was
+hard by.</p>
+<p>The next day the king returned home from hunting, and not finding
+the hiraman on its perch became mad with grief. He asked the queens,
+and they told him that they knew nothing about it. The king wept day
+and night for the bird, as he loved it much. His ministers became
+afraid lest <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb204" href="#pb204" name=
+"pb204">204</a>]</span>his reason should give way, for he used every
+hour of the day to weep, saying, &ldquo;O my hiraman! O my hiraman!
+where art thou gone?&rdquo; Proclamation was made by beat of drum
+throughout the kingdom to the effect that if any person could produce
+before the king his pet hiraman he would be rewarded with ten thousand
+rupees. The wood-cutter, rejoiced at the idea of becoming independent
+for life, produced the precious bird and obtained the reward. The king,
+on hearing from the parrot that the queens had attempted to kill it,
+became mad with rage. He ordered them to be driven away from the palace
+and put in a desert place without food. The king&rsquo;s order was
+obeyed, and it was rumoured after a few days that the poor queens were
+all devoured by wild beasts.</p>
+<p>After some time the king said to the parrot, &ldquo;Hiraman, you
+said to the queens that the beauty of none of them could be compared to
+the beauty of even the little toe of the lady who lives on the other
+side of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers. Do you know of any means
+by which I can get at that lady?&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Hiraman.</i> Of course I do. I can take your majesty to the door
+of the palace in which that lady of peerless beauty lives; and if your
+majesty will abide by my counsel, I will undertake to put that lady
+into your arms.</p>
+<p><i>King.</i> I will do whatever you tell me. What do you wish me to
+do?</p>
+<p><i>Hiraman.</i> What is required is a <i>pakshiraj</i>.<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd19e2837src" href="#xd19e2837" name="xd19e2837src">2</a>
+If <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb205" href="#pb205" name=
+"pb205">205</a>]</span>you can procure a horse of that species, you can
+ride upon it, and in no time we shall cross the seven oceans and
+thirteen rivers, and stand at the door of the lady&rsquo;s palace.</p>
+<p><i>King.</i> I have, as you know, a large stud of horses; we can now
+go and see if there are any <i>pakshirajes</i> amongst them.</p>
+<p>The king and the hiraman went to the royal stables and examined all
+the horses. The hiraman passed by all the fine-looking horses and those
+of high mettle, and alighted upon a wretched-looking lean pony, and
+said, &ldquo;Here is the horse I want. It is a horse of the genuine
+<i>pakshiraj</i> breed, but it must be fed full six months with the
+finest grain before it can answer our purpose.&rdquo; The king
+accordingly put that pony in a stable by itself and himself saw every
+day that it was fed with the finest grain that could be got in the
+kingdom. The pony rapidly improved in appearance, and at the end of six
+months the hiraman pronounced it fit for service. The parrot then told
+the king to order the royal silversmith to make some
+<i>khais</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e2859src" href="#xd19e2859"
+name="xd19e2859src">3</a> of silver. A large quantity of silver
+<i>khais</i> was made in a short time. When about to start on their
+a&euml;rial journey the hiraman said to the king, &ldquo;I have one
+request to make. Please whip the horse only once at starting. If you
+whip him more than once, we shall not be able to reach the palace, but
+stick mid-way. And when we return homewards after capturing the lady,
+you are also to whip the horse only once; if you whip him more than
+once, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb206" href="#pb206" name=
+"pb206">206</a>]</span>we shall come only half the way and remain
+there.&rdquo; The king then got upon the <i>pakshiraj</i> with the
+hiraman and the silver <i>khais</i> and gently whipped the animal once.
+The horse shot through the air with the speed of lightning, passed over
+many countries, kingdoms, and empires, crossed the oceans and thirteen
+rivers, and alighted in the evening at the gate of a beautiful
+palace.</p>
+<p>Now, near the palace-gate there stood a lofty tree. The hiraman told
+the king to put the horse in the stable hard by, and then to climb into
+the tree and remain there concealed. The hiraman took the silver
+<i>khais</i>, and with its beak began dropping <i>khai</i> after
+<i>khai</i> from the foot of the tree, all through the corridors and
+passages, up to the door of the bedchamber of the lady of peerless
+beauty. After doing this, the hiraman perched upon the tree where the
+king was concealed. Some hours after midnight, the maid-servant of the
+lady, who slept in the same room with her, wishing to come out, opened
+the door and noticed the silver <i>khais</i> lying there. She took up a
+few of them, and not knowing what they were, showed them to her lady.
+The lady, admiring the little silver bullets, and wondering how they
+could have got there, came out of her room and began picking them up.
+She saw a regular stream of them apparently issuing from near the door
+of her room, and proceeding she knew not how far. She went on picking
+up in a basket the bright, shining <i>khais</i> all through the
+corridors and passages, till she came to the foot of the tree. No
+sooner did the lady of peerless beauty <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb207" href="#pb207" name="pb207">207</a>]</span>come to the foot of
+the tree than the king, agreeably to instructions previously given to
+him by the hiraman, alighted from the tree and caught hold of the lady.
+In a moment she was put upon the horse along with himself. At that
+moment the hiraman sat upon the shoulder of the king, the king gently
+whipped the horse once, and they all were whirled through the air with
+the speed of lightning. The king, wishing to reach home soon with the
+precious prize, and forgetful of the instructions of the hiraman,
+whipped the horse again; on which the horse at once alighted on the
+outskirts of what seemed a dense forest. &ldquo;What have you done, O
+king?&rdquo; shouted out the hiraman. &ldquo;Did I not tell you not to
+whip the horse more than once? You have whipped him twice, and we are
+done for. We may meet with our death here.&rdquo; But the thing was
+done, and it could not be helped. The <i>pakshiraj</i> became
+powerless; and the party could not proceed homewards. They dismounted;
+but they could not see anywhere the habitations of men. They ate some
+fruits and roots, and slept that night there upon the ground.</p>
+<p>Next morning it so chanced that the king of that country came to
+that forest to hunt. As he was pursuing a stag, whom he had pierced
+with an arrow, he came across the king and the lady of peerless beauty.
+Struck with the matchless beauty of the lady, he wished to seize her.
+He whistled, and in a moment his attendants flocked around him. The
+lady was made a captive, and her lover, who had brought her from her
+house on the other <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb208" href="#pb208"
+name="pb208">208</a>]</span>side of the seven oceans and thirteen
+rivers, was not put to death, but his eyes were put out, and he was
+left alone in the forest&mdash;alone, and yet not alone, for the good
+hiraman was with him.</p>
+<p>The lady of peerless beauty was taken into the king&rsquo;s palace,
+as well as the pony of her lover. The lady said to the king that he
+must not come near her for six months, in consequence of a vow which
+she had taken, and which would be completed in that period of time. She
+mentioned six months, as that period would be necessary for recruiting
+the constitution of the <i>pakshiraj</i>. As the lady professed to
+engage every day in religious ceremonies, in consequence of her vow, a
+separate house was assigned to her, where she took the <i>pakshiraj</i>
+and fed him with the choicest grain. But everything would be fruitless
+if the lady did not meet the hiraman. But how is she to get a sight of
+that bird? She adopted the following expedient. She ordered her
+servants to scatter on the roof of her house heaps of paddy, grain, and
+all sorts of pulse for the refreshment of birds. The consequence was,
+that thousands of the feathery race came to the roof to partake of the
+abundant feast. The lady was every day on the look out for her hiraman.
+The hiraman, meanwhile, was in great distress in the forest. He had to
+take care not only of himself, but of the now blinded king. He plucked
+some ripe fruits in the forest, and gave them to the king to eat, and
+he ate of them himself. This was the manner of hiraman&rsquo;s life.
+The other birds of the forest spoke thus to the
+parrot&mdash;<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb209" href="#pb209" name=
+"pb209">209</a>]</span>&ldquo;O hiraman, you have a miserable life of
+it in this forest. Why don&rsquo;t you come with us to an abundant
+feast provided for us by a pious lady, who scatters many maunds of
+pulse on the roof of her house for the benefit of our race? We go there
+early in the morning and return in the evening, eating our fill along
+with thousands of other birds.&rdquo; The hiraman resolved to accompany
+them next morning, shrewdly suspecting more in the lady&rsquo;s charity
+to birds than the other birds thought there was in it. The hiraman saw
+the lady, and had a long chat with her about the health of the blinded
+king, the means of curing his blindness, and about her escape. The plan
+adopted was as follows: The pony would be ready for aerial flight in a
+short time&mdash;for a great part of the six months had already
+elapsed; and the king&rsquo;s blindness could be cured if the hiraman
+could procure from the chicks of the bihangama and bihangami birds, who
+had their nest on the tree at the gate of the lady&rsquo;s palace
+beyond the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, a quantity of their
+ordure, fresh and hot, and apply it to the eyeballs of the blinded
+king. The following morning the hiraman started on his errand of mercy,
+remained at night on the tree at the gate of the palace beyond the
+seven oceans and thirteen rivers, and early the next morning waited
+below the nest of the birds with a leaf on his beak, into which dropped
+the ordure of the chicks. That moment the hiraman flew across the
+oceans and rivers, came to the forest, and applied the precious balm to
+the sightless sockets of the king. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb210"
+href="#pb210" name="pb210">210</a>]</span>The king opened his eyes and
+saw. In a few days the <i>pakshiraj</i> was in proper trim. The lady
+escaped to the forest and took the king up; and the lady, king, and
+hiraman all reached the king&rsquo;s capital safe and sound. The king
+and the lady were united together in wedlock. They lived many years
+together happily, and begat sons and daughters; and the beautiful
+hiraman was always with them reciting the names of the three hundred
+and thirty millions of gods.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2920width" id="p210"><img src="images/p210.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The lady, king, and hiraman all reached the king&rsquo;s capital safe and sound&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="509">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The lady, king, and hiraman all reached
+the king&rsquo;s capital safe and sound&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb211" href="#pb211" name=
+"pb211">211</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2785" href="#xd19e2785src" name="xd19e2785">1</a></span>
+&ldquo;<i>Hiraman</i> (from <i>harit</i>, green, and <i>mani</i>, a
+gem), the name of a beautiful species of parrot, a native of the
+Molucca Islands (<i>Psittacus sinensis</i>).&rdquo;&mdash;<span class=
+"sc">Carey&rsquo;s</span> <i>Dictionary of the Bengalee Language</i>,
+vol. ii. part iii. p. 1537.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2837" href="#xd19e2837src" name="xd19e2837">2</a></span> Winged
+horse, literally, the <i>king of birds</i>.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2859" href="#xd19e2859src" name="xd19e2859">3</a></span>
+<i>Khai</i> is fried paddy.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch17" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XVII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Origin of Rubies</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a certain king who died leaving four sons
+behind him with his queen. The queen was passionately fond of the
+youngest of the princes. She gave him the best robes, the best horses,
+the best food, and the best furniture. The other three princes became
+exceedingly jealous of their youngest brother, and conspiring against
+him and their mother, made them live in a separate house, and took
+possession of the estate. Owing to overindulgence, the youngest prince
+had become very wilful. He never listened to any one, not even to his
+mother, but had his own way in everything. One day he went with his
+mother to bathe in the river. A large boat was riding there at anchor.
+None of the boatmen were in it. The prince went into the boat, and told
+his mother to come into it. His mother besought him to get down from
+the boat, as it did not belong to him. But the prince said, &ldquo;No,
+mother, I am not coming down; I mean to go on a voyage, and if you wish
+to come with me, then delay not but come up at <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb212" href="#pb212" name=
+"pb212">212</a>]</span>once, or I shall be off in a trice.&rdquo; The
+queen besought the prince to do no such thing, but to come down
+instantly. But the prince gave no heed to what she said, and began to
+take up the anchor. The queen went up into the boat in great haste; and
+the moment she was on board the boat started, and falling into the
+current passed on swiftly like an arrow. The boat went on and on till
+it reached the sea. After it had gone many furlongs into the open sea,
+the boat came near a whirlpool, where the prince saw a great many
+rubies of monstrous size floating on the waters. Such large rubies no
+one had ever seen, each being in value equal to the wealth of seven
+kings. The prince caught hold of half a dozen of those rubies, and put
+them on board. His mother said, &ldquo;Darling, don&rsquo;t take up
+those red balls; they must belong to somebody who has been shipwrecked,
+and we may be taken up as thieves.&rdquo; At the repeated entreaties of
+his mother the prince threw them into the sea, keeping only one tied up
+in his clothes. The boat then drifted towards the coast, and the queen
+and the prince arrived at a certain port where they landed.</p>
+<p>The port where they landed was not a small place; it was a large
+city, the capital of a great king. Not far from the place, the queen
+and her son hired a hut where they lived. As the prince was yet a boy,
+he was fond of playing at marbles. When the children of the king came
+out to play on a lawn before the palace, our young prince joined them.
+He had no marbles, but he played <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb213"
+href="#pb213" name="pb213">213</a>]</span>with the ruby which he had in
+his possession. The ruby was so hard that it broke every taw against
+which it struck. The daughter of the king, who used to watch the games
+from a balcony of the palace, was astonished to see a brilliant red
+ball in the hand of the strange lad, and wanted to take possession of
+it. She told her father that a boy of the street had an uncommonly
+bright stone in his possession which she must have, or else she would
+starve herself to death. The king ordered his servants to bring to him
+the lad with the precious stone. When the boy was brought, the king
+wondered at the largeness and brilliancy of the ruby. He had never seen
+anything like it. He doubted whether any king of any country in the
+world possessed so great a treasure. He asked the lad where he had got
+it. The lad replied that he got it from the sea. The king offered a
+thousand rupees for the ruby, and the lad not knowing its value readily
+parted with it for that sum. He went with the money to his mother, who
+was not a little frightened, thinking that her son had stolen the money
+from some rich man&rsquo;s house. She became quiet, however, on being
+assured that the money was given to him by the king in exchange for the
+red ball which he had picked up in the sea.</p>
+<p>The king&rsquo;s daughter, on getting the ruby, put it in her hair,
+and, standing before her pet parrot, said to the bird, &ldquo;Oh, my
+darling parrot, don&rsquo;t I look very beautiful with this ruby in my
+hair?&rdquo; The parrot replied, &ldquo;Beautiful! you look quite
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb214" href="#pb214" name=
+"pb214">214</a>]</span>hideous with it! What princess ever puts only
+one ruby in her hair? It would be somewhat feasible if you had two at
+least.&rdquo; Stung with shame at the reproach cast in her teeth by the
+parrot, the princess went into the grief-chamber of the palace, and
+would neither eat nor drink. The king was not a little concerned when
+he heard that his daughter had gone into the grief-chamber. He went to
+her, and asked her the cause of her grief. The princess told the king
+what her pet parrot had said, and added, &ldquo;Father, if you do not
+procure for me another ruby like this, I&rsquo;ll put an end to my life
+by mine own hands.&rdquo; The king was overwhelmed with grief. Where
+was he to get another ruby like it? He doubted whether another like it
+could be found in the whole world. He ordered the lad who had sold the
+ruby to be brought into his presence. &ldquo;Have you, young
+man,&rdquo; asked the king, &ldquo;another ruby like the one you sold
+me?&rdquo; The lad replied, &ldquo;No, I have not got one. Why, do you
+want another? I can give you lots, if you wish to have them. They are
+to be found in a whirlpool in the sea, far, far away. I can go and
+fetch some for you.&rdquo; Amazed at the lad&rsquo;s reply, the king
+offered rich rewards for procuring only another ruby of the same
+sort.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2948width" id="p214"><img src="images/p214.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;&lsquo;What princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair?&rsquo;&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="501">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;&lsquo;What princess ever puts only one
+ruby in her hair?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The lad went home and said to his mother that he must go to sea
+again to fetch some rubies for the king. The woman was quite frightened
+at the idea, and begged him not to go. But the lad was resolved on
+going, and nothing could prevent him from carrying out his purpose. He
+accordingly <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb215" href="#pb215" name=
+"pb215">215</a>]</span>went alone on board that same vessel which had
+brought him and his mother, and set sail. He reached the whirlpool,
+from near which he had formerly picked up the rubies. This time,
+however, he determined to go to the exact spot whence the rubies were
+coming out. He went to the centre of the whirlpool, where he saw a gap
+reaching to the bottom of the ocean. He dived into it, leaving his boat
+to wheel round the whirlpool. When he reached the bottom of the ocean
+he saw there a beautiful palace. He went inside. In the central room of
+the palace there was the god Siva, with his eyes closed, and absorbed
+apparently in intense meditation. A few feet above Siva&rsquo;s head
+was a platform, on which lay a young lady of exquisite beauty. The
+prince went to the platform and saw that the head of the lady was
+separated from her body. Horrified at the sight, he did not know what
+to make of it. He saw a stream of blood trickling from the severed
+head, falling upon the matted head of Siva, and running into the ocean
+in the form of rubies. After a little two small rods, one of silver and
+one of gold, which were lying near the head of the lady, attracted his
+eyes. As he took up the rods in his hands, the golden rod accidentally
+fell upon the head, on which the head immediately joined itself to the
+body, and the lady got up. Astonished at the sight of a human being,
+the lady asked the prince who he was and how he had got there. After
+hearing the story of the prince&rsquo;s adventures, the lady said,
+&ldquo;Unhappy young man, depart instantly from this place; for
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb216" href="#pb216" name=
+"pb216">216</a>]</span>when Siva finishes his meditations he will turn
+you to ashes by a single glance of his eyes.&rdquo; The young man,
+however, would not go except in her company, as he was over head and
+ears in love with the beautiful lady. At last they both contrived to
+run away from the palace, and coming up to the surface of the ocean
+they climbed into the boat near the centre of the whirlpool, and sailed
+away towards land, having previously laden the vessel with a cargo of
+rubies. The wonder of the prince&rsquo;s mother at seeing the beautiful
+damsel may be well imagined. Early next morning the prince sent a basin
+full of big rubies, through a servant. The king was astonished beyond
+measure. His daughter, on getting the rubies, resolved on marrying the
+wonderful lad who had made a present of them to her. Though the prince
+had a wife, whom he had brought up from the depths of the ocean, he
+consented to have a second wife. They were accordingly married, and
+lived happily for years, begetting sons and daughters.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2959width" id="p216"><img src="images/p216.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;Coming up to the surface they climbed into the boat&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="512">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;Coming up to the surface they climbed into
+the boat&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb217" href="#pb217" name=
+"pb217">217</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch18" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XVIII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Match-making Jackal</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a weaver, whose ancestors
+were very rich, but whose father had wasted the property which he had
+inherited in riotous living. He was born in a palace-like house, but he
+now lived in a miserable hut. He had no one in the world, his parents
+and all his relatives having died. Hard by the hut was the lair of a
+jackal. The jackal, remembering the wealth and grandeur of the
+weaver&rsquo;s forefathers, had compassion on him, and one day coming
+to him, said, &ldquo;Friend weaver, I see what a wretched life you are
+leading. I have a good mind to improve your condition. I&rsquo;ll try
+and marry you to the daughter of the king of this country.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;I become the king&rsquo;s son-in-law!&rdquo; replied the weaver;
+&ldquo;that will take place only when the sun rises in the west.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;You doubt my power?&rdquo; rejoined the jackal; &ldquo;you will
+see, I&rsquo;ll bring it about.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The next morning the jackal started for the king&rsquo;s city, which
+was many miles off. On the way he entered a plantation of the Piper
+betel <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb218" href="#pb218" name=
+"pb218">218</a>]</span>plant, and plucked a large quantity of its
+leaves. He reached the capital, and contrived to get inside the palace.
+On the premises of the palace was a tank in which the ladies of the
+king&rsquo;s household performed their morning and afternoon ablutions.
+At the entrance of that tank the jackal laid himself down. The daughter
+of the king happened to come just at the time to bathe, accompanied by
+her maids. The princess was not a little struck at seeing the jackal
+lying down at the entrance. She told her maids to drive the jackal
+away. The jackal rose as if from sleep, and instead of running away,
+opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began
+chewing them. The princess and her maids were not a little astonished
+at the sight. They said among themselves, &ldquo;What an uncommon
+jackal is this! From what country can he have come? A jackal chewing
+betel-leaves! why thousands of men and women of this city cannot
+indulge in that luxury. He must have come from a wealthy land.&rdquo;
+The princess asked the jackal, &ldquo;Sivalu!<a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2980src" href="#xd19e2980" name="xd19e2980src">1</a> from what
+country do you come? It must be a very prosperous country where the
+jackals chew betel-leaves. Do other animals in your country chew
+betel-leaves?&rdquo; &ldquo;Dearest princess,&rdquo; replied the
+jackal, &ldquo;I come from a land flowing with milk and honey.
+Betel-leaves are as plentiful in my country as the grass in your
+fields. All animals in my country&mdash;cows, sheep, dogs&mdash;chew
+betel-leaves. We want no good thing.&rdquo; &ldquo;Happy is the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb219" href="#pb219" name=
+"pb219">219</a>]</span>country,&rdquo; said the princess, &ldquo;where
+there is such plenty, and thrice happy the king who rules in it!&rdquo;
+&ldquo;As for our king,&rdquo; said the jackal, &ldquo;he is the
+richest king in the world. His palace is like the heaven of Indra. I
+have seen your palace here; it is a miserable hut compared to the
+palace of our king.&rdquo; The princess, whose curiosity was excited to
+the utmost pitch, hastily went through her bath, and going to the
+apartments of the queen-mother, told her of the wonderful jackal lying
+at the entrance of the tank. Her curiosity being excited, the jackal
+was sent for. When the jackal stood in the presence of the queen, he
+began munching the betel-leaves. &ldquo;You come,&rdquo; said the
+queen, &ldquo;from a very rich country. Is your king married?&rdquo;
+&ldquo;Please your majesty, our king is not married. Princesses from
+distant parts of the world tried to get married to him, but he rejected
+them all. Happy will that princess be whom our king condescends to
+marry!&rdquo; &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you think, Sivalu,&rdquo; asked the
+queen, &ldquo;that my daughter is as beautiful as a Peri, and that she
+is fit to be the wife of the proudest king in the world?&rdquo;
+&ldquo;I quite think,&rdquo; said the jackal, &ldquo;that the princess
+is exceedingly handsome; indeed, she is the handsomest princess I have
+ever seen; but I don&rsquo;t know whether our king will have a liking
+for her.&rdquo; &ldquo;Liking for my daughter!&rdquo; said the queen,
+&ldquo;you have only to paint her to him as she is, and he is sure to
+turn mad with love. To be serious, Sivalu, I am anxious to get my
+daughter married. Many princes have sought her hand, <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb220" href="#pb220" name="pb220">220</a>]</span>but
+I am unwilling to give her to any of them, as they are not the sons of
+great kings. But your king seems to be a great king. I can have no
+objection to making him my son-in-law.&rdquo; The queen sent word to
+the king, requesting him to come and see the jackal. The king came and
+saw the jackal, heard him describe the wealth and pomp of the king of
+his country, and expressed himself not unwilling to give away his
+daughter in marriage to him.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e2988width" id="p218"><img src="images/p218.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;The jackal ... opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began chewing them&rdquo;"
+width="720" height="510">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The jackal ... opened his bundle of
+betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began chewing
+them&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The jackal after this returned to the weaver and said to him,
+&ldquo;O lord of the loom, you are the luckiest man in the world; it is
+all settled; you are to become the son-in-law of a great king. I have
+told them that you are yourself a great king, and you must behave
+yourself as one. You must do just as I instruct you, otherwise your
+fortune will not only not be made, but both you and I will be put to
+death.&rdquo; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do just as you bid me,&rdquo; said the
+weaver. The shrewd jackal drew in his own mind a plan of the method of
+procedure he should adopt, and after a few days went back to the palace
+of the king in the same manner in which he had gone before, that is to
+say, chewing betel-leaves and lying down at the entrance of the tank on
+the premises of the palace. The king and queen were glad to see him,
+and eagerly asked him as to the success of his mission. The jackal
+said, &ldquo;In order to relieve your minds I may tell you at once that
+my mission has been so far successful. If you only knew the infinite
+trouble I have had in persuading his Majesty, my sovereign,
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb221" href="#pb221" name=
+"pb221">221</a>]</span>to make up his mind to marry your daughter, you
+would give me no end of thanks. For a long time he would not hear of
+it, but gradually I brought him round. You have now only to fix an
+auspicious day for the celebration of the solemn rite. There is one bit
+of advice, however, which I, as your friend, would give you. It is
+this. My master is so great a king that if he were to come to you in
+state, attended by all his followers, his horses and his elephants, you
+would find it impossible to accommodate them all in your palace or in
+your city. I would therefore propose that our king should come to your
+city, not in state, but in a private manner; and that you send to the
+outskirts of your city your own elephants, horses, and conveyances, to
+bring him and only a few of his followers to your palace.&rdquo;
+&ldquo;Many thanks, wise Sivalu, for this advice. I could not possibly
+make accommodation in my city for the followers of so great a king as
+your master is. I should be very glad if he did not come in state; and
+trust you will use your influence to persuade him to come in a private
+manner; for I should be ruined if he came in state.&rdquo; The jackal
+then gravely said, &ldquo;I will do my best in the matter,&rdquo; and
+then returned to his own village, after the royal astrologer had fixed
+an auspicious day for the wedding.</p>
+<p>On his return the jackal busied himself with making preparations for
+the great ceremony. As the weaver was clad in tatters, he told him to
+go to the washermen of the village and borrow from <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb222" href="#pb222" name="pb222">222</a>]</span>them
+a suit of clothes. As for himself, he went to the king of his race, and
+told him that on a certain day he would like one thousand jackals to
+accompany him to a certain place. He went to the king of crows, and
+begged that his corvine majesty would be pleased to allow one thousand
+of his black subjects to accompany him on a certain day to a certain
+place. He preferred a similar petition to the king of paddy-birds.</p>
+<p>At last the great day arrived. The weaver arrayed himself in the
+clothes which he had borrowed from the village washermen. The jackal
+made his appearance, accompanied by a train of a thousand jackals, a
+thousand crows, and a thousand paddy-birds. The nuptial procession
+started on their journey, and towards sundown arrived within two miles
+of the king&rsquo;s palace. There the jackal told his friends, the
+thousand jackals, to set up a loud howl; at his bidding the thousand
+crows cawed their loudest; while the hoarse screechings of the thousand
+paddy-birds furnished a suitable accompaniment. The effect may be
+imagined. They all together made a noise the like of which had never
+been heard since the world began. While this unearthly noise was going
+on, the jackal himself hastened to the palace, and asked the king
+whether he thought he would be able to accommodate the wedding-party,
+which was about two miles distant, and whose noise was at that moment
+sounding in his ears. The king said &ldquo;Impossible, Sivalu; from the
+sound of the procession I infer there must be at least one hundred
+thousand souls. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb223" href="#pb223"
+name="pb223">223</a>]</span>How is it possible to accommodate so many
+guests? Please, so arrange that the bridegroom only will come to my
+house.&rdquo; &ldquo;Very well,&rdquo; said the jackal; &ldquo;I told
+you at the beginning that you would not be able to accommodate all the
+attendants of my august master. I&rsquo;ll do as you wish. My master
+will alone come in undress. Send a horse for the purpose.&rdquo; The
+jackal, accompanied by a horse and groom, came to the place where his
+friend the weaver was, thanked the thousand jackals, the thousand
+crows, and the thousand paddy-birds, for their valuable services, and
+told them all to go away, while he himself, and the weaver on
+horseback, wended their way to the king&rsquo;s palace. The bridal
+party, waiting in the palace, were greatly disappointed at the personal
+appearance of the weaver; but the jackal told them that his master had
+purposely put on a mean dress, as his would-be father-in-law declared
+himself unable to accommodate the bridegroom and his attendants coming
+in state. The royal priests now began the interesting ceremony, and the
+nuptial knot was tied for ever. The bridegroom seldom opened his lips,
+agreeably to the instructions of the jackal, who was afraid lest his
+speech should betray him. At night when he was lying in bed he began to
+count the beams and rafters of the room, and said audibly, &ldquo;This
+beam will make a first-rate loom, that other a capital beam, and that
+yonder an excellent sley.&rdquo; The princess, his bride, was not a
+little astonished. She began to think in her mind, &ldquo;Is the man,
+to whom they have tied me, a king or a weaver? <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb224" href="#pb224" name="pb224">224</a>]</span>I am
+afraid he is the latter; otherwise why should he be talking of
+weaver&rsquo;s loom, beam, and sley? Ah, me! is this what the fates
+keep in store for me?&rdquo; In the morning the princess related to the
+queen-mother the weaver&rsquo;s soliloquy. The king and queen, not a
+little surprised at this recital, took the jackal to task about it. The
+ready-witted jackal at once said, &ldquo;Your Majesty need not be
+surprised at my august master&rsquo;s soliloquy. His palace is
+surrounded by a population of seven hundred families of the best
+weavers in the world, to whom he has given rent-free lands, and whose
+welfare he continually seeks. It must have been in one of his
+philanthropic moods that he uttered the soliloquy which has taken your
+Majesty by surprise.&rdquo; The jackal, however, now felt that it was
+high time for himself and the weaver to decamp with the princess, since
+the proverbial simplicity of his friend of the loom might any moment
+involve him in danger. The jackal therefore represented to the king,
+that weighty affairs of state would not permit his august master to
+spend another day in the palace; that he should start for his kingdom
+that very day with his bride; and his master was resolved to travel
+<i>incognito</i> on foot, only the princess, now the queen, should
+leave the city in a <i>palki</i>. After a great deal of yea and nay,
+the king and queen at last consented to the proposal. The party came to
+the outskirts of the weaver&rsquo;s village; the <i>palki</i> bearers
+were sent away; and the princess, who asked where her husband&rsquo;s
+palace was, was made to walk on foot. The <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb225" href="#pb225" name="pb225">225</a>]</span>weaver&rsquo;s hut
+was soon reached, and the jackal, addressing the princess, said,
+&ldquo;This, madam, is your husband&rsquo;s palace.&rdquo; The princess
+began to beat her forehead with the palms of her hands in sheer
+despair. &ldquo;Ah, me! is this the husband whom Prajapati<a class=
+"noteref" id="xd19e3018src" href="#xd19e3018" name="xd19e3018src">2</a>
+intended for me? Death would have been a thousand times
+better.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As there was nothing for it, the princess soon got reconciled to her
+fate. She, however, determined to make her husband rich, especially as
+she knew the secret of becoming rich. One day she told her husband to
+get for her a pice-worth of flour. She put a little water in the flour,
+and smeared her body with the paste. When the paste dried on her body,
+she began wiping the paste with her fingers; and as the paste fell in
+small balls from her body, it got turned into gold. She repeated this
+process every day for some time, and thus got an immense quantity of
+gold. She soon became mistress of more gold than is to be found in the
+coffers of any king. With this gold she employed a whole army of
+masons, carpenters and architects, who in no time built one of the
+finest palaces in the world. Seven hundred families of weavers were
+sought for and settled round about the palace. After this she wrote a
+letter to her father to say that she was sorry he had not favoured her
+with a visit since the day of her marriage, and that she would be
+delighted if he now came to see her and her husband. The king agreed to
+come, and a day was fixed. The princess made <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb226" href="#pb226" name=
+"pb226">226</a>]</span>great preparations against the day of her
+father&rsquo;s arrival. Hospitals were established in several parts of
+the town for diseased, sick, and infirm animals. The beasts in
+thousands were made to chew betel-leaves on the wayside. The streets
+were covered with Cashmere shawls for her father and his attendants to
+walk on. There was no end of the display of wealth and grandeur. The
+king and queen arrived in state, and were infinitely delighted at the
+apparently boundless riches of their son-in-law. The jackal now
+appeared on the scene, and saluting the king and queen,
+said&mdash;&ldquo;Did I not tell you?&rdquo;</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb227" href="#pb227" name=
+"pb227">227</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e2980" href="#xd19e2980src" name="xd19e2980">1</a></span> A name
+for a jackal, not unlike Reynard in Europe.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3018" href="#xd19e3018src" name="xd19e3018">2</a></span> The god
+who presides over marriages.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch19" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XIX</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">There was a certain king who had six queens, none of
+whom bore children. Physicians, holy sages, mendicants, were consulted,
+countless drugs were had recourse to, but all to no purpose. The king
+was disconsolate. His ministers told him to marry a seventh wife; and
+he was accordingly on the look out.</p>
+<p>In the royal city there lived a poor old woman who used to pick up
+cow-dung from the fields, make it into cakes, dry them in the sun, and
+sell them in the market for fuel. This was her only means of
+subsistence. This old woman had a daughter exquisitely beautiful. Her
+beauty excited the admiration of every one that saw her; and it was
+solely in consequence of her surpassing beauty that three young ladies,
+far above her in rank and station, contracted friendship with her.
+Those three young ladies were the daughter of the king&rsquo;s
+minister, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and the daughter of the
+royal priest. These three <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb228" href=
+"#pb228" name="pb228">228</a>]</span>young ladies, together with the
+daughter of the poor old woman, were one day bathing in a tank not far
+from the palace. As they were performing their ablutions, each dwelt on
+her own good qualities. &ldquo;Look here, sister,&rdquo; said the
+minister&rsquo;s daughter, addressing the merchant&rsquo;s daughter,
+&ldquo;the man that marries me will be a happy man, for he will not
+have to buy clothes for me. The cloth which I once put on never gets
+soiled, never gets old, never tears.&rdquo; The merchant&rsquo;s
+daughter said, &ldquo;And my husband too will be a happy man, for the
+fuel which I use in cooking never gets turned into ashes. The same fuel
+serves from day to day, from year to year.&rdquo; &ldquo;And my husband
+will also become a happy man,&rdquo; said the daughter of the royal
+chaplain, &ldquo;for the rice which I cook one day never gets finished,
+and when we have all eaten, the same quantity which was first cooked
+remains always in the pot.&rdquo; The daughter of the poor old woman
+said in her turn, &ldquo;And the man that marries me will also be
+happy, for I shall give birth to twin children, a son and a daughter.
+The daughter will be divinely fair, and the son will have the moon on
+his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The above conversation was overheard by the king, who, as he was on
+the look out for a seventh queen, used to skulk about in places where
+women met together. The king thus thought in his mind&mdash;&ldquo;I
+don&rsquo;t care a straw for the girl whose clothes never tear and
+never get old; neither do I care for the other girl whose fuel is never
+consumed; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb229" href="#pb229" name=
+"pb229">229</a>]</span>nor for the third girl whose rice never fails in
+the pot. But the fourth girl is quite charming! She will give birth to
+twin children, a son and a daughter; the daughter will be divinely
+fair, and the son will have the moon on his forehead and stars on the
+palms of his hands. That is the girl I want. I&rsquo;ll make her my
+wife.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On making inquiries on the same day, the king found that the fourth
+girl was the daughter of a poor old woman who picked up cow-dung from
+the fields; but though there was thus an infinite disparity in rank, he
+determined to marry her. On the very same day he sent for the poor old
+woman. She, poor thing, was quite frightened when she saw a messenger
+of the king standing at the door of her hut. She thought that the king
+had sent for her to punish her, because, perhaps, she had some day
+unwittingly picked up the dung of the king&rsquo;s cattle. She went to
+the palace, and was admitted into the king&rsquo;s private chamber. The
+king asked her whether she had a very fair daughter, and whether that
+daughter was the friend of his own minister&rsquo;s and priest&rsquo;s
+daughters. When the woman answered in the affirmative, he said to her,
+&ldquo;I will marry your daughter, and make her my queen.&rdquo; The
+woman hardly believed her own ears&mdash;the thing was so strange. He,
+however, solemnly declared to her that he had made up his mind, and was
+determined to marry her daughter. It was soon known in the capital that
+the king was going to marry the daughter of the old woman who picked up
+cow-dung in the fields. When <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb230" href=
+"#pb230" name="pb230">230</a>]</span>the six queens heard the news,
+they would not believe it, till the king himself told them that the
+news was true. They thought that the king had somehow got mad. They
+reasoned with him thus&mdash;&ldquo;What folly, what madness, to marry
+a girl who is not fit to be our maid-servant! And you expect us to
+treat her as our equal&mdash;a girl whose mother goes about picking up
+cow-dung in the fields! Surely, my lord, you are beside
+yourself!&rdquo; The king&rsquo;s purpose, however, remained unshaken.
+The royal astrologer was called, and an auspicious day was fixed for
+the celebration of the king&rsquo;s marriage. On the appointed day the
+royal priest tied the marital knot, and the daughter of the poor old
+picker-up of cow-dung in the fields became the seventh and best beloved
+queen.</p>
+<p>Some time after the celebration of the marriage, the king went for
+six months to another part of his dominions. Before setting out he
+called to him the seventh queen, and said to her, &ldquo;I am going
+away to another part of my dominions for six months. Before the
+expiration of that period I expect you to be confined. But I should
+like to be present with you at the time, as your enemies may do
+mischief. Take this golden bell and hang it in your room. When the
+pains of childbirth come upon you, ring this bell, and I will be with
+you in a moment in whatever part of my dominions I may be at the time.
+Remember, you are to ring the bell only when you feel the pains of
+childbirth.&rdquo; After saying this the king started on his
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb231" href="#pb231" name=
+"pb231">231</a>]</span>journey. The six queens, who had overheard the
+king, went on the next day to the apartments of the seventh queen, and
+said, &ldquo;What a nice bell of gold you have got, sister! Where did
+you get it, and why have you hung it up?&rdquo; The seventh queen, in
+her simplicity, said, &ldquo;The king has given it to me, and if I were
+to ring it, the king would immediately come to me wherever he might be
+at the time.&rdquo; &ldquo;Impossible!&rdquo; said the six queens,
+&ldquo;you must have misunderstood the king. Who can believe that this
+bell can be heard at the distance of hundreds of miles? Besides, if it
+could be heard, how would the king be able to travel a great distance
+in the twinkling of an eye? This must be a hoax. If you ring the bell,
+you will find that what the king said was pure nonsense.&rdquo; The six
+queens then told her to make a trial. At first she was unwilling,
+remembering what the king had told her; but at last she was prevailed
+upon to ring the bell. The king was at the moment half-way to the
+capital of his other dominions, but at the ringing of the bell he
+stopped short in his journey, turned back, and in no time stood in the
+queen&rsquo;s apartments. Finding the queen going about in her rooms,
+he asked why she had rung the bell though her hour had not come. She,
+without informing the king of the entreaty of the six queens, replied
+that she rang the bell only to see whether what he had said was true.
+The king was somewhat indignant, told her distinctly not to ring the
+bell again till the moment of the coming upon her of the pains of
+childbirth, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb232" href="#pb232"
+name="pb232">232</a>]</span>then went away. After the lapse of some
+weeks the six queens again begged of the seventh queen to make a second
+trial of the bell. They said to her, &ldquo;The first time when you
+rang the bell, the king was only at a short distance from you, it was
+therefore easy for him to hear the bell and to come to you; but now he
+has long ago settled in his other capital, let us see if he will now
+hear the bell and come to you.&rdquo; She resisted for a long time, but
+was at last prevailed upon by them to ring the bell. When the sound of
+the bell reached the king he was in court dispensing justice, but when
+he heard the sound of the bell (and no one else heard it) he closed the
+court and in no time stood in the queen&rsquo;s apartments. Finding
+that the queen was not about to be confined, he asked her why she had
+again rung the bell before her hour. She, without saying anything of
+the importunities of the six queens, replied that she merely made a
+second trial of the bell. The king became very angry, and said to her,
+&ldquo;Now listen, since you have called me twice for nothing, let it
+be known to you that when the throes of childbirth do really come upon
+you, and you ring the bell ever so lustily, I will not come to you. You
+must be left to your fate.&rdquo; The king then went away.</p>
+<p>At last the day of the seventh queen&rsquo;s deliverance arrived. On
+first feeling the pains she rang the golden bell. She waited, but the
+king did not make his appearance. She rang again with all her might,
+still the king did not make his appearance. The king certainly did hear
+the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb233" href="#pb233" name=
+"pb233">233</a>]</span>sound of the bell; but he did not come as he was
+displeased with the queen. When the six queens saw that the king did
+not come, they went to the seventh queen and told her that it was not
+customary with the ladies of the palace to be confined in the
+king&rsquo;s apartments; she must go to a hut near the stables. They
+then sent for the midwife of the palace, and heavily bribed her to make
+away with the infant the moment it should be born into the world. The
+seventh queen gave birth to a son who had the moon on his forehead and
+stars on the palms of his hands, and also to an uncommonly beautiful
+girl. The midwife had come provided with a couple of newly born pups.
+She put the pups before the mother, saying&mdash;&ldquo;You have given
+birth to these,&rdquo; and took away the twin-children in an earthen
+vessel. The queen was quite insensible at the time, and did not notice
+the twins at the time they were carried away. The king, though he was
+angry with the seventh queen, yet remembering that she was destined to
+give birth to the heir of his throne, changed his mind, and came to see
+her the next morning. The pups were produced before the king as the
+offspring of the queen. The king&rsquo;s anger and vexation knew no
+bounds. He ordered that the seventh queen should be expelled from the
+palace, that she should be clothed in leather, and that she should be
+employed in the market-place to drive away crows and to keep off dogs.
+Though scarcely able to move she was driven away from the palace,
+stripped of her fine robes, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb234" href=
+"#pb234" name="pb234">234</a>]</span>clothed in leather, and set to
+drive away the crows of the market-place.</p>
+<p>The midwife, when she put the twins in the earthen vessel, bethought
+herself of the best way to destroy them. She did not think it proper to
+throw them into a tank, lest they should be discovered the next day.
+Neither did she think of burying them in the ground, lest they should
+be dug up by a jackal and exposed to the gaze of people. The best way
+to make an end of them, she thought, would be to burn them, and reduce
+them to ashes, that no trace might be left of them. But how could she,
+at that dead hour of night, burn them without some other person helping
+her? A happy thought struck her. There was a potter on the outskirts of
+the city, who used during the day to mould vessels of clay on his
+wheel, and burn them during the latter part of the night. The midwife
+thought that the best plan would be to put the vessel with the twins
+along with the unburnt clay vessels which the potter had arranged in
+order and gone to sleep expecting to get up late at night and set them
+on fire; in this way, she thought, the twins would be reduced to ashes.
+She, accordingly, put the vessel with the twins along with the unburnt
+clay vessels of the potter, and went away.</p>
+<p>Somehow or other, that night the potter and his wife overslept
+themselves. It was near the break of day when the potter&rsquo;s wife,
+awaking out of sleep, roused her husband, and said, &ldquo;Oh, my good
+man, we have overslept ourselves; it is <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb235" href="#pb235" name="pb235">235</a>]</span>now near morning and
+I much fear it is now too late to set the pots on fire.&rdquo; Hastily
+unbolting the door of her cottage, she rushed out to the place where
+the pots were ranged in rows. She could scarcely believe her eyes when
+she saw that all the pots had been baked and were looking bright red,
+though neither she nor her husband had applied any fire to them.
+Wondering at her good luck, and not knowing what to make of it, she ran
+to her husband and said, &ldquo;Just come and see!&rdquo; The potter
+came, saw, and wondered. The pots had never before been so well baked.
+Who could have done this? This could have proceeded only from some god
+or goddess. Fumbling about the pots, he accidentally upturned one in
+which, lo and behold, were seen huddled up together two newly born
+infants of unearthly beauty. The potter said to his wife, &ldquo;My
+dear, you must pretend to have given birth to these beautiful
+children.&rdquo; Accordingly all arrangements were made, and in due
+time it was given out that the twins had been born to her. And such
+lovely twins they were! On the same day many women of the neighbourhood
+came to see the potter&rsquo;s wife and the twins to which she had
+given birth, and to offer their congratulations on this unexpected good
+fortune. As for the potter&rsquo;s wife, she could not be too proud of
+her pretended children, and said to her admiring friends, &ldquo;I had
+hardly hoped to have children at all. But now that the gods have given
+me these twins, may they receive the blessings of you all, and live for
+ever!&rdquo; <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb236" href="#pb236" name=
+"pb236">236</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The twins grew and were strengthened. The brother and sister, when
+they played about in the fields and lanes, were the admiration of every
+one who saw them; and all wondered at the uncommonly good luck of the
+potter in being blessed with such angelic children. They were about
+twelve years old when the potter, their reputed father, became
+dangerously ill. It was evident to all that his sickness would end in
+death. The potter, perceiving his last end approaching, said to his
+wife, &ldquo;My dear, I am going the way of all the earth; but I am
+leaving to you enough to live upon; live on and take care of these
+children.&rdquo; The woman said to her husband, &ldquo;I am not going
+to survive you. Like all good and faithful wives, I am determined to
+die along with you. You and I will burn together on the same funeral
+pyre. As for the children, they are old enough to take care of
+themselves, and you are leaving them enough money.&rdquo; Her friends
+tried to dissuade her from her purpose, but in vain. The potter died;
+and as his remains were being burnt, his wife, now a widow, threw
+herself on the pyre, and burnt herself to death.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e3073width" id="p237"><img src="images/p237.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;A bright light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on his forehead&rdquo;"
+width="508" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;A bright light, like that of the moon, was
+seen shining on his forehead&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The boy with the moon on his forehead&mdash;by the way, he always
+kept his head covered with a turban lest the halo should attract
+notice&mdash;and his sister, now broke up the potter&rsquo;s
+establishment, sold the wheel and the pots and pans, and went to the
+bazaar in the king&rsquo;s city. The moment they entered, the bazaar
+was lit up on a sudden. The shopkeepers of the bazaar were greatly
+surprised. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb237" href="#pb237" name=
+"pb237">237</a>]</span>They thought some divine beings must have
+entered the place. They looked upon the beautiful boy and his sister
+with wonder. They begged of them to stay in the bazaar. They built a
+house for them. When they used to ramble about, they were always
+followed at a distance by the woman clothed in leather, who was
+appointed by the king to drive away the crows of the bazaar. By some
+unaccountable impulse she used also to hang about the house in which
+they lived. The boy in a short time bought a horse, and went a-hunting
+in the neighbouring forests. One day while he was hunting, the king was
+also hunting in the same forest, and seeing a brother huntsman the king
+drew near to him. The king was struck with the beauty of the lad and a
+yearning for him the moment he saw him. As a deer went past, the youth
+shot an arrow, and the reaction of the force necessary to shoot the
+arrow made the turban of his head fall off, on which a bright light,
+like that of the moon, was seen shining on his forehead. The king saw,
+and immediately thought of the son with the moon on his forehead and
+stars on the palms of his hands who was to have been born of his
+seventh queen. The youth on letting fly the arrow galloped off, in
+spite of the earnest entreaty of the king to wait and speak to him. The
+king went home a sadder man than he came out of it. He became very
+moody and melancholy. The six queens asked him why he was looking so
+sad. He told them that he had seen in the woods a lad with the moon on
+his <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb238" href="#pb238" name=
+"pb238">238</a>]</span>forehead, which reminded him of the son who was
+to be born of the seventh queen. The six queens tried to comfort him in
+the best way they could; but they wondered who the youth could be. Was
+it possible that the twins were living? Did not the midwife say that
+she had burnt both the son and the daughter to ashes? Who, then, could
+this lad be? The midwife was sent for by the six queens and questioned.
+She swore that she had seen the twins burnt. As for the lad whom the
+king had met with, she would soon find out who he was. On making
+inquiries, the midwife soon found out that two strangers were living in
+the bazaar in a house which the shopkeepers had built for them. She
+entered the house and saw the girl only, as the lad had again gone out
+a-shooting. She pretended to be their aunt, who had gone away to
+another part of the country shortly after their birth; she had been
+searching after them for a long time, and was now glad to find them in
+the king&rsquo;s city near the palace. She greatly admired the beauty
+of the girl, and said to her, &ldquo;My dear child, you are so
+beautiful, you require the <i>kataki</i><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3085src" href="#xd19e3085" name="xd19e3085src">1</a> flower
+properly to set off your beauty. You should tell your brother to plant
+a row of that flower in this courtyard.&rdquo; &ldquo;What flower is
+that, auntie? I never saw it.&rdquo; &ldquo;How could you have seen it,
+my child? It is not found here; it grows on the other side of the
+ocean, guarded by seven hundred Rakshasas.&rdquo; &ldquo;How,
+then,&rdquo; said the girl, &ldquo;will <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb239" href="#pb239" name="pb239">239</a>]</span>my brother get
+it?&rdquo; &ldquo;He may try to get it, if you speak to him,&rdquo;
+replied the woman. The woman made this proposal in the hope that the
+boy with the moon on his forehead would perish in the attempt to get
+the flower.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e3092width" id="p238"><img src="images/p238.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;The six queens tried to comfort him&rdquo;" width="720"
+height="505">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;The six queens tried to comfort
+him&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>When the youth with the moon on his forehead returned from hunting,
+his sister told him of the visit paid to her by their aunt, and
+requested him, if possible, to get for her the <i>kataki</i> flower. He
+was sceptical about the existence of any aunt of theirs in the world,
+but he was resolved that, to please his beloved sister, he would get
+the flower on which she had set her heart. Next morning, accordingly,
+he started on his journey, after bidding his sister not to stir out of
+the house till his return. He rode on his fleet steed, which was of the
+<i>pakshiraj</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3103src" href="#xd19e3103"
+name="xd19e3103src">2</a> tribe, and soon reached the outskirts of what
+seemed to him dense forests of interminable length. He descried some
+Rakshasas prowling about. He went to some distance, shot with his
+arrows some deer and rhinoceroses in the neighbouring thickets, and,
+approaching the place where the Rakshasas were prowling about, called
+out, &ldquo;O auntie dear, O auntie dear, your nephew is here.&rdquo; A
+huge Rakshasi came towards him and said, &ldquo;O, you are the youth
+with the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of your hands. We
+were all expecting you, but as you have called me aunt, I will not eat
+you up. What is it you want? Have you brought any eatables <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb240" href="#pb240" name="pb240">240</a>]</span>for
+me?&rdquo; The youth gave her the deer and rhinoceroses which he had
+killed. Her mouth watered at the sight of the dead animals, and she
+began eating them. After swallowing down all the carcases, she said,
+&ldquo;Well, what do you want?&rdquo; The youth said, &ldquo;I want
+some <i>kataki</i> flowers for my sister.&rdquo; She then told him that
+it would be difficult for him to get the flower, as it was guarded by
+seven hundred Rakshasas; however, he might make the attempt, but in the
+first instance he must go to his uncle on the north side of that
+forest. While the youth was going to his uncle of the north, on the way
+he killed some deer and rhinoceroses, and seeing a gigantic Rakshasa at
+some distance, cried out, &ldquo;Uncle dear, uncle dear, your nephew is
+here. Auntie has sent me to you.&rdquo; The Rakshasa came near and
+said, &ldquo;You are the youth with the moon on your forehead and stars
+on the palms of your hands; I would have swallowed you outright, had
+you not called me uncle, and had you not said that your aunt had sent
+you to me. Now, what is it you want?&rdquo; The savoury deer and
+rhinoceroses were then presented to him; he ate them all, and then
+listened to the petition of the youth. The youth wanted the
+<i>kataki</i> flower. The Rakshasa said, &ldquo;You want the
+<i>kataki</i> flower! Very well, try and get it if you can. After
+passing through this forest, you will come to an impenetrable forest of
+<i>kachiri</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e3124src" href="#xd19e3124"
+name="xd19e3124src">3</a> You will say to that forest, &lsquo;O mother
+<i>kachiri</i>! please make way for me, or else I die.&rsquo;
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb241" href="#pb241" name=
+"pb241">241</a>]</span>On that the forest will open up a passage for
+you. You will next come to the ocean. You will say to the ocean,
+&lsquo;O mother ocean! please make way for me, or else I die,&rsquo;
+and the ocean will make way for you. After crossing the ocean, you
+enter the gardens where the <i>kataki</i> blooms. Good-bye; do as I
+have told you.&rdquo; The youth thanked his Rakshasa-uncle, and went on
+his way. After he had passed through the forest, he saw before him an
+impenetrable forest of <i>kachiri</i>. It was so close and thick, and
+withal so bristling with thorns, that not a mouse could go through it.
+Remembering the advice of his uncle, he stood before the forest with
+folded hands, and said, &ldquo;O mother <i>kachiri!</i> please make way
+for me, or else I die.&rdquo; On a sudden a clean path was opened up in
+the forest, and the youth gladly passed through it. The ocean now lay
+before him. He said to the ocean, &ldquo;O mother ocean! make way for
+me, or else I die.&rdquo; Forthwith the waters of the ocean stood up on
+two sides like two walls, leaving an open passage between them, and the
+youth passed through dryshod.</p>
+<p>Now, right before him were the gardens of the <i>kataki</i> flower.
+He entered the inclosure, and found himself in a spacious palace which
+seemed to be unoccupied. On going from apartment to apartment he found
+a young lady of more than earthly beauty sleeping on a bedstead of
+gold. He went near, and noticed two little sticks, one of gold and the
+other of silver, lying in the bedstead. The silver stick lay near the
+feet of the sleeping beauty, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb242" href=
+"#pb242" name="pb242">242</a>]</span>and the golden one near the head.
+He took up the sticks in his hands, and as he was examining them, the
+golden stick accidentally fell upon the feet of the lady. In a moment
+the lady woke and sat up, and said to the youth, &ldquo;Stranger, how
+have you come to this dismal place? I know who you are, and I know your
+history. You are the youth with the moon on your forehead and stars on
+the palms of your hands. Flee, flee from this place! This is the
+residence of seven hundred Rakshasas who guard the gardens of the
+<i>kataki</i> flower. They have all gone a-hunting; they will return by
+sundown; and if they find you here you will be eaten up. One Rakshasi
+brought me from the earth where my father is king. She loves me very
+dearly, and will not let me go away. By means of these gold and silver
+sticks she kills me when she goes away in the morning, and by means of
+those sticks she revives me when she returns in the evening. Flee, flee
+hence, or you die!&rdquo; The youth told the young lady how his sister
+wished very much to have the <i>kataki</i> flower, how he passed
+through the forest of <i>kachiri</i>, and how he crossed the ocean. He
+said also that he was determined not to go alone, he must take the
+young lady along with him. The remaining part of the day they spent
+together in rambling about the gardens. As the time was drawing near
+when the Rakshasas should return, the youth buried himself amid an
+enormous heap of <i>kataki</i> flower which lay in an adjoining
+apartment, after killing the young lady by touching her head with the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb243" href="#pb243" name=
+"pb243">243</a>]</span>golden stick. Just after sunset the youth heard
+the sound as of a mighty tempest: it was the return of the seven
+hundred Rakshasas into the gardens. One of them entered the apartment
+of the young lady, revived her, and said, &ldquo;I smell a human being,
+I smell a human being.&rdquo; The young lady replied, &ldquo;How can a
+human being come to this place? I am the only human being here.&rdquo;
+The Rakshasi then stretched herself on the floor, and told the young
+lady to shampoo her legs. As she was going on shampooing, she let fall
+a tear-drop on the Rakshasi&rsquo;s leg. &ldquo;Why are you weeping, my
+dear child?&rdquo; asked the raw-eater; &ldquo;why are you weeping? Is
+anything troubling you?&rdquo; &ldquo;No, mamma,&rdquo; answered the
+young lady, &ldquo;nothing is troubling me. What can trouble me, when
+you have made me so comfortable? I was only thinking what will become
+of me when you die.&rdquo; &ldquo;When I die, child?&rdquo; said the
+Rakshasi; &ldquo;shall I die? Yes, of course all creatures die; but the
+death of a Rakshasa or Rakshasi will never happen. You know, child,
+that deep tank in the middle part of these gardens. Well, at the bottom
+of that tank there is a wooden box, in which there are a male and a
+female bee. It is ordained by fate that if a human being who has the
+moon on his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands were to come
+here and dive into that tank, and get hold of the same wooden box, and
+crush to death the male and female bees without letting a drop of their
+blood fall to the ground, then we should die. But the accomplishment of
+this decree of fate is, I <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb244" href=
+"#pb244" name="pb244">244</a>]</span>think, impossible. For, in the
+first place, there can be no such human being who will have the moon on
+his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands; and, in the second
+place, if there be such a man, he will find it impossible to come to
+this place, guarded as it is by seven hundred of us, encompassed by a
+deep ocean, and barricaded by an impervious forest of
+<i>kachiri</i>&mdash;not to speak of the outposts and sentinels that
+are stationed on the other side of the forest. And then, even if he
+succeeds in coming here, he will perhaps not know the secret of the
+wooden box; and even if he knows of the secret of the wooden box, he
+may not succeed in killing the bees without letting a drop of their
+blood fall on the ground. And woe be to him if a drop does fall on the
+ground, for in that case he will be torn up into seven hundred pieces
+by us. You see then, child, that we are almost immortal&mdash;not
+actually, but virtually so. You may, therefore, dismiss your
+fears.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On the next morning the Rakshasi got up, killed the young lady by
+means of the sticks, and went away in search of food along with other
+Rakshasas and Rakshasis. The lad, who had the moon on his forehead and
+stars on the palms of his hands, came out of the heap of flowers and
+revived the young lady. The young lady recited to the young man the
+whole of the conversation she had had with the Rakshasi. It was a
+perfect revelation to him. He, however, lost no time in beginning to
+act. He shut the heavy gates of the gardens. He dived into the tank and
+brought <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb245" href="#pb245" name=
+"pb245">245</a>]</span>up the wooden box. He opened the wooden box, and
+caught hold of the male and female bees as they were about to escape.
+He crushed them on the palms of his hands, besmearing his body with
+every drop of their blood. The moment this was done, loud cries and
+groans were heard around about the inclosure of the gardens. Agreeably
+to the decree of fate all the Rakshasas approached the gardens and fell
+down dead. The youth with the moon on his forehead took as many
+<i>kataki</i> flowers as he could, together with their seeds, and left
+the palace, around which were lying in mountain heaps the carcases of
+the mighty dead, in company with the young and beautiful lady. The
+waters of the ocean retreated before the youth as before, and the
+forest of <i>kachiri</i> also opened up a passage through it; and the
+happy couple reached the house in the bazaar, where they were welcomed
+by the sister of the youth who had the moon on his forehead.</p>
+<p>On the following morning the youth, as usual, went to hunt. The king
+was also there. A deer passed by, and the youth shot an arrow. As he
+shot, the turban as usual fell off his head, and a bright light issued
+from it. The king saw and wondered. He told the youth to stop, as he
+wished to contract friendship with him. The youth told him to come to
+his house, and gave him his address. The king went to the house of the
+youth in the middle of the day. Pushpavati&mdash;for that was the name
+of the young lady that had been brought from beyond the
+ocean&mdash;told the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb246" href="#pb246"
+name="pb246">246</a>]</span>king&mdash;for she knew the whole
+history&mdash;how his seventh queen had been persuaded by the other six
+queens to ring the bell twice before her time, how she was delivered of
+a beautiful boy and girl, how pups were substituted in their room, how
+the twins were saved in a miraculous manner in the house of the potter,
+how they were well treated in the bazaar, and how the youth with the
+moon on his forehead rescued her from the clutches of the Rakshasas.
+The king, mightily incensed with the six queens, had them, on the
+following day, buried alive in the ground. The seventh queen was then
+brought from the market-place and reinstated in her position; and the
+youth with the moon on his forehead, and the lovely Pushpavati and
+their sister, lived happily together.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb247" href="#pb247" name=
+"pb247">247</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3085" href="#xd19e3085src" name="xd19e3085">1</a></span>
+<i>Calotropis gigantea.</i></p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3103" href="#xd19e3103src" name="xd19e3103">2</a></span>
+Literally the <i>king of birds</i>, a fabulous species of horse
+remarkable for their swiftness.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3124" href="#xd19e3124src" name="xd19e3124">3</a></span> <i>Arum
+fornicatum.</i></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch20" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XX</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a barber who had a wife.
+They did not live happily together, as the wife always complained that
+she had not enough to eat. Many were the curtain lectures which were
+inflicted upon the poor barber. The wife used often to say to her mate,
+&ldquo;If you had not the means to support a wife, why did you marry
+me? People who have not means ought not to indulge in the luxury of a
+wife. When I was in my father&rsquo;s house I had plenty to eat, but it
+seems that I have come to your house to fast. Widows only fast; I have
+become a widow in your life-time.&rdquo; She was not content with mere
+words; she got very angry one day and struck her husband with the
+broomstick of the house. Stung with shame, and abhorring himself on
+account of his wife&rsquo;s reproach and beating, he left his house,
+with the implements of his craft, and vowed never to return and see his
+wife&rsquo;s face again till he had become rich. He went from village
+to village, <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb248" href="#pb248" name=
+"pb248">248</a>]</span>and towards nightfall came to the outskirts of a
+forest. He laid himself down at the foot of a tree, and spent many a
+sad hour in bemoaning his hard lot.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e3200width" id="p248"><img src="images/p248.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;&lsquo;Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will protect you?&rsquo;&rdquo;"
+width="508" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;&lsquo;Now, barber, I am going to destroy
+you. Who will protect you?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>It so chanced that the tree, at the foot of which the barber was
+lying down, was dwelt in by a ghost. The ghost seeing a human being at
+the foot of the tree naturally thought of destroying him. With this
+intention the ghost alighted from the tree, and, with outspread arms
+and a gaping mouth, stood like a tall palmyra tree before the barber,
+and said, &ldquo;Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will
+protect you?&rdquo; The barber, though quaking in every limb through
+fear, and his hair standing erect, did not lose his presence of mind,
+but, with that promptitude and shrewdness which are characteristic of
+his fraternity, replied, &ldquo;O spirit, you will destroy me! wait a
+bit and I&rsquo;ll show you how many ghosts I have captured this very
+night and put into my bag; and right glad am I to find you here, as I
+shall have one more ghost in my bag.&rdquo; So saying the barber
+produced from his bag a small looking-glass, which he always carried
+about with him along with his razors, his whet-stone, his strop and
+other utensils, to enable his customers to see whether their beards had
+been well shaved or not. He stood up, placed the looking-glass right
+against the face of the ghost, and said, &ldquo;Here you see one ghost
+which I have seized and bagged; I am going to put you also in the bag
+to keep this ghost company.&rdquo; The ghost, seeing his own face in
+the <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb249" href="#pb249" name=
+"pb249">249</a>]</span>looking-glass, was convinced of the truth of
+what the barber had said, and was filled with fear. He said to the
+barber, &ldquo;O, sir barber, I&rsquo;ll do whatever you bid me, only
+do not put me into your bag. I&rsquo;ll give you whatever you
+want.&rdquo; The barber said, &ldquo;You ghosts are a faithless set,
+there is no trusting you. You will promise, and not give what you
+promise.&rdquo; &ldquo;O, sir,&rdquo; replied the ghost, &ldquo;be
+merciful to me; I&rsquo;ll bring to you whatever you order; and if I do
+not bring it, then put me into your bag.&rdquo; &ldquo;Very
+well,&rdquo; said the barber, &ldquo;bring me just now one thousand
+gold mohurs; and by to-morrow night you must raise a granary in my
+house, and fill it with paddy. Go and get the gold mohurs immediately:
+and if you fail to do my bidding you will certainly be put into my
+bag.&rdquo; The ghost gladly consented to the conditions. He went away,
+and in the course of a short time returned with a bag containing a
+thousand gold mohurs. The barber was delighted beyond measure at the
+sight of the gold mohurs. He then told the ghost to see to it that by
+the following night a granary was erected in his house and filled with
+paddy.</p>
+<p>It was during the small hours of the morning that the barber, loaded
+with the heavy treasure, knocked at the door of his house. His wife,
+who reproached herself for having in a fit of rage struck her husband
+with a broomstick, got out of bed and unbolted the door. Her surprise
+was great when she saw her husband pour out of the bag a glittering
+heap of gold mohurs. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb250" href="#pb250"
+name="pb250">250</a>]</span></p>
+<p>The next night the poor devil, through fear of being bagged, raised
+a large granary in the barber&rsquo;s house, and spent the live-long
+night in carrying on his back large packages of paddy till the granary
+was filled up to the brim. The uncle of this terrified ghost, seeing
+his worthy nephew carrying on his back loads of paddy, asked what the
+matter was. The ghost related what had happened. The uncle-ghost then
+said, &ldquo;You fool, you think the barber can bag you! The barber is
+a cunning fellow; he has cheated you, like a simpleton as you
+are.&rdquo; &ldquo;You doubt,&rdquo; said the nephew-ghost, &ldquo;the
+power of the barber! come and see.&rdquo; The uncle-ghost then went to
+the barber&rsquo;s house, and peeped into it through a window. The
+barber, perceiving from the blast of wind which the arrival of the
+ghost had produced that a ghost was at the window, placed full before
+it the self-same looking-glass, saying, &ldquo;Come now, I&rsquo;ll put
+you also into the bag.&rdquo; The uncle-ghost, seeing his own face in
+the looking-glass, got quite frightened, and promised that very night
+to raise another granary and to fill it, not this time with paddy, but
+with rice. So in two nights the barber became a rich man, and lived
+happily with his wife begetting sons and daughters.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb251" href="#pb251" name=
+"pb251">251</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch21" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XXI</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Field of Bones</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">Once on a time there lived a king who had a son. The
+young prince had three friends, the son of the prime minister, the son
+of the prefect of the police, and the son of the richest merchant of
+the city. These four friends had great love for one another. Once on a
+time they bethought themselves of seeing distant lands. They
+accordingly set out one day, each one riding on a horse. They rode on
+and on, till about noon they came to the outskirts of what seemed to be
+a dense forest. There they rested a while, tying to the trees their
+horses, which began to browse. When they had refreshed themselves, they
+again mounted their horses and resumed their journey. At sunset they
+saw in the depths of the forest a temple, near which they dismounted,
+wishing to lodge there that night. Inside the temple there was a
+<i>sannyasi</i>,<a class="noteref" id="xd19e3229src" href="#xd19e3229"
+name="xd19e3229src">1</a> apparently absorbed in meditation, as he did
+not notice the four friends. When darkness covered the forest, a light
+was seen inside the temple. The four friends <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb252" href="#pb252" name=
+"pb252">252</a>]</span>resolved to pass the night on the balcony of the
+temple; and as the forest was infested with many wild beasts, they
+deemed it safe that each of them should watch one
+<i>prahara</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3236src" href="#xd19e3236"
+name="xd19e3236src">2</a> of the night, while the rest should sleep. It
+fell to the lot of the merchant&rsquo;s son to watch during the first
+<i>prahara</i>, that is to say, from six in the evening to nine
+o&rsquo;clock at night. Towards the end of his watch the
+merchant&rsquo;s son saw a wonderful sight. The hermit took up a bone
+with his hand, and repeated over it some words which the
+merchant&rsquo;s son distinctly heard. The moment the words were
+uttered, a clattering sound was heard in the precincts of the temple,
+and the merchant&rsquo;s son saw many bones moving from different parts
+of the forest. The bones collected themselves inside the temple, at the
+foot of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. As soon as this took
+place, the watch of the merchant&rsquo;s son came to an end; and,
+rousing the son of the prefect of the police, he laid himself down to
+sleep.</p>
+<p>The prefect&rsquo;s son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit
+sitting cross-legged, wrapped in meditation, near a heap of bones, the
+history of which he, of course, did not know. For a long time nothing
+happened. The dead stillness of the night was broken only by the howl
+of the hy&aelig;na and the wolf, and the growl of the tiger. When his
+time was nearly up he saw a wonderful sight. The hermit looked at the
+heap of bones lying before him, and uttered some words which the
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb253" href="#pb253" name=
+"pb253">253</a>]</span>prefect&rsquo;s son distinctly heard. No sooner
+had the words been uttered than a noise was heard among the bones,
+&ldquo;and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to its
+bone&rdquo;; and the bones which were erewhile lying together in a heap
+now took the form of a skeleton. Struck with wonder, the
+prefect&rsquo;s son would have watched longer, but his time was over.
+He therefore laid himself down to sleep, after rousing the
+minister&rsquo;s son, to whom, however, he told nothing of what he had
+seen, as the merchant&rsquo;s son had not told him anything of what he
+had seen.</p>
+<p>The minister&rsquo;s son got up, rubbed his eyes, and began
+watching. It was the dead hour of midnight, when ghosts, hobgoblins,
+and spirits of every name and description, go roaming over the wide
+world, and when all creation, both animate and inanimate, is in deep
+repose. Even the howl of the wolf and the hy&aelig;na and the growl of
+the tiger had ceased. The minister&rsquo;s son looked towards the
+temple, and saw the hermit sitting wrapt up in meditation; and near him
+lying something which seemed to be the skeleton of some animal. He
+looked towards the dense forest and the darkness all around, and his
+hair stood on end through terror. In this state of fear and trembling
+he spent nearly three hours, when an uncommon sight in the temple
+attracted his notice. The hermit, looking at the skeleton before him,
+uttered some words which the minister&rsquo;s son distinctly heard. As
+soon as the words were uttered, &ldquo;lo, the sinews and the flesh
+came up upon the bones, and the skin <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb254" href="#pb254" name="pb254">254</a>]</span>covered them
+above&rdquo;; but there was no breath in the skeleton. Astonished at
+the sight, the minister&rsquo;s son would have sat up longer, but his
+time was up. He therefore laid himself down to sleep, after having
+roused the king&rsquo;s son, to whom, however, he said nothing of what
+he had seen and heard.</p>
+<p>The king&rsquo;s son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit
+sitting, completely absorbed in devotion, near a figure which looked
+like some animal, but he was not a little surprised to see the animal
+lying apparently lifeless, without showing any of the symptoms of life.
+The prince spent his hours agreeably enough, especially as he had had a
+long sleep, and as he felt none of that depression which the dead hour
+of midnight sheds on the spirits; and he amused himself with marking
+how the shades of darkness were becoming thinner and paler every
+moment. But just as he noticed a red streak in the east, he heard a
+sound from inside the temple. He turned his eyes towards the hermit.
+The hermit, looking towards the inanimate figure of the animal lying
+before him, uttered some words which the prince distinctly heard. The
+moment the words were spoken, &ldquo;breath came into the animal; it
+lived, it stood up upon its feet&rdquo;; and quickly rushed out of the
+temple into the forest. That moment the crows cawed; the watch of the
+prince came to an end; his three companions were roused; and after a
+short time they mounted their horses, and resumed their journey, each
+one thinking of the strange sight seen in the temple. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb255" href="#pb255" name="pb255">255</a>]</span></p>
+<p>They rode on and on through the dense and interminable forest, and
+hardly spoke to one another, till about mid-day they halted under a
+tree near a pool for refreshment. After they had refreshed themselves
+with eating some fruits of the forest and drinking water from the pool,
+the prince said to his three companions, &ldquo;Friends, did you not
+see something in the temple of the devotee? I&rsquo;ll tell you what I
+saw, but first let me hear what you all saw. Let the merchant&rsquo;s
+son first tell us what he saw as he had the first watch; and the others
+will follow in order.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>Merchant&rsquo;s son.</i> I&rsquo;ll tell you what I saw. I saw
+the hermit take up a bone in his hand, and repeat some words which I
+well remember. The moment those words were uttered, a clattering sound
+was heard in the precincts of the temple, and I saw many bones running
+into the temple from different directions. The bones collected
+themselves together inside the temple at the feet of the hermit, and
+lay there in a heap. I would have gladly remained longer to see the
+end, but my time was up, and I had to rouse my friend, the son of the
+prefect of the police.</p>
+<p><i>Prefect&rsquo;s son.</i> Friends, this is what I saw. The hermit
+looked at the heap of bones lying before him, and uttered some words
+which I well remember. No sooner had the words been uttered than I
+heard a noise among the bones, and, strange to say, the bones jumped
+up, each bone joined itself to its fellow, and the heap became a
+perfect skeleton. At that moment my watch came to an end, and I
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb256" href="#pb256" name=
+"pb256">256</a>]</span>had to rouse my respected friend the
+minister&rsquo;s son.</p>
+<p><i>Minister&rsquo;s son.</i> Well, when I began my watch I saw the
+said skeleton lying near the hermit. After three mortal hours, during
+which I was in great fear, I saw the hermit lift his eyes towards the
+skeleton and utter some words which I well remember. As soon as the
+words were uttered the skeleton was covered with flesh and hair, but it
+did not show any symptom of life, as it lay motionless. Just then my
+watch ended, and I had to rouse my royal friend the prince.</p>
+<p><i>King&rsquo;s son.</i> Friends, from what you yourselves saw, you
+can guess what I saw. I saw the hermit turn towards the skeleton
+covered with skin and hair, and repeat some words which I well
+remember. The moment the words were uttered, the skeleton stood up on
+its feet, and it looked a fine and lusty deer, and while I was admiring
+its beauty, it skipped out of the temple, and ran into the forest. That
+moment the crows cawed.</p>
+<p>The four friends, after hearing one another&rsquo;s story,
+congratulated themselves on the possession of supernatural power, and
+they did not doubt but that if they pronounced the words which they had
+heard the hermit utter, the utterance would be followed by the same
+results. But they resolved to verify their power by an actual
+experiment. Near the foot of the tree they found a bone lying on the
+ground, and they accordingly resolved to experiment upon it. The
+merchant&rsquo;s son took up the bone, and repeated over it the formula
+he had <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb257" href="#pb257" name=
+"pb257">257</a>]</span>heard from the hermit. Wonderful to relate, a
+hundred bones immediately came rushing from different directions, and
+lay in a heap at the foot of the tree. The son of the prefect of the
+police then looking upon the heap of bones, repeated the formula which
+he had heard from the hermit, and forthwith there was a shaking among
+the bones; the several bones joined themselves together, and formed
+themselves into a skeleton, and it was the skeleton of a quadruped. The
+minister&rsquo;s son then drew near the skeleton, and, looking intently
+upon it, pronounced over it the formula which he had heard from the
+hermit. The skeleton immediately was covered with flesh, skin, and
+hair, and, horrible to relate, the animal proved itself to be a royal
+tiger of the largest size. The four friends were filled with
+consternation. If the king&rsquo;s son were, by the repetition of the
+formula he had heard from the hermit, to make the beast alive, it might
+prove fatal to them all. The three friends, therefore, tried to
+dissuade the prince from giving life to the tiger. But the prince would
+not comply with the request. He naturally said, &ldquo;The
+<i>mantras</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3280src" href="#xd19e3280"
+name="xd19e3280src">3</a> which you have learned have been proved true
+and efficacious. But how shall I know that the <i>mantra</i> which I
+have learned is equally efficacious? I must have my <i>mantra</i>
+verified. Nor is it certain that we shall lose our lives by the
+experiment. Here is this high tree. You can climb into its topmost
+branches, and I shall also follow you thither after pronouncing the
+<i>mantra</i>.&rdquo; In vain <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb258"
+href="#pb258" name="pb258">258</a>]</span>did the three friends dwell
+upon the extreme danger attending the experiment: the prince remained
+inexorable. The minister&rsquo;s son, the prefect&rsquo;s son, and the
+merchant&rsquo;s son climbed up into the topmost branches of the tree,
+while the king&rsquo;s son went up to the middle of the tree. From
+there, looking intently upon the lifeless tiger, he pronounced the
+words which he had learned from the hermit, and quickly ran up the
+tree. In the twinkling of an eye the tiger stood upright, gave out a
+terrible growl, with a tremendous spring killed all the four horses
+which were browsing at a little distance, and, dragging one of them,
+rushed towards the densest part of the forest. The four friends
+ensconced on the branches of the tree were almost petrified with fear
+at the sight of the terrible tiger; but the danger was now over. The
+tiger went off at a great distance from them, and from its growl they
+judged that it must be at least two miles distance from them. After a
+little they came down from the tree; and as they now had no horses on
+which to ride, they walked on foot through the forest, till, coming to
+its end, they reached the shore of the sea. They sat on the sea-shore
+hoping to see some ship sailing by. They had not sat long, when
+fortunately they descried a vessel in the offing. They waved their
+handkerchiefs, and made all sorts of signs to attract the notice of the
+people on board the ship. The captain and the crew noticed the men on
+the shore. They came towards the shore, took the men upon board, but
+added that as they were short of <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb259"
+href="#pb259" name="pb259">259</a>]</span>provisions they could not
+have them a long time on board, but would put them ashore at the first
+port they came to. After four or five days&rsquo; voyage, they saw not
+far from the shore high buildings and turrets, and supposing the place
+to be a large city, the four friends landed there.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e3298width" id="p259"><img src="images/p259.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;They approached a magnificent pile of buildings&rdquo;"
+width="495" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;They approached a magnificent pile of
+buildings&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>The four friends, immediately after landing, walked along a long
+avenue of stately trees, at the end of which was a bazaar. There were
+hundreds of shops in the bazaar, but not a single human being in them.
+There were sweetmeat shops in which there were heaps of confectioneries
+ranged in regular rows, but no human beings to sell them. There was the
+blacksmith&rsquo;s shop, there was the anvil, there were the bellows
+and the other tools of the smithy, but there was no smith there. There
+were stalls in which there were heaps of faded and dried vegetables,
+but no men or women to sell them. The streets were all deserted, no
+human beings, no cattle were to be seen there. There were carts, but no
+bullocks; there were carriages, but no horses. The doors and windows of
+the houses of the city on both sides of the streets were all open, but
+no human being was visible in them. It seemed to be a deserted city. It
+seemed to be a city of the dead&mdash;and all the dead taken out and
+buried. The four friends were astonished&mdash;they were frightened at
+the sight. As they went on, they approached a magnificent pile of
+buildings, which seemed to be the palace of a king. They went to the
+gate and to the porter&rsquo;s lodge. They saw shields, swords, spears,
+and other weapons suspended <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb260" href=
+"#pb260" name="pb260">260</a>]</span>in the lodge, but no porters. They
+entered the premises, but saw no guards, no human beings. They went to
+the stables, saw the troughs, grain, and grass lying about in
+profusion, but no horses. They went inside the palace, passed the long
+corridors&mdash;still no human being was visible. They went through six
+long courts&mdash;still no human being. They entered the seventh court,
+and there and then, for the first time, did they see living human
+beings. They saw coming towards them four princesses of matchless
+beauty. Each of these four princesses caught hold of the arm of each of
+the four friends; and each princess called each man whom she had caught
+hold of her husband. The princesses said that they had been long
+waiting for the four friends, and expressed great joy at their arrival.
+The princesses took the four friends into the innermost apartments, and
+gave them a sumptuous feast. There were no servants attending them, the
+princesses themselves bringing in the provisions and setting them
+before the four friends. At the outset the four princesses told the
+four friends that no questions were to be asked about the depopulation
+of the city. After this, each princess went into her private apartment
+along with her newly-found husband. Shortly after the prince and
+princess had retired into their private apartment, the princess began
+to shed tears. On the prince inquiring into the cause, the princess
+said, &ldquo;O prince! I pity you very much. You seem, by your bearing,
+to be the son of a king, and you have, no doubt, the heart of a
+king&rsquo;s <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb261" href="#pb261" name=
+"pb261">261</a>]</span>son; I will therefore tell you my whole story,
+and the story of my three companions who look like princesses. I am the
+daughter of a king, whose palace this is, and those three creatures,
+who are dressed like princesses, and who have called your three friends
+their husbands, are Rakshasis. They came to this city some time ago;
+they ate up my father, the king, my mother, the queen, my brothers, my
+sisters, of whom I had a large number. They ate up the king&rsquo;s
+ministers and servants. They ate up gradually all the people of the
+city, all my father&rsquo;s horses and elephants, and all the cattle of
+the city. You must have noticed, as you came to the palace, that there
+are no human beings, no cattle, no living thing in this city. They have
+all been eaten up by those three Rakshasis. They have spared me
+alone&mdash;and that, I suppose, only for a time. When the Rakshasis
+saw you and your friends from a distance, they were very glad, as they
+mean to eat you all up after a short time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><i>King&rsquo;s son.</i> But if this is the case, how do I know that
+you are not a Rakshasi yourself? Perhaps you mean to swallow me up by
+throwing me off my guard.</p>
+<p><i>Princess.</i> I&rsquo;ll mention one fact which proves that those
+three creatures are Rakshasis, while I am not. Rakshasis, you know, eat
+food a hundred times larger in quantity than men or women. What the
+Rakshasis eat at table along with us is not sufficient to appease their
+hunger. They therefore go out at night to distant lands in search
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb262" href="#pb262" name=
+"pb262">262</a>]</span>of men or cattle, as there are none in this
+city. If you ask your friends to watch and see whether their wives
+remain all night in their beds, they will find they go out and stay
+away a good part of the night, whereas you will find me the whole night
+with you. But please see that the Rakshasis do not get the slightest
+inkling of all this; for if they hear of it, they will kill me in the
+first instance, and afterwards swallow you all up.</p>
+<p>The next day the king&rsquo;s son called together the
+minister&rsquo;s son, the prefect&rsquo;s son, and the merchant&rsquo;s
+son, and held a consultation, enjoining the strictest secrecy on all.
+He told them what he had heard from the princess, and requested them to
+lie awake in their beds to watch whether their pretended princesses
+went out at night or not. One presumptive argument in favour of the
+assertion of the princess was that all the pretended princesses were
+fast asleep during the whole of the day in consequence of their nightly
+wanderings, whereas the female friend of the king&rsquo;s son did not
+sleep at all during the day. The three friends accordingly lay in their
+beds at night pretending to be asleep and manifesting all the symptoms
+of deep sleep. Each one observed that his female friend at a certain
+hour, thinking her mate to be in deep sleep, left the room, stayed away
+the whole night, and returned to her bed only at dawn. During the
+following day each female friend slept out nearly the whole day, and
+woke up only in the afternoon. For two nights and days the three
+friends observed this. The king&rsquo;s son also <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb263" href="#pb263" name=
+"pb263">263</a>]</span>remained awake at night pretending to be asleep,
+but the princess was not observed for a single moment to leave the
+room, nor was she observed to sleep in the day. From these
+circumstances the friends of the king&rsquo;s son began to suspect that
+their partners were really Rakshasis as the princess said they
+were.</p>
+<p>By way of confirmation the princess also told the king&rsquo;s son,
+that the Rakshasis, after eating the flesh of men and animals, threw
+the bones towards the north of the city, where there was an immense
+collection of them. The king&rsquo;s son and his three friends went one
+day towards that part of the city, and sure enough they saw there
+immense heaps of the bones of men and animals piled up into hills. From
+this they became more and more convinced that the three women were
+Rakshasis in deed and truth.</p>
+<p>The question now was how to run away from these devourers of men and
+animals? There was one circumstance greatly in favour of the four
+friends, and that was, that the three Rakshasis slept during nearly the
+whole day; they had therefore the greater part of the day for the
+maturing of their plans. The princess advised them to go towards the
+sea-shore, and watch if any ships sailed that way. The four friends
+accordingly used to go to the sea-shore looking for ships. They were
+always accompanied by the princess, who took the precaution of carrying
+with her in a bundle her most valuable jewels, pearls and precious
+stones. It happened one day that they <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb264" href="#pb264" name="pb264">264</a>]</span>saw a ship passing at
+a great distance from the shore. They made signs which attracted the
+notice of the captain and crew. The ship came towards the land, and the
+four friends and princess were, after much entreaty, taken up. The
+princess exhorted the crew to row with all their might, for which she
+promised them a handsome reward; for she knew that the Rakshasis would
+awake in the afternoon, and immediately come after the ship; and they
+would assuredly catch hold of the vessel and destroy all the crew and
+passengers if it stood short of eighty miles from land, for the
+Rakshasis had the power of distending their bodies to the length of ten
+<i>Yojanas</i>.<a class="noteref" id="xd19e3331src" href="#xd19e3331"
+name="xd19e3331src">4</a> The four friends and the princess cheered on
+the crew, and the oarsmen rowed with all their might; and the ship,
+favoured by the wind, shot over the deep like lightning. It was near
+sun-down when a terrible yell was heard on the shore. The Rakshasis had
+wakened from their sleep, and not finding either the four friends or
+the princess, naturally thought they had got hold of a ship and were
+escaping. They therefore ran along the shore with lightning rapidity,
+and seeing the ship afar off they distended their bodies. But
+fortunately the vessel was more than eighty miles off land, though only
+a trifle more: indeed, the ship was so dangerously near that the heads
+of the Rakshasis with their widely-distended jaws almost touched its
+stern. The words which the Rakshasis uttered in the hearing of the crew
+and passengers were&mdash;&ldquo;O sister, so <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb265" href="#pb265" name="pb265">265</a>]</span>you
+are going to eat them all yourself alone.&rdquo; The minister&rsquo;s
+son, the prefect&rsquo;s son, and the merchant&rsquo;s son had all
+along a suspicion that the pretended princess, the prince&rsquo;s
+partner, might after all also be a Rakshasi; that suspicion was now
+confirmed by what they heard the three Rakshasis say. Those words,
+however, produced no effect in the mind of the king&rsquo;s son, as
+from his intimate acquaintance with the princess he could not possibly
+take her to be a Rakshasi.</p>
+<p>The captain told the four friends and princess that as he was bound
+for distant regions in search of gold mines, he could not take them
+along with him; he, therefore, proposed that on the next day he should
+put them ashore near some port, especially as they were now safe from
+the clutches of the Rakshasis. On the following day no port was visible
+for a long time; towards the evening, however, they came near a port
+where the four friends and the princess were landed. After walking some
+distance, the princess, who had never been accustomed to take long
+walks, complained of fatigue and hunger; they all therefore sat under a
+tree, and the king&rsquo;s son sent the merchant&rsquo;s son to buy
+some sweetmeats in the bazaar which they heard was not far off. The
+merchant&rsquo;s son did not return, as he was fully persuaded in his
+mind that the king&rsquo;s son&rsquo;s partner was as real a Rakshasi
+as the three others from whose clutches he had escaped. Seeing the
+delay of the merchant&rsquo;s son, the king&rsquo;s son sent the
+prefect&rsquo;s son after him; but neither did he return, he being also
+convinced that <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb266" href="#pb266" name=
+"pb266">266</a>]</span>the pretended princess was a Rakshasi. The
+minister&rsquo;s son was next sent; but he also joined the other two.
+The king&rsquo;s son then himself went to the shop of the sweetmeat
+seller where he met his three friends, who made him remain with them by
+main force, earnestly declaring that the woman was no princess, but a
+real Rakshasi like the other three. Thus the princess was deserted by
+the four friends who returned to their own country, full of the
+adventures they had met with.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e3344width" id="p266"><img src="images/p266.jpg"
+alt="&ldquo;Thus the princess was deserted&rdquo;" width="506" height=
+"720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;Thus the princess was deserted&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>In the meantime the princess walked to the bazaar and found shelter
+for a few days in the house of a poor woman, after which she set out
+for the city of the four friends, the name and whereabouts of which
+city she had learnt from the king&rsquo;s son. On arriving at the city,
+she sold some of her costly ornaments, pearls and precious stones, and
+hired a stately house for her residence with a suitable establishment.
+She caused herself to be proclaimed as a heaven-born dice-player, and
+challenged all the players in the city to play, the conditions of the
+game being that if she lost it she would give the winner a
+<i>lakh</i><a class="noteref" id="xd19e3352src" href="#xd19e3352" name=
+"xd19e3352src">5</a> of rupees, and if she won it she should get a
+<i>lakh</i> from him who lost the game. She also got authority from the
+king of the country to imprison in her own house any one who could not
+pay her the stipulated sum of money. The merchant&rsquo;s son, the
+prefect&rsquo;s son, and the minister&rsquo;s son, who all looked upon
+themselves as miraculous players, played with the princess, paid her
+many <i>lakhs</i>, but being unable to <span class="pagenum">[<a id=
+"pb267" href="#pb267" name="pb267">267</a>]</span>pay her all the sums
+they owed her, were imprisoned in her house. At last the king&rsquo;s
+son offered to play with her. The princess purposely allowed him to win
+the first game, which emboldened him to play many times, in all of
+which he was the loser; and being unable to pay the many <i>lakhs</i>
+owing her, the prince was about to be dragged into the dungeon, when
+the princess told him who she was. The merchant&rsquo;s son, the
+prefect&rsquo;s son, and the minister&rsquo;s son were brought out of
+their cells; and the joy of the four friends knew no bounds. The king
+and the queen received their daughter-in-law with open arms, and with
+demonstrations of great festivity.</p>
+<p>Every one in the palace was glad except the princess. She could not
+forget that her parents, her brothers and sisters had been devoured by
+the Rakshasis, and that their bones, along with the bones of her
+father&rsquo;s subjects, stood in mountain heaps on the north side of
+the capital. The prince had told her that he and his three friends had
+the power of giving life to bones. They could then reconstruct the
+frames of her parents and other relatives; but the difficulty lay in
+this&mdash;how to kill the three Rakshasis. Could not the hermit, who
+taught them to give life, not teach also how to take away life? In all
+likelihood he could. Reasoning in this manner, the four friends and the
+princess went to the temple of the hermit in the forest, prayed to him
+to give them the secret of destroying life from a distance by a charm.
+The hermit became propitious, and granted the boon. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb268" href="#pb268" name="pb268">268</a>]</span>A
+deer was passing by at the moment. The hermit took a handful of water,
+repeated over it some words which the king&rsquo;s son distinctly
+heard, and threw it upon the deer. The deer died in a moment. He
+repeated other words over the dead animal, the deer jumped up and ran
+away into the forest.</p>
+<p>Armed with this killing charm, the king&rsquo;s son, together with
+the princess and the three friends, went to his father-in-law&rsquo;s
+capital. As they approached the city of death, the three Rakshasis ran
+furiously towards them with open jaws. The king&rsquo;s son spilled
+charmed water upon them, and they died in an instant. They all then
+went to the heaps of bones. The merchant&rsquo;s son brought together
+the proper bones of the bodies, the prefect&rsquo;s son constructed
+them into skeletons, the minister&rsquo;s son clothed them with sinews,
+flesh, and skin, and the king&rsquo;s son gave them life. The princess
+was entranced at the sight of the re-animation of her parents and other
+relatives, and her eyes were filled with tears of joy. After a few days
+which they spent in great festivity, they left the revivified city,
+went to their own country, and lived many years in great happiness.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.</p>
+</div>
+<p><span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb269" href="#pb269" name=
+"pb269">269</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+<div class="footnotes">
+<hr class="fnsep">
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3229" href="#xd19e3229src" name="xd19e3229">1</a></span>
+Religious devotee.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3236" href="#xd19e3236src" name="xd19e3236">2</a></span> Eighth
+part of twenty-four hours, that is, three hours.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3280" href="#xd19e3280src" name="xd19e3280">3</a></span> Charm or
+incantation.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3331" href="#xd19e3331src" name="xd19e3331">4</a></span> A
+<i>yojana</i> is nearly eight miles.</p>
+<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><a class="noteref" id=
+"xd19e3352" href="#xd19e3352src" name="xd19e3352">5</a></span> Ten
+thousand pounds sterling.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div id="ch22" class="div1 contents"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divHead">
+<h2 class="label">XXII</h2>
+<h2 class="main">The Bald Wife</h2>
+</div>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">A certain man had two wives, the younger of whom he
+loved more than the elder. The younger wife had two tufts of hair on
+her head, and the elder only one. The man went to a distant town for
+merchandise; so the two wives lived together in the house. But they
+hated each other: the younger one, who was her husband&rsquo;s
+favourite, ill-treated the other. She made her do all the menial work
+in the house; rebuked her all day and night; and did not give her
+enough to eat. One day the younger wife said to the elder, &ldquo;Come
+and take away all the lice from the hair of my head.&rdquo; While the
+elder wife was searching among the younger one&rsquo;s hair for the
+vermin, one lock of hair by chance gave way; on which the younger one,
+mightily incensed, tore off the single tuft that was on the head of the
+elder wife, and drove her away from the house. The elder wife, now
+become completely bald, determined to go into the forest, and there
+either die of starvation or be devoured by some wild beast. On her way
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb270" href="#pb270" name=
+"pb270">270</a>]</span>she passed by a cotton plant. She stopped near
+it, made for herself a broom with some sticks which lay about, and
+swept clean the ground round about the plant. The plant was much
+pleased, and gave her a blessing. She wended on her way, and now saw a
+plantain tree. She swept the ground round about the plantain tree
+which, being pleased with her, gave her a blessing. As she went on she
+saw the shed of a Brahmani bull. As the shed was very dirty, she swept
+the place clean, on which the bull, being much pleased, blessed her.
+She next saw a <i>tulasi</i> plant, bowed herself down before it, and
+cleaned the place round about, on which the plant gave her a blessing.
+As she was going on in her journey she saw a hut made of branches of
+trees and leaves, and near it a man sitting cross-legged, apparently
+absorbed in meditation. She stood for a moment behind the venerable
+<i>muni</i>. &ldquo;Whoever you may be,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;come
+before me; do not stand behind me; if you do, I will reduce you to
+ashes.&rdquo; The woman, trembling with fear, stood before the
+<i>muni</i>. &ldquo;What is your petition?&rdquo; asked the
+<i>muni</i>. &ldquo;Father Muni,&rdquo; answered the woman, &ldquo;thou
+knowest how miserable I am, since thou art all-knowing. My husband does
+not love me, and his other wife, having torn off the only tuft of hair
+on my head, has driven me away from the house. Have pity upon me,
+Father Muni!&rdquo; The <i>muni</i>, continuing sitting, said,
+&ldquo;Go into the tank which you see yonder. Plunge into the water
+only once, and then come to me again.&rdquo; The woman went to the
+tank, washed in it, and <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb271" href=
+"#pb271" name="pb271">271</a>]</span>plunged into the water only once,
+according to the bidding of the <i>muni</i>. When she got out of the
+water, what a change was seen in her! Her head was full of jet black
+hair, which was so long that it touched her heels; her complexion had
+become perfectly fair; and she looked young and beautiful. Filled with
+joy and gratitude, she went to the <i>muni</i>, and bowed herself to
+the ground. The <i>muni</i> said to her, &ldquo;Rise, woman. Go inside
+the hut, and you will find a number of wicker baskets, and bring out
+any you like.&rdquo; The woman went into the hut, and selected a
+modest-looking basket. The <i>muni</i> said, &ldquo;Open the
+basket.&rdquo; She opened it, and found it filled with ingots of gold,
+pearls and all sorts of precious stones. The <i>muni</i> said,
+&ldquo;Woman, take that basket with you. It will never get empty. When
+you take away the present contents their room will be supplied by
+another set, and that by another, and that by another, and the basket
+will never become empty. Daughter, go in peace.&rdquo; The woman bowed
+herself down to the ground in profound but silent gratitude, and went
+away.</p>
+<div class="figure xd19e3423width" id="p271"><img src="images/p271.jpg"
+alt=
+"&ldquo;When she got out of the water, what a change was seen in her!&rdquo;"
+width="508" height="720">
+<p class="figureHead">&ldquo;When she got out of the water, what a
+change was seen in her!&rdquo;</p>
+</div>
+<p>As she was returning homewards with the basket in her hand, she
+passed by the <i>tulasi</i> plant whose bottom she had swept. The
+<i>tulasi</i> plant said to her, &ldquo;Go in peace, child! thy husband
+will love thee warmly.&rdquo; She next came to the shed of the Brahmani
+bull, who gave her two shell ornaments which were twined round its
+horns, saying, &ldquo;Daughter, take these shells, put them on
+<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb272" href="#pb272" name=
+"pb272">272</a>]</span>your wrists, and whenever you shake either of
+them you will get whatever ornaments you wish to obtain.&rdquo; She
+then came to the plantain tree, which gave her one of its broad leaves,
+saying, &ldquo;Take, child, this leaf; and when you move it you will
+get not only all sorts of delicious plantains, but all kinds of
+agreeable food.&rdquo; She came last of all to the cotton plant, which
+gave her one of its own branches, saying, &ldquo;Daughter, take this
+branch; and when you shake it you will get not only all sorts of cotton
+clothes, but also of silk and purple. Shake it now in my
+presence.&rdquo; She shook the branch, and a fabric of the finest
+glossy silk fell on her lap. She put on that silk cloth, and wended on
+her way with the shells on her wrists, and the basket and the branch
+and the leaf in her hands.</p>
+<p>The younger wife was standing at the door of her house, when she saw
+a beautiful woman approach her. She could scarcely believe her eyes.
+What a change! The old, bald hag turned into the very Queen of Beauty
+herself! The elder wife, now grown rich and beautiful, treated the
+younger wife with kindness. She gave her fine clothes, costly
+ornaments, and the richest viands. But all to no purpose. The younger
+wife envied the beauty and hair of her associate. Having heard that she
+got it all from Father Muni in the forest, she determined to go there.
+Accordingly she started on her journey. She saw the cotton plant, but
+did nothing to it; she passed <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb273"
+href="#pb273" name="pb273">273</a>]</span>by the plantain tree, the
+shed of the Brahmani bull, and the <i>tulasi</i> plant, without taking
+any notice of them. She approached the <i>muni</i>. The <i>muni</i>
+told her to bathe in the tank, and plunge only once into the water. She
+gave one plunge, at which she got a glorious head of hair and a
+beautifully fair complexion. She thought a second plunge would make her
+still more beautiful. Accordingly she plunged into the water again, and
+came out as bald and ugly as before. She came to the <i>muni</i>, and
+wept. The sage drove her away, saying, &ldquo;Be off, you disobedient
+woman. You will get no boon from me.&rdquo; She went back to her house
+mad with grief. The lord of the two women returned from his travels and
+was struck with the long locks and beauty of his first wife. He loved
+her dearly; and when he saw her secret and untold resources and her
+incredible wealth, he almost adored her. They lived together happily
+for many years, and had for their maid-servant the younger woman, who
+had been formerly his best beloved.</p>
+<div class="lgouter xd19e256">
+<p class="line">Here my story endeth,</p>
+<p class="line">The Natiya-thorn withereth;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost
+wither?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy cow on me browse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O cow, dost thou browse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy neat-herd not tend
+me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the
+cow?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me
+rice?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give
+rice?&rdquo;<span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb274" href="#pb274" name=
+"pb274">274</a>]</span></p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does my child cry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O child, dost thou cry?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why does the ant bite me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line hangqq">&ldquo;Why, O ant, dost thou bite?&rdquo;</p>
+<p class="line">Koot! koot! koot!</p>
+</div>
+<p class="trailer xd19e3484">The End</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="back">
+<div class="div1 imprint"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first xd19e130"><i>Printed by</i> <span class="sc">R. &amp;
+R. Clark, Limited</span>, <i>Edinburgh</i>. <span class=
+"pagenum">[<a id="pb275" href="#pb275" name="pb275">275</a>]</span></p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="div1 ads"><span class="pagenum">[<a href=
+"#toc">Contents</a>]</span>
+<div class="divBody">
+<p class="first">A Selection of Macmillan &amp; Co.&rsquo;s</p>
+<p>COLOUR BOOKS</p>
+<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook"
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35853">GREEN WILLOW AND OTHER
+JAPANESE FAIRY TALES</a>. By <span class="sc">Grace James</span>. With
+16 Illustrations in Colour by <span class="sc">Warwick Goble</span>.
+8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p>THE INGOLDSBY LEGENDS; <span class="sc">OR</span>, MIRTH AND
+MARVELS. With 16 Full-page Illustrations in Colour by <span class=
+"sc">H. G. Theaker</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook"
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11">ALICE&rsquo;S ADVENTURES IN
+WONDERLAND</a> and <a class="pglink xd19e43" title=
+"Link to Project Gutenberg ebook" href=
+"http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12">THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS AND WHAT
+ALICE FOUND THERE</a>. By <span class="sc">Lewis Carroll</span>. With
+92 Illustrations by <span class="sc">John Tenniel</span>, 16 being in
+Colour. 8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook"
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25564">THE WATER BABIES</a>. By
+<span class="sc">Charles Kingsley</span>. With 16 Illustrations in
+Colour by <span class="sc">Warwick Goble</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook"
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8934">THE FOREST LOVERS</a>. By
+<span class="sc">Maurice Hewlett</span>. With 16 Illustrations in
+Colour by <span class="sc">A. S. Hartrick</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook"
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/236">THE JUNGLE BOOK</a>. By
+<span class="sc">Rudyard Kipling</span>. With 16 Illustrations in
+Colour by <span class="sc">Maurice</span> and <span class="sc">Edward
+Detmold</span>. 8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p>THE BRUSHWOOD BOY. By <span class="sc">Rudyard Kipling</span>. With
+Coloured Illustrations by <span class="sc">F. H. Townsend</span>. 8vo.
+6s.</p>
+<p>THEY. By <span class="sc">Rudyard Kipling</span>. With Coloured
+Illustrations by <span class="sc">F. H. Townsend</span>. 8vo. 6s.</p>
+<p><a class="pglink xd19e43" title="Link to Project Gutenberg ebook"
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14526">THE LITTLE CITY OF
+HOPE</a>. A Christmas Story. By <span class="sc">F. Marion
+Crawford</span>. With Illustrations in Colour by <span class="sc">A. S.
+Hartrick</span>. 8vo. 5s. net. <span class="pagenum">[<a id="pb276"
+href="#pb276" name="pb276">276</a>]</span></p>
+<p>WHITE-EAR AND PETER: <span class="sc">The Story of a Fox and a Fox
+Terrier.</span> By <span class="sc">Neils Heiberg</span>. With 16
+Plates in Colour by <span class="sc">Cecil Aldin</span>. Pott 4to.</p>
+<p>THE COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF GEOFFREY CHAUCER. Now first put in
+modern English by <span class="sc">John S. P. Tatlock</span> and
+<span class="sc">Percy MacKaye</span>. With 32 Full-page Illustrations
+in Colour by <span class="sc">Warwick Goble</span>. Decorated Cloth.
+Crown 4to. 15s. net.</p>
+<p>STORIES FROM THE PENTAMERONE. By <span class="sc">Giambattista
+Basile</span>. Selected and Edited by <span class="sc">E. F.
+Strange</span>. With 32 Illustrations in Colour by <span class=
+"sc">Warwick Goble</span>. Crown 4to. 15s. net.</p>
+<p>OUR VILLAGE. By <span class="sc">Mary Russell Mitford</span>. With
+Introduction by <span class="sc">Anne Thackeray Ritchie</span>, 100
+Illustrations by <span class="sc">Hugh Thomson</span>, and 16 Plates in
+Colour from Drawings by <span class="sc">Alfred Rawlings</span>. Crown
+4to. 10s. 6d. net.</p>
+<p>THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF SELBORNE. By <span class=
+"sc">Gilbert White</span>. With 24 Illustrations in Colour by
+<span class="sc">G. E. Collins, R.B.A.</span> Crown 4to. 10s. 6d.
+net.</p>
+<p>IN LOTUS-LAND: JAPAN. By <span class="sc">Herbert G. Ponting,
+F.R.G.S.</span> With 8 Plates in Colour and 96 in Monochrome. Crown
+4to. 21s. net.</p>
+<p>CRANFORD. By Mrs. <span class="sc">Gaskell</span>. With a Preface by
+<span class="sc">Anne Thackeray Ritchie</span>, and Illustrations in
+Colour by <span class="sc">Hugh Thomson</span>. Crown 8vo. 5s. net.</p>
+<p class="xd19e130">MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class="sc">Ltd.</span>,
+LONDON.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="transcribernote">
+<h2 class="main">Colophon</h2>
+<h3 class="main">Availability</h3>
+<p class="first">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no
+cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give
+it away or re-use it under the terms of the <a class="exlink xd19e43"
+title="External link" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license" rel=
+"license">Project Gutenberg License</a> included with this eBook or
+online at <a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.gutenberg.org/" rel="home">www.gutenberg.org</a>.</p>
+<p>This eBook is produced by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+at <a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.pgdp.net/">www.pgdp.net</a>.</p>
+<p>Scans are available from the Internet Archive: 1883 edition
+(<a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024159604">1</a>, <a class=
+"exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesbengal00daygoog">2</a>);
+<a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofbenga019703mbp">1902
+edition</a>; Illustrated 1912 edition used for this eBook (<a class=
+"exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofbenga00dayl">1</a>,
+<a class="exlink xd19e43" title="External link" href=
+"http://www.archive.org/details/folktalesofbenga00dayluoft">2</a>).</p>
+<p>Related Open Library catalog page (for source): <a class="catlink"
+href="http://openlibrary.org/books/OL14008274M">OL14008274M</a>.</p>
+<p>Related Open Library catalog page (for work): <a class="catlink"
+href="http://openlibrary.org/works/OL44489W">OL44489W</a>.</p>
+<p>Related WorldCat catalog page: <a class="catlink" href=
+"http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1079657">1079657</a>.</p>
+<h3 class="main">Encoding</h3>
+<p class="first"></p>
+<h3 class="main">Revision History</h3>
+<ul>
+<li>2011-12-13 Started.</li>
+</ul>
+<h3 class="main">External References</h3>
+<p>This Project Gutenberg eBook contains external references. These
+links may not work for you.</p>
+<h3 class="main">Corrections</h3>
+<p>The following corrections have been applied to the text:</p>
+<table class="correctiontable" summary=
+"Overview of corrections applied to the text.">
+<tr>
+<th>Page</th>
+<th>Source</th>
+<th>Correction</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1584">62</a>,
+<a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1618">65</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">cowris</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">cowries</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1587">62</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">&lsquo;</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">&ldquo;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1879">94</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">his</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">her</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e1998">110</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">there</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">their</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="width20"><a class="pageref" href="#xd19e2046">117</a></td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">[<i>Not in source</i>]</td>
+<td class="width40 bottom">of</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day
+
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Folk-Tales of Bengal
+
+Author: Lal Behari Day
+
+Illustrator: Warwick Goble
+
+Release Date: January 3, 2012 [EBook #38488]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project
+Gutenberg. (This file was produced from images generously
+made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                          FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL
+
+                                 By the
+                          Rev. LAL BEHARI DAY
+
+                 Author of 'Bengal Peasant Life,' etc.
+
+                    With 32 illustrations in colour
+                            By Warwick Goble
+
+
+
+                       Macmillan and Co., Limited
+                      St. Martin's Street, London
+                                  1912
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                                   TO
+                         RICHARD CARNAC TEMPLE
+                      CAPTAIN, BENGAL STAFF CORPS
+                    F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S., M.A.I., ETC.
+                   WHO FIRST SUGGESTED TO THE WRITER
+                         THE IDEA OF COLLECTING
+                              THESE TALES
+                        AND WHO IS DOING SO MUCH
+                    IN THE CAUSE OF INDIAN FOLK-LORE
+                            THIS LITTLE BOOK
+                              IS INSCRIBED
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In my Peasant Life in Bengal I make the peasant boy Govinda spend
+some hours every evening in listening to stories told by an old woman,
+who was called Sambhu's mother, and who was the best story-teller in
+the village. On reading that passage, Captain R. C. Temple, of the
+Bengal Staff Corps, son of the distinguished Indian administrator
+Sir Richard Temple, wrote to me to say how interesting it would be to
+get a collection of those unwritten stories which old women in India
+recite to little children in the evenings, and to ask whether I could
+not make such a collection. As I was no stranger to the Maehrchen of
+the Brothers Grimm, to the Norse Tales so admirably told by Dasent,
+to Arnason's Icelandic Stories translated by Powell, to the Highland
+Stories done into English by Campbell, and to the fairy stories
+collected by other writers, and as I believed that the collection
+suggested would be a contribution, however slight, to that daily
+increasing literature of folk-lore and comparative mythology which,
+like comparative philosophy, proves that the swarthy and half-naked
+peasant on the banks of the Ganges is a cousin, albeit of the
+hundredth remove, to the fair-skinned and well-dressed Englishman
+on the banks of the Thames, I readily caught up the idea and cast
+about for materials. But where was an old story-telling woman to
+be got? I had myself, when a little boy, heard hundreds--it would
+be no exaggeration to say thousands--of fairy tales from that same
+old woman, Sambhu's mother--for she was no fictitious person; she
+actually lived in the flesh and bore that name; but I had nearly
+forgotten those stories, at any rate they had all got confused in
+my head, the tail of one story being joined to the head of another,
+and the head of a third to the tail of a fourth. How I wished that
+poor Sambhu's mother had been alive! But she had gone long, long ago,
+to that bourne from which no traveller returns, and her son Sambhu,
+too, had followed her thither. After a great deal of search I found
+my Gammer Grethel--though not half so old as the Frau Viehmaennin of
+Hesse-Cassel--in the person of a Bengali Christian woman, who, when
+a little girl and living in her heathen home, had heard many stories
+from her old grandmother. She was a good story-teller, but her stock
+was not large; and after I had heard ten from her I had to look about
+for fresh sources. An old Brahman told me two stories; an old barber,
+three; an old servant of mine told me two; and the rest I heard from
+another old Brahman. None of my authorities knew English; they all
+told the stories in Bengali, and I translated them into English when
+I came home. I heard many more stories than those contained in the
+following pages; but I rejected a great many, as they appeared to me
+to contain spurious additions to the original stories which I had
+heard when a boy. I have reason to believe that the stories given
+in this book are a genuine sample of the old old stories told by old
+Bengali women from age to age through a hundred generations.
+
+Sambhu's mother used always to end every one of her stories--and
+every orthodox Bengali story-teller does the same--with repeating
+the following formula:--
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth.
+           "Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost wither?"
+           "Why does thy cow on me browse?"
+           "Why, O cow, dost thou browse?"
+           "Why does thy neat-herd not tend me?"
+           "Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the cow?"
+           "Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me rice?"
+           "Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give rice?"
+           "Why does my child cry?"
+           "Why, O child, dost thou cry?"
+           "Why does the ant bite me?"
+           "Why, O ant, dost thou bite?"
+            Koot! koot! koot!
+
+
+What these lines mean, why they are repeated at the end of every
+story, and what the connection is of the several parts to one another,
+I do not know. Perhaps the whole is a string of nonsense purposely
+put together to amuse little children.
+
+
+Lal Behari Day.
+
+Hooghly College,
+
+February 27, 1883.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                               PAGE
+         1. Life's Secret                                         1
+         2. Phakir Chand                                         16
+         3. The Indigent Brahman                                 51
+         4. The Story of the Rakshasas                           61
+         5. The Story of Swet-Basanta                            89
+         6. The Evil Eye of Sani                                104
+         7. The Boy whom Seven Mothers suckled                  113
+         8. The Story of Prince Sobur                           119
+         9. The Origin of Opium                                 132
+        10. Strike but Hear                                     140
+        11. The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons     152
+        12. The Ghost-Brahman                                   173
+        13. The Man who wished to be Perfect                    178
+        14. A Ghostly Wife                                      188
+        15. The Story of a Brahmadaitya                         192
+        16. The Story of a Hiraman                              200
+        17. The Origin of Rubies                                211
+        18. The Match-making Jackal                             217
+        19. The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead               227
+        20. The Ghost who was Afraid of being Bagged            247
+        21. The Field of Bones                                  251
+        22. The Bald Wife                                       269
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                        Facing page
+
+        "She rushed out of the palace ... and came to the
+        upper world" (p. 26)                           Frontispiece
+        "The Suo queen went to the door with a handful
+        of rice"                                                  1
+        "The prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human
+        figure near the gate"                                     9
+        "She took up the jewel in her hand, left the palace,
+        and successfully reached the upper world"                22
+        "He rushed out of his hiding-place and killed the
+        serpent"                                                 43
+        "Instead of sweetmeats about a score of demons"          56
+        "At the door of which stood a lady of exquisite
+        beauty"                                                  62
+        "In a trice she woke up, sat up in her bed, and
+        eyeing the stranger, inquired who he was"                77
+        The Girl of the Wall-Almirah                             90
+        "On a sudden an elephant gorgeously caparisoned shot
+        across his path"                                         95
+        "They then set out on their journey"                    106
+        "A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the
+        palace"                                                 117
+        "Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous plumes came to the
+        embankments to eat the khai"                            123
+        "'You would adorn the palace of the mightiest
+        sovereign'"                                             138
+        "He saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace"     141
+        "'Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold
+        and these precious stones'"                             145
+        "They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them
+        the money and jewels"                                   162
+        "The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a
+        tree on the spot, and began smoking"                    170
+        "'How is it that you have returned so soon?'"           174
+        "At dawn he used to cull flowers in the forest"         181
+        "The Brahman's wife had occasion to go to the tank,
+        and as she went she brushed by a Sankchinni"            188
+        "The moment the first stroke was given, a great many
+        ghosts rushed towards the Brahman"                      194
+        "The lady, king, and hiraman all reached the king's
+        capital safe and sound"                                 210
+        "'What princess ever puts only one ruby in her
+        hair?'"                                                 214
+        "Coming up to the surface they climbed into the
+        boat"                                                   216
+        "The jackal ... opened his bundle of betel-leaves,
+        put some into his mouth, and began chewing them"        218
+        "A bright light, like that of the moon, was seen
+        shining on his forehead"                                237
+        "The six queens tried to comfort him"                   238
+        "'Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will
+        protect you?'"                                          248
+        "They approached a magnificent pile of buildings"       259
+        "Thus the princess was deserted"                        266
+        "When she got out of the water, what a change was
+        seen in her!"                                           271
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+LIFE'S SECRET
+
+
+There was a king who had two queens, Duo and Suo. [1] Both of them
+were childless. One day a Faquir (mendicant) came to the palace-gate
+to ask for alms. The Suo queen went to the door with a handful of
+rice. The mendicant asked whether she had any children. On being
+answered in the negative, the holy mendicant refused to take alms, as
+the hands of a woman unblessed with child are regarded as ceremonially
+unclean. He offered her a drug for removing her barrenness, and she
+expressing her willingness to receive it, he gave it to her with the
+following directions:--"Take this nostrum, swallow it with the juice
+of the pomegranate flower; if you do this, you will have a son in due
+time. The son will be exceedingly handsome, and his complexion will
+be of the colour of the pomegranate flower; and you shall call him
+Dalim Kumar. [2] As enemies will try to take away the life of your
+son, I may as well tell you that the life of the boy will be bound up
+in the life of a big boal fish which is in your tank, in front of the
+palace. In the heart of the fish is a small box of wood, in the box is
+a necklace of gold, that necklace is the life of your son. Farewell."
+
+In the course of a month or so it was whispered in the palace
+that the Suo queen had hopes of an heir. Great was the joy of
+the king. Visions of an heir to the throne, and of a never-ending
+succession of powerful monarchs perpetuating his dynasty to the
+latest generations, floated before his mind, and made him glad as he
+had never been in his life. The usual ceremonies performed on such
+occasions were celebrated with great pomp; and the subjects made loud
+demonstrations of their joy at the anticipation of so auspicious an
+event as the birth of a prince. In the fulness of time the Suo queen
+gave birth to a son of uncommon beauty. When the king the first time
+saw the face of the infant, his heart leaped with joy. The ceremony
+of the child's first rice was celebrated with extraordinary pomp,
+and the whole kingdom was filled with gladness.
+
+In course of time Dalim Kumar grew up a fine boy. Of all sports he was
+most addicted to playing with pigeons. This brought him into frequent
+contact with his stepmother, the Duo queen, into whose apartments
+Dalim's pigeons had a trick of always flying. The first time the
+pigeons flew into her rooms, she readily gave them up to the owner;
+but the second time she gave them up with some reluctance. The fact
+is that the Duo queen, perceiving that Dalim's pigeons had this happy
+knack of flying into her apartments, wished to take advantage of it
+for the furtherance of her own selfish views. She naturally hated the
+child, as the king, since his birth, neglected her more than ever,
+and idolised the fortunate mother of Dalim. She had heard, it is not
+known how, that the holy mendicant that had given the famous pill
+to the Suo queen had also told her of a secret connected with the
+child's life. She had heard that the child's life was bound up with
+something--she did not know with what. She determined to extort that
+secret from the boy. Accordingly, the next time the pigeons flew
+into her rooms, she refused to give them up, addressing the child
+thus:--"I won't give the pigeons up unless you tell me one thing."
+
+Dalim. What thing, mamma?
+
+Duo. Nothing particular, my darling; I only want to know in what your
+life is.
+
+Dalim. What is that, mamma? Where can my life be except in me?
+
+Duo. No, child; that is not what I mean. A holy mendicant told your
+mother that your life is bound up with something. I wish to know what
+that thing is.
+
+Dalim. I never heard of any such thing, mamma.
+
+Duo. If you promise to inquire of your mother in what thing your
+life is, and if you tell me what your mother says, then I will let
+you have the pigeons, otherwise not.
+
+Dalim. Very well, I'll inquire, and let you know. Now, please, give
+me my pigeons.
+
+Duo. I'll give them on one condition more. Promise to me that you
+will not tell your mother that I want the information.
+
+Dalim. I promise.
+
+The Duo queen let go the pigeons, and Dalim, overjoyed to find again
+his beloved birds, forgot every syllable of the conversation he had
+had with his stepmother. The next day, however, the pigeons again flew
+into the Duo queen's rooms. Dalim went to his stepmother, who asked
+him for the required information. The boy promised to ask his mother
+that very day, and begged hard for the release of the pigeons. The
+pigeons were at last delivered. After play, Dalim went to his mother
+and said--"Mamma, please tell me in what my life is contained." "What
+do you mean, child?" asked the mother, astonished beyond measure at
+the child's extraordinary question. "Yes, mamma," rejoined the child,
+"I have heard that a holy mendicant told you that my life is contained
+in something. Tell me what that thing is." "My pet, my darling, my
+treasure, my golden moon, do not ask such an inauspicious question. Let
+the mouth of my enemies be covered with ashes, and let my Dalim live
+for ever," said the mother, earnestly. But the child insisted on being
+informed of the secret. He said he would not eat or drink anything
+unless the information were given him. The Suo queen, pressed by the
+importunity of her son, in an evil hour told the child the secret of
+his life. The next day the pigeons again, as fate would have it, flew
+into the Duo queen's rooms. Dalim went for them; the stepmother plied
+the boy with sugared words, and obtained the knowledge of the secret.
+
+The Duo queen, on learning the secret of Dalim Kumar's life, lost
+no time in using it for the prosecution of her malicious design. She
+told her maid-servants to get for her some dried stalks of the hemp
+plant, which are very brittle, and which, when pressed upon, make
+a peculiar noise, not unlike the cracking of joints of bones in the
+human body. These hemp stalks she put under her bed, upon which she
+laid herself down and gave out that she was dangerously ill. The
+king, though he did not love her so well as his other queen, was
+in duty bound to visit her in her illness. The queen pretended that
+her bones were all cracking; and sure enough, when she tossed from
+one side of her bed to the other, the hemp stalks made the noise
+wanted. The king, believing that the Duo queen was seriously ill,
+ordered his best physician to attend her. With that physician the
+Duo queen was in collusion. The physician said to the king that for
+the queen's complaint there was but one remedy, which consisted in
+the outward application of something to be found inside a large boal
+fish which was in the tank before the palace. The king's fisherman was
+accordingly called and ordered to catch the boal in question. On the
+first throw of the net the fish was caught. It so happened that Dalim
+Kumar, along with other boys, was playing not far from the tank. The
+moment the boal fish was caught in the net, that moment Dalim felt
+unwell; and when the fish was brought up to land, Dalim fell down on
+the ground, and made as if he was about to breathe his last. He was
+immediately taken into his mother's room, and the king was astonished
+on hearing of the sudden illness of his son and heir. The fish was
+by the order of the physician taken into the room of the Duo queen,
+and as it lay on the floor striking its fins on the ground, Dalim
+in his mother's room was given up for lost. When the fish was cut
+open, a casket was found in it; and in the casket lay a necklace of
+gold. The moment the necklace was worn by the queen, that very moment
+Dalim died in his mother's room.
+
+When the news of the death of his son and heir reached the king he was
+plunged into an ocean of grief, which was not lessened in any degree
+by the intelligence of the recovery of the Duo queen. He wept over
+his dead Dalim so bitterly that his courtiers were apprehensive of a
+permanent derangement of his mental powers. The king would not allow
+the dead body of his son to be either buried or burnt. He could not
+realise the fact of his son's death; it was so entirely causeless
+and so terribly sudden. He ordered the dead body to be removed to
+one of his garden-houses in the suburbs of the city, and to be laid
+there in state. He ordered that all sorts of provisions should be
+stowed away in that house, as if the young prince needed them for his
+refection. Orders were issued that the house should be kept locked
+up day and night, and that no one should go into it except Dalim's
+most intimate friend, the son of the king's prime minister, who was
+intrusted with the key of the house, and who obtained the privilege
+of entering it once in twenty-four hours.
+
+As, owing to her great loss, the Suo queen lived in retirement,
+the king gave up his nights entirely to the Duo queen. The latter,
+in order to allay suspicion, used to put aside the gold necklace at
+night; and, as fate had ordained that Dalim should be in the state
+of death only during the time that the necklace was round the neck
+of the queen, he passed into the state of life whenever the necklace
+was laid aside. Accordingly Dalim revived every night, as the Duo
+queen every night put away the necklace, and died again the next
+morning when the queen put it on. When Dalim became reanimated
+at night he ate whatever food he liked, for of such there was a
+plentiful stock in the garden-house, walked about on the premises,
+and meditated on the singularity of his lot. Dalim's friend, who
+visited him only during the day, found him always lying a lifeless
+corpse; but what struck him after some days was the singular fact that
+the body remained in the same state in which he saw it on the first
+day of his visit. There was no sign of putrefaction. Except that it
+was lifeless and pale, there were no symptoms of corruption--it was
+apparently quite fresh. Unable to account for so strange a phenomenon,
+he determined to watch the corpse more closely, and to visit it not
+only during the day but sometimes also at night. The first night that
+he paid his visit he was astounded to see his dead friend sauntering
+about in the garden. At first he thought the figure might be only
+the ghost of his friend, but on feeling him and otherwise examining
+him, he found the apparition to be veritable flesh and blood. Dalim
+related to his friend all the circumstances connected with his death;
+and they both concluded that he revived at nights only because the
+Duo queen put aside her necklace when the king visited her. As the
+life of the prince depended on the necklace, the two friends laid
+their heads together to devise if possible some plans by which they
+might get possession of it. Night after night they consulted together,
+but they could not think of any feasible scheme. At length the gods
+brought about the deliverance of Dalim Kumar in a wonderful manner.
+
+Some years before the time of which we are speaking, the sister of
+Bidhata-Purusha [3] was delivered of a daughter. The anxious mother
+asked her brother what he had written on her child's forehead;
+to which Bidhata-Purusha replied that she should get married to a
+dead bridegroom. Maddened as she became with grief at the prospect of
+such a dreary destiny for her daughter, she yet thought it useless to
+remonstrate with her brother, for she well knew that he never changed
+what he once wrote. As the child grew in years she became exceedingly
+beautiful, but the mother could not look upon her with pleasure in
+consequence of the portion allotted to her by her divine brother. When
+the girl came to marriageable age, the mother resolved to flee from
+the country with her, and thus avert her dreadful destiny. But the
+decrees of fate cannot thus be overruled. In the course of their
+wanderings the mother and daughter arrived at the gate of that very
+garden-house in which Dalim Kumar lay. It was evening. The girl said
+she was thirsty and wanted to drink water. The mother told her daughter
+to sit at the gate, while she went to search for drinking water in some
+neighbouring hut. In the meantime the girl through curiosity pushed
+the door of the garden-house, which opened of itself. She then went
+in and saw a beautiful palace, and was wishing to come out when the
+door shut itself of its own accord, so that she could not get out. As
+night came on the prince revived, and, walking about, saw a human
+figure near the gate. He went up to it, and found it was a girl of
+surpassing beauty. On being asked who she was, she told Dalim Kumar
+all the details of her little history,--how her uncle, the divine
+Bidhata-Purusha, wrote on her forehead at her birth that she should
+get married to a dead bridegroom, how her mother had no pleasure in
+her life at the prospect of so terrible a destiny, and how, therefore,
+on the approach of her womanhood, with a view to avert so dreadful a
+catastrophe, she had left her house with her and wandered in various
+places, how they came to the gate of the garden-house, and how her
+mother had now gone in search of drinking water for her. Dalim Kumar,
+hearing her simple and pathetic story, said, "I am the dead bridegroom,
+and you must get married to me, come with me to the house." "How
+can you be said to be a dead bridegroom when you are standing and
+speaking to me?" said the girl. "You will understand it afterwards,"
+rejoined the prince, "come now and follow me." The girl followed the
+prince into the house. As she had been fasting the whole day the
+prince hospitably entertained her. As for the mother of the girl,
+the sister of the divine Bidhata-Purusha, she returned to the gate
+of the garden-house after it was dark, cried out for her daughter,
+and getting no answer, went away in search of her in the huts in the
+neighbourhood. It is said that after this she was not seen anywhere.
+
+While the niece of the divine Bidhata-Purusha was partaking of the
+hospitality of Dalim Kumar, his friend as usual made his appearance. He
+was surprised not a little at the sight of the fair stranger; and his
+surprise became greater when he heard the story of the young lady from
+her own lips. It was forthwith resolved that very night to unite the
+young couple in the bonds of matrimony. As priests were out of the
+question, the hymeneal rites were performed a la Gandharva. [4] The
+friend of the bridegroom took leave of the newly-married couple and
+went away to his house. As the happy pair had spent the greater part
+of the night in wakefulness, it was long after sunrise that they awoke
+from their sleep;--I should have said that the young wife woke from her
+sleep, for the prince had become a cold corpse, life having departed
+from him. The feelings of the young wife may be easily imagined. She
+shook her husband, imprinted warm kisses on his cold lips, but in
+vain. He was as lifeless as a marble statue. Stricken with horror, she
+smote her breast, struck her forehead with the palms of her hands, tore
+her hair and went about in the house and in the garden as if she had
+gone mad. Dalim's friend did not come into the house during the day,
+as he deemed it improper to pay a visit to her while her husband was
+lying dead. The day seemed to the poor girl as long as a year, but the
+longest day has its end, and when the shades of evening were descending
+upon the landscape, her dead husband was awakened into consciousness;
+he rose up from his bed, embraced his disconsolate wife, ate, drank,
+and became merry. His friend made his appearance as usual, and the
+whole night was spent in gaiety and festivity. Amid this alternation
+of life and death did the prince and his lady spend some seven or
+eight years, during which time the princess presented her husband
+with two lovely boys who were the exact image of their father.
+
+It is superfluous to remark that the king, the two queens, and other
+members of the royal household did not know that Dalim Kumar was
+living, at any rate, was living at night. They all thought that he
+was long ago dead and his corpse burnt. But the heart of Dalim's wife
+was yearning after her mother-in-law, whom she had never seen. She
+conceived a plan by which she might be able not only to have a
+sight of her mother-in-law, but also to get hold of the Duo queen's
+necklace, on which her husband's life was dependent. With the consent
+of her husband and of his friend she disguised herself as a female
+barber. Like every female barber she took a bundle containing the
+following articles:--an iron instrument for paring nails, another
+iron instrument for scraping off the superfluous flesh of the soles
+of the feet, a piece of jhama or burnt brick for rubbing the soles of
+the feet with, and alakta [5] for painting the edges of the feet and
+toes with. Taking this bundle in her hand she stood at the gate of the
+king's palace with her two boys. She declared herself to be a barber,
+and expressed a desire to see the Suo queen, who readily gave her an
+interview. The queen was quite taken up with the two little boys, who,
+she declared, strongly reminded her of her darling Dalim Kumar. Tears
+fell profusely from her eyes at the recollection of her lost treasure;
+but she of course had not the remotest idea that the two little boys
+were the sons of her own dear Dalim. She told the supposed barber
+that she did not require her services, as, since the death of her
+son, she had given up all terrestrial vanities, and among others the
+practice of dyeing her feet red; but she added that, nevertheless,
+she would be glad now and then to see her and her two fine boys. The
+female barber, for so we must now call her, then went to the quarters
+of the Duo queen and offered her services. The queen allowed her to
+pare her nails, to scrape off the superfluous flesh of her feet,
+and to paint them with alakta and was so pleased with her skill,
+and the sweetness of her disposition, that she ordered her to wait
+upon her periodically. The female barber noticed with no little
+concern the necklace round the queen's neck. The day of her second
+visit came on, and she instructed the elder of her two sons to set
+up a loud cry in the palace, and not to stop crying till he got into
+his hands the Duo queen's necklace. The female barber, accordingly,
+went again on the appointed day to the Duo queen's apartments. While
+she was engaged in painting the queen's feet, the elder boy set up a
+loud cry. On being asked the reason of the cry, the boy, as previously
+instructed, said that he wanted the queen's necklace. The queen said
+that it was impossible for her to part with that particular necklace,
+for it was the best and most valuable of all her jewels. To gratify
+the boy, however, she took it off her neck, and put it into the
+boy's hand. The boy stopped crying and held the necklace tight in
+his hand. As the female barber after she had done her work was about
+to go away, the queen wanted the necklace back. But the boy would
+not part with it. When his mother attempted to snatch it from him,
+he wept bitterly, and showed as if his heart would break. On which
+the female barber said--"Will your Majesty be gracious enough to let
+the boy take the necklace home with him? When he falls asleep after
+drinking his milk, which he is sure to do in the course of an hour,
+I will carefully bring it back to you." The queen, seeing that the
+boy would not allow it to be taken away from him, agreed to the
+proposal of the female barber, especially reflecting that Dalim,
+whose life depended on it, had long ago gone to the abodes of death.
+
+Thus possessed of the treasure on which the life of her husband
+depended, the woman went with breathless haste to the garden-house and
+presented the necklace to Dalim, who had been restored to life. Their
+joy knew no bounds, and by the advice of their friend they determined
+the next day to go to the palace in state, and present themselves to
+the king and the Suo queen. Due preparations were made; an elephant,
+richly caparisoned, was brought for the prince Dalim Kumar, a pair
+of ponies for the two little boys, and a chaturdala [6] furnished
+with curtains of gold lace for the princess. Word was sent to the
+king and the Suo queen that the prince Dalim Kumar was not only
+alive, but that he was coming to visit his royal parents with his
+wife and sons. The king and Suo queen could hardly believe in the
+report, but being assured of its truth they were entranced with joy;
+while the Duo queen, anticipating the disclosure of all her wiles,
+became overwhelmed with grief. The procession of Dalim Kumar, which
+was attended by a band of musicians, approached the palace-gate; and
+the king and Suo queen went out to receive their long-lost son. It is
+needless to say that their joy was intense. They fell on each other's
+neck and wept. Dalim then related all the circumstances connected
+with his death. The king, inflamed with rage, ordered the Duo queen
+into his presence. A large hole, as deep as the height of a man,
+was dug in the ground. The Duo queen was put into it in a standing
+posture. Prickly thorn was heaped around her up to the crown of her
+head; and in this manner she was buried alive.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth;
+           "Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost wither?"
+           "Why does thy cow on me browse?"
+           "Why, O cow, dost thou browse?"
+           "Why does thy neat-herd not tend me?"
+           "Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the cow?"
+           "Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me rice?"
+           "Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give rice?"
+           "Why does my child cry?"
+           "Why, O child, dost thou cry?"
+           "Why does the ant bite me?"
+           "Why, O ant, dost thou bite?"
+            Koot! koot! koot!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+PHAKIR CHAND
+
+
+There was a king's son, and there was a minister's son. They loved
+each other dearly; they sat together, they stood up together, they
+walked together, they ate together, they slept together, they got up
+together. In this way they spent many years in each other's company,
+till they both felt a desire to see foreign lands. So one day they
+set out on their journey. Though very rich, the one being the son of
+a king and the other the son of his chief minister, they did not take
+any servants with them; they went by themselves on horseback. The
+horses were beautiful to look at; they were pakshirajes, or kings
+of birds. The king's son and the minister's son rode together many
+days. They passed through extensive plains covered with paddy; through
+cities, towns, and villages; through waterless, treeless deserts;
+through dense forests which were the abode of the tiger and the
+bear. One evening they were overtaken by night in a region where human
+habitations were not seen; and as it was getting darker and darker,
+they dismounted beneath a lofty tree, tied their horses to its trunk,
+and, climbing up, sat on its branches covered with thick foliage. The
+tree grew near a large tank, the water of which was as clear as the
+eye of a crow. The king's son and the minister's son made themselves
+as comfortable as they could on the tree, being determined to spend
+on its branches the livelong night. They sometimes chatted together in
+whispers on account of the lonely terrors of the region; they sometimes
+sat demurely silent for some minutes; and anon they were falling into
+a doze, when their attention was arrested by a terrible sight.
+
+A sound like the rush of many waters was heard from the middle of the
+tank. A huge serpent was seen leaping up from under the water with its
+hood of enormous size. It "lay floating many a rood"; then it swam
+ashore, and went about hissing. But what most of all attracted the
+attention of the king's son and the minister's son was a brilliant
+manikya (jewel) on the crested hood of the serpent. It shone like
+a thousand diamonds. It lit up the tank, its embankments, and the
+objects round about. The serpent doffed the jewel from its crest and
+threw it on the ground, and then it went about hissing in search of
+food. The two friends sitting on the tree greatly admired the wonderful
+brilliant, shedding ineffable lustre on everything around. They had
+never before seen anything like it; they had only heard of it as
+equalling the treasures of seven kings. Their admiration, however,
+was soon changed into sorrow and fear; for the serpent came hissing
+to the foot of the tree on the branches of which they were seated,
+and swallowed up, one by one, the horses tied to the trunk. They
+feared that they themselves would be the next victims, when, to their
+infinite relief, the gigantic cobra turned away from the tree, and went
+about roaming to a great distance. The minister's son, seeing this,
+bethought himself of taking possession of the lustrous stone. He had
+heard that the only way to hide the brilliant light of the jewel was
+to cover it with cow-dung or horse-dung, a quantity of which latter
+article he perceived lying at the foot of the tree. He came down from
+the tree softly, picked up the horse-dung, threw it upon the precious
+stone, and again climbed into the tree. The serpent, not perceiving
+the light of its head-jewel, rushed with great fury to the spot
+where it had been left. Its hissings, groans, and convulsions were
+terrible. It went round and round the jewel covered with horse-dung,
+and then breathed its last. Early next morning the king's son and the
+minister's son alighted from the tree, and went to the spot where the
+crest-jewel was. The mighty serpent lay there perfectly lifeless. The
+minister's son took up in his hand the jewel covered with horse-dung;
+and both of them went to the tank to wash it. When all the horse-dung
+had been washed off, the jewel shone as brilliantly as before. It
+lit up the entire bed of the tank, and exposed to their view the
+innumerable fishes swimming about in the waters. But what was their
+astonishment when they saw, by the light of the jewel, in the bottom
+of the tank, the lofty walls of what seemed a magnificent palace. The
+venturesome son of the minister proposed to the prince that they should
+dive into the waters and get at the palace below. They both dived into
+the waters--the jewel being in the hand of the minister's son--and
+in a moment stood at the gate of the palace. The gate was open. They
+saw no being, human or superhuman. They went inside the gate, and
+saw a beautiful garden laid out on the ample grounds round about the
+house which was in the centre. The king's son and the minister's son
+had never seen such a profusion of flowers. The rose with its many
+varieties, the jessamine, the bel, the mallika, the king of smells,
+the lily of the valley, the Champaka, and a thousand other sorts
+of sweet-scented flowers were there. And of each of these flowers
+there seemed to be a large number. Here were a hundred rose-bushes,
+there many acres covered with the delicious jessamine, while yonder
+were extensive plantations of all sorts of flowers. As all the
+plants were begemmed with flowers, and as the flowers were in full
+bloom, the air was loaded with rich perfume. It was a wilderness of
+sweets. Through this paradise of perfumery they proceeded towards
+the house, which was surrounded by banks of lofty trees. They stood
+at the door of the house. It was a fairy palace. The walls were of
+burnished gold, and here and there shone diamonds of dazzling hue
+which were stuck into the walls. They did not meet with any beings,
+human or other. They went inside, which was richly furnished. They
+went from room to room, but they did not see any one. It seemed to be
+a deserted house. At last, however, they found in one room a young lady
+lying down, apparently in sleep, on a bed of golden framework. She was
+of exquisite beauty; her complexion was a mixture of red and white;
+and her age was apparently about sixteen. The king's son and the
+minister's son gazed upon her with rapture; but they had not stood
+long when this young lady of superb beauty opened her eyes, which
+seemed like those of a gazelle. On seeing the strangers she said:
+"How have you come here, ye unfortunate men? Begone, begone! This
+is the abode of a mighty serpent, which has devoured my father,
+my mother, my brothers, and all my relatives; I am the only one
+of my family that he has spared. Flee for your lives, or else the
+serpent will put you both in its capacious maw." The minister's son
+told the princess how the serpent had breathed its last; how he and
+his friend had got possession of its head-jewel, and by its light
+had come to her palace. She thanked the strangers for delivering her
+from the infernal serpent, and begged of them to live in the house,
+and never to desert her. The king's son and the minister's son gladly
+accepted the invitation. The king's son, smitten with the charms of
+the peerless princess, married her after a short time; and as there
+was no priest there, the hymeneal knot was tied by a simple exchange
+of garlands of flowers.
+
+The king's son became inexpressibly happy in the company of the
+princess, who was as amiable in her disposition as she was beautiful
+in her person; and though the wife of the minister's son was living in
+the upper world, he too participated in his friend's happiness. Time
+thus passed merrily, when the king's son bethought himself of returning
+to his native country; and as it was fit that he should go with his
+princess in due pomp, it was determined that the minister's son
+should first ascend from the subaqueous regions, go to the king,
+and bring with him attendants, horses, and elephants for the happy
+pair. The snake-jewel was therefore had in requisition. The prince,
+with the jewel in hand, accompanied the minister's son to the upper
+world, and bidding adieu to his friend returned to his lovely wife in
+the enchanted palace. Before leaving, the minister's son appointed
+the day and the hour when he would stand on the high embankments of
+the tank with horses, elephants, and attendants, and wait upon the
+prince and the princess, who were to join him in the upper world by
+means of the jewel.
+
+Leaving the minister's son to wend his way to his country and to make
+preparations for the return of his king's son, let us see how the happy
+couple in the subterranean palace were passing their time. One day,
+while the prince was sleeping after his noonday meal, the princess,
+who had never seen the upper regions, felt the desire of visiting them,
+and the rather as the snake-jewel, which alone could give her safe
+conduct through the waters, was at that moment shedding its bright
+effulgence in the room. She took up the jewel in her hand, left the
+palace, and successfully reached the upper world. No mortal caught
+her sight. She sat on the flight of steps with which the tank was
+furnished for the convenience of bathers, scrubbed her body, washed
+her hair, disported in the waters, walked about on the water's edge,
+admired all the scenery around, and returned to her palace, where
+she found her husband still locked in the embrace of sleep. When the
+prince woke up, she did not tell him a word about her adventure. The
+following day at the same hour, when her husband was asleep, she paid
+a second visit to the upper world, and went back unnoticed by mortal
+man. As success made her bold, she repeated her adventure a third
+time. It so chanced that on that day the son of the Rajah, in whose
+territories the tank was situated, was out on a hunting excursion,
+and had pitched his tent not far from the place. While his attendants
+were engaged in cooking their noon-day meal, the Rajah's son sauntered
+about on the embankments of the tank, near which an old woman was
+gathering sticks and dried branches of trees for purposes of fuel. It
+was while the Rajah's son and the old woman were near the tank that
+the princess paid her third visit to the upper world. She rose up
+from the waters, gazed around, and seeing a man and a woman on the
+banks again went down. The Rajah's son caught a momentary glimpse of
+the princess, and so did the old woman gathering sticks. The Rajah's
+son stood gazing on the waters. He had never seen such a beauty. She
+seemed to him to be one of those deva-kanyas, heavenly goddesses,
+of whom he had read in old books, and who are said now and then to
+favour the lower world with their visits, which, like angel visits,
+are "few and far between." The unearthly beauty of the princess,
+though he had seen her only for a moment, made a deep impression on
+his heart, and distracted his mind. He stood there like a statue, for
+hours, gazing on the waters, in the hope of seeing the lovely figure
+again. But in vain. The princess did not appear again. The Rajah's
+son became mad with love. He kept muttering--"Now here, now gone! Now
+here, now gone!" He would not leave the place till he was forcibly
+removed by the attendants who had now come to him. He was taken to his
+father's palace in a state of hopeless insanity. He spoke to nobody;
+he always sobbed heavily; and the only words which proceeded out of
+his mouth--and he was muttering them every minute--were, "Now here, now
+gone! Now here, now gone!" The Rajah's grief may well be conceived. He
+could not imagine what should have deranged his son's mind. The words,
+"Now here, now gone," which ever and anon issued from his son's
+lips, were a mystery to him; he could not unravel their meaning;
+neither could the attendants throw any light on the subject. The best
+physicians of the country were consulted, but to no effect. The sons
+of AEsculapius could not ascertain the cause of the madness, far less
+could they cure it. To the many inquiries of the physicians, the only
+reply made by the Rajah's son was the stereotyped words--"Now here,
+now gone! Now here, now gone!"
+
+The Rajah, distracted with grief on account of the obscuration of
+his son's intellects, caused a proclamation to be made in the capital
+by beat of drum, to the effect that, if any person could explain the
+cause of his son's madness and cure it, such a person would be rewarded
+with the hand of the Rajah's daughter, and with the possession of half
+his kingdom. The drum was beaten round most parts of the city, but no
+one touched it, as no one knew the cause of the madness of the Rajah's
+son. At last an old woman touched the drum, and declared that she would
+not only discover the cause of the madness, but cure it. This woman,
+who was the identical woman that was gathering sticks near the tank
+at the time the Rajah's son lost his reason, had a crack-brained son
+of the name of Phakir Chand, and was in consequence called Phakir's
+mother, or more familiarly Phakre's mother. When the woman was brought
+before the Rajah, the following conversation took place:--
+
+Rajah. You are the woman that touched the drum.--You know the cause
+of my son's madness?
+
+Phakir's Mother. Yes, O incarnation of justice! I know the cause,
+but I will not mention it till I have cured your son.
+
+Rajah. How can I believe that you are able to cure my son, when the
+best physicians of the land have failed?
+
+Phakir's Mother. You need not now believe, my lord, till I have
+performed the cure. Many an old woman knows secrets with which wise
+men are unacquainted.
+
+Rajah. Very well, let me see what you can do. In what time will you
+perform the cure?
+
+Phakir's Mother. It is impossible to fix the time at present; but I
+will begin work immediately with your lordship's assistance.
+
+Rajah. What help do you require from me?
+
+Phakir's Mother. Your lordship will please order a hut to be raised on
+the embankment of the tank where your son first caught the disease. I
+mean to live in that hut for a few days. And your lordship will also
+please order some of your servants to be in attendance at a distance of
+about a hundred yards from the hut, so that they might be within call.
+
+Rajah. Very well; I will order that to be immediately done. Do you
+want anything else?
+
+Phakir's Mother. Nothing else, my lord, in the way of preparations. But
+it is as well to remind your lordship of the conditions on which I
+undertake the cure. Your lordship has promised to give to the performer
+of the cure the hand of your daughter and half your kingdom. As I
+am a woman and cannot marry your daughter, I beg that, in case I
+perform the cure, my son Phakir Chand may marry your daughter and
+take possession of half your kingdom.
+
+Rajah. Agreed, agreed.
+
+A temporary hut was in a few hours erected on the embankment of the
+tank, and Phakir's mother took up her abode in it. An outpost was
+also erected at some distance for servants in attendance who might
+be required to give help to the woman. Strict orders were given by
+Phakir's mother that no human being should go near the tank excepting
+herself. Let us leave Phakir's mother keeping watch at the tank, and
+hasten down into the subterranean palace to see what the prince and
+the princess are about. After the mishap which had occurred on her
+last visit to the upper world, the princess had given up the idea of
+a fourth visit. But women generally have greater curiosity than men;
+and the princess of the underground palace was no exception to the
+general rule. One day, while her husband was asleep as usual after
+his noonday meal, she rushed out of the palace with the snake-jewel in
+her hand, and came to the upper world. The moment the upheaval of the
+waters in the middle of the tank took place, Phakir's mother, who was
+on the alert, concealed herself in the hut and began looking through
+the chinks of the matted wall. The princess, seeing no mortal near,
+came to the bank, and sitting there began to scrub her body. Phakir's
+mother showed herself outside the hut, and addressing the princess,
+said in a winning tone--"Come, my child, thou queen of beauty, come
+to me, and I will help you to bathe." So saying, she approached the
+princess, who, seeing that it was only a woman, made no resistance. The
+old woman, while in the act of washing the hair of the princess,
+noticed the bright jewel in her hand, and said--"Put the jewel here
+till you are bathed." In a moment the jewel was in the possession
+of Phakir's mother, who wrapped it up in the cloth that was round
+her waist. Knowing the princess to be unable to escape, she gave the
+signal to the attendants in waiting, who rushed to the tank and made
+the princess a captive.
+
+Great were the rejoicings of the people when the tidings reached the
+city that Phakir's mother had captured a water-nymph from the nether
+regions. The whole city came to see the "daughter of the immortals,"
+as they called the princess. When she was brought to the palace and
+confronted with the Rajah's son of obscured intellect, the latter
+said with a shout of exultation--"I have found! I have found!" The
+cloud which had settled on his brain was dissipated in a moment. The
+eyes, erewhile vacant and lustreless, now glowed with the fire of
+intelligence; his tongue, of which he had almost lost the use--the
+only words which he used to utter being, "Now here, now gone!"--was
+now relaxed: in a word, he was restored to his senses. The joy of the
+Rajah knew no bounds. There was great festivity in the city; and the
+people who showered benedictions on the head of Phakir Chand's mother,
+expected the speedy celebration of the marriage of the Rajah's son
+with the beauty of the nether world. The princess, however, told the
+Rajah, through Phakir's mother, that she had made a vow to the effect
+that she would not, for one whole year, look at the face of another
+man than that of her husband who was dwelling beneath the waters,
+and that therefore the marriage could not be performed during that
+period. Though the Rajah's son was somewhat disappointed, he readily
+agreed to the delay, believing, agreeably to the proverb, that delay
+would greatly enhance the sweetness of those pleasures which were in
+store for him.
+
+It is scarcely necessary to say that the princess spent her days and
+her nights in sorrowing and sighing. She lamented that idle curiosity
+which had led her to come to the upper world, leaving her husband
+below. When she recollected that her husband was all alone below the
+waters she wept bitter tears. She wished she could run away. But that
+was impossible, as she was immured within walls, and there were walls
+within walls. Besides, if she could get out of the palace and of the
+city, of what avail would it be? She could not gain her husband,
+as the serpent jewel was not in her possession. The ladies of the
+palace and Phakir's mother tried to divert her mind, but in vain. She
+took pleasure in nothing; she would hardly speak to any one; she wept
+day and night. The year of her vow was drawing to a close, and yet
+she was disconsolate. The marriage, however, must be celebrated. The
+Rajah consulted the astrologers, and the day and the hour in which
+the nuptial knot was to be tied were fixed. Great preparations were
+made. The confectioners of the city busied themselves day and night
+in preparing sweetmeats; milkmen took contracts for supplying the
+palace with tanks of curds; gunpowder was being manufactured for a
+grand display of fireworks; bands of musicians were placed on sheds
+erected over the palace gate, who ever and anon sent forth many
+"a bout of linked sweetness"; and the whole city assumed an air of
+mirth and festivity.
+
+It is time we should think of the minister's son, who, leaving his
+friend in the subterranean palace, had gone to his country to bring
+horses, elephants, and attendants for the return of the king's son
+and his lovely princess with due pomp. The preparations took him
+many months; and when everything was ready he started on his journey,
+accompanied by a long train of elephants, horses, and attendants. He
+reached the tank two or three days before the appointed day. Tents were
+pitched in the mango-topes adjoining the tank for the accommodation of
+men and cattle; and the minister's son always kept his eyes fixed on
+the tank. The sun of the appointed day sank below the horizon; but the
+prince and the princess dwelling beneath the waters made no sign. He
+waited two or three days longer; still the prince did not make his
+appearance. What could have happened to his friend and his beautiful
+wife? Were they dead? Had another serpent, possibly the mate of the one
+that had died, beaten the prince and the princess to death? Had they
+somehow lost the serpent-jewel? Or had they been captured when they
+were once on a visit to the upper world? Such were the reflections of
+the minister's son. He was overwhelmed with grief. Ever since he had
+come to the tank he had heard at regular intervals the sound of music
+coming from the city which was not distant. He inquired of passers-by
+what that music meant. He was told that the Rajah's son was about
+to be married to some wonderful young lady, who had come out of the
+waters of that very tank on the bank of which he was now seated, and
+that the marriage ceremony was to be performed on the day following
+the next. The minister's son immediately concluded that the wonderful
+young lady of the lake that was to be married was none other than the
+wife of his friend, the king's son. He resolved therefore to go into
+the city to learn the details of the affair, and try if possible to
+rescue the princess. He told the attendants to go home, taking with
+them the elephants and the horses; and he himself went to the city,
+and took up his abode in the house of a Brahman.
+
+After he had rested and taken his dinner, the minister's son asked
+the Brahman what the meaning was of the music that was heard in the
+city at regular intervals. The Brahman asked, "From what part of
+the world have you come that you have not heard of the wonderful
+circumstance that a young lady of heavenly beauty rose out of the
+waters of a tank in the suburbs, and that she is going to be married
+the day after to-morrow to the son of our Rajah?"
+
+Minister's Son. No, I have heard nothing. I have come from a distant
+country whither the story has not reached. Will you kindly tell me
+the particulars?
+
+Brahman. The Rajah's son went out a-hunting about this time last
+year. He pitched his tents close to a tank in the suburbs. One day,
+while the Rajah's son was walking near the tank, he saw a young
+woman, or rather goddess, of uncommon beauty rise from the waters of
+the tank. She gazed about for a minute or two and disappeared. The
+Rajah's son, however, who had seen her, was so struck with her heavenly
+beauty that he became desperately enamoured of her. Indeed, so intense
+was his passion, that his reason gave way; and he was carried home
+hopelessly mad. The only words he uttered day and night were--"Now
+here, now gone!" The Rajah sent for all the best physicians of the
+country for restoring his son to his reason; but the physicians were
+powerless. At last he caused a proclamation to be made by beat of drum
+to the effect that if any one could cure the Rajah's son, he should
+be the Rajah's son-in-law and the owner of half his kingdom. An old
+woman, who went by the name of Phakir's mother, took hold of the drum,
+and declared her ability to cure the Rajah's son. On the tank where
+the princess had appeared was raised for Phakir's mother a hut in
+which she took up her abode; and not far from her hut another hut was
+erected for the accommodation of attendants who might be required to
+help her. It seems the goddess rose from the waters; Phakir's mother
+seized her with the help of the attendants, and carried her in a palki
+to the palace. At the sight of her the Rajah's son was restored to
+his senses; and the marriage would have been celebrated at that time
+but for a vow which the goddess had made that she would not look at
+the face of any male person till the lapse of a year. The year of the
+vow is now over; and the music which you have heard is from the gate
+of the Rajah's palace. This, in brief, is the story.
+
+Minister's Son. A truly wonderful story! And has Phakir's mother,
+or rather Phakir Chand himself, been rewarded with the hand of the
+Rajah's daughter and with the possession of half the kingdom?
+
+Brahman. No, not yet. Phakir has not been got hold of. He is a
+half-witted lad, or rather quite mad. He has been away for more
+than a year from his home, and no one knows where he is. That is his
+manner; he stays away for a long time, suddenly comes home, and again
+disappears. I believe his mother expects him soon.
+
+Minister's Son. What like is he? and what does he do when he returns
+home?
+
+Brahman. Why, he is about your height, though he is somewhat younger
+than you. He puts on a small piece of cloth round his waist, rubs
+his body with ashes, takes the branch of a tree in his hand, and,
+at the door of the hut in which his mother lives, dances to the tune
+of dhoop! dhoop! dhoop! His articulation is very indistinct; and when
+his mother says--"Phakir! stay with me for some days," he invariably
+answers in his usual unintelligible manner, "No, I won't remain,
+I won't remain." And when he wishes to give an affirmative answer,
+he says, "Hoom," which means "Yes."
+
+The above conversation with the Brahman poured a flood of light into
+the mind of the minister's son. He saw how matters stood. He perceived
+that the princess of the subterranean palace must have alone ventured
+out into the tank by means of the snake-jewel; that she must have
+been captured alone without the king's son; that the snake-jewel
+must be in the possession of Phakir's mother; and that his friend,
+the king's son, must be alone below the waters without any means of
+escape. The desolate and apparently hopeless state of his friend
+filled him with unutterable grief. He was in deep musings during
+most part of the night. Is it impossible, thought he, to rescue the
+king's son from the nether regions? What if, by some means or other,
+I contrive to get the jewel from the old woman? And can I not do it
+by personating Phakir Chand himself, who is expected by his mother
+shortly? And possibly by the same means I may be able to rescue the
+princess from the Rajah's palace. He resolved to act the role of Phakir
+Chand the following day. In the morning he left the Brahman's house,
+went to the outskirts of the city, divested himself of his usual
+clothing, put round his waist a short and narrow piece of cloth which
+scarcely reached his knee-joints, rubbed his body well with ashes,
+took in his hand a twig which he broke off a tree, and thus accoutred,
+presented himself before the door of the hut of Phakir's mother. He
+commenced operations by dancing, in a most violent manner, to the
+tune of dhoop! dhoop! dhoop! The dancing attracted the notice of the
+old woman, who, supposing that her son had come, said--"My son Phakir,
+are you come? Come, my darling; the gods have at last become propitious
+to us." The supposed Phakir Chand uttered the monosyllable "hoom," and
+went on dancing in a still more violent manner than before, waving the
+twig in his hand. "This time you must not go away," said the old woman,
+"you must remain with me." "No, I won't remain, I won't remain," said
+the minister's son. "Remain with me, and I'll get you married to the
+Rajah's daughter. Will you marry, Phakir Chand?" The minister's son
+replied--"Hoom, hoom," and danced on like a madman. "Will you come
+with me to the Rajah's house? I'll show you a princess of uncommon
+beauty who has risen from the waters." "Hoom, hoom," was the answer
+that issued from his lips, while his feet tripped it violently to
+the sound of dhoop! dhoop! "Do you wish to see a manik, Phakir, the
+crest jewel of the serpent, the treasure of seven kings?" "Hoom,
+hoom," was the reply. The old woman brought out of the hut the
+snake-jewel, and put it into the hand of her supposed son. The
+minister's son took it, and carefully wrapped it up in the piece
+of cloth round his waist. Phakir's mother, delighted beyond measure
+at the opportune appearance of her son, went to the Rajah's house,
+partly to announce to the Rajah the news of Phakir's appearance,
+and partly to show Phakir the princess of the waters. The supposed
+Phakir and his mother found ready access to the Rajah's palace, for
+the old woman had, since the capture of the princess, become the most
+important person in the kingdom. She took him into the room where the
+princess was, and introduced him to her. It is superfluous to remark
+that the princess was by no means pleased with the company of a madcap,
+who was in a state of semi-nudity, whose body was rubbed with ashes,
+and who was ever and anon dancing in a wild manner. At sunset the old
+woman proposed to her son that they should leave the palace and go
+to their own house. But the supposed Phakir Chand refused to comply
+with the request; he said he would stay there that night. His mother
+tried to persuade him to return with her, but he persisted in his
+determination. He said he would remain with the princess. Phakir's
+mother therefore went away, after giving instructions to the guards
+and attendants to take care of her son.
+
+When all in the palace had retired to rest, the supposed Phakir, coming
+towards the princess, said in his own usual voice--"Princess! do you
+not recognise me? I am the minister's son, the friend of your princely
+husband." The princess, astonished at the announcement, said--"Who? The
+minister's son? Oh, my husband's best friend, do rescue me from this
+terrible captivity, from this worse than death. O fate! it is by my
+own fault that I am reduced to this wretched state. Oh, rescue me,
+rescue me, thou best of friends!" She then burst into tears. The
+minister's son said, "Do not be disconsolate. I will try my best
+to rescue you this very night; only you must do whatever I tell
+you." "I will do anything you tell me, minister's son; anything you
+tell me." After this the supposed Phakir left the room, and passed
+through the courtyard of the palace. Some of the guards challenged
+him, to whom he replied, "Hoom, hoom; I will just go out for a
+minute and again come in presently." They understood that it was
+the madcap Phakir. True to his word he did come back shortly, and
+went to the princess. An hour afterwards he again went out and was
+again challenged, on which he made the same reply as at the first
+time. The guards who challenged him began to mutter between their
+teeth--"This madcap of a Phakir will, we suppose, go out and come in
+all night. Let the fellow alone; let him do what he likes. Who can
+be sitting up all night for him?" The minister's son was going out
+and coming in with the view of accustoming the guards to his constant
+egress and ingress, and also of watching for a favourable opportunity
+to escape with the princess. About three o'clock in the morning the
+minister's son again passed through the courtyard, but this time no
+one challenged him, as all the guards had fallen asleep. Overjoyed at
+the auspicious circumstance, he went to the princess. "Now, princess,
+is the time for escape. The guards are all asleep. Mount on my back,
+and tie the locks of your hair round my neck, and keep tight hold
+of me." The princess did as she was told. He passed unchallenged
+through the courtyard with the lovely burden on his back, passed out
+of the gate of the palace--no one challenging him, passed on to the
+outskirts of the city, and reached the tank from which the princess
+had risen. The princess stood on her legs, rejoicing at her escape, and
+at the same time trembling. The minister's son untied the snake-jewel
+from his waist-cloth, and descending into the waters, both he and she
+found their way to the subterranean palace. The reception which the
+prince in the subaqueous palace gave to his wife and his friend may be
+easily imagined. He had nearly died of grief; but now he suffered a
+resurrection. The three were now mad with joy. During the three days
+that they remained in the palace they again and again told the story
+of the egress of the princess into the upper world, of her seizure,
+of her captivity in the palace, of the preparations for marriage, of
+the old woman, of the minister's son personating Phakir Chand, and of
+the successful deliverance. It is unnecessary to add that the prince
+and the princess expressed their gratitude to the minister's son in
+the warmest terms, declared him to be their best and greatest friend,
+and vowed to abide always, till the day of their death, by his advice,
+and to follow his counsel.
+
+Being resolved to return to their native country, the king's son,
+the minister's son, and the princess left the subterranean palace,
+and, lighted in the passage by the snake-jewel, made their way good to
+the upper world. As they had neither elephants nor horses, they were
+under the necessity of travelling on foot; and though this mode of
+travelling was troublesome to both the king's son and the minister's
+son, as they were bred in the lap of luxury, it was infinitely more
+troublesome to the princess, as the stones of the rough road
+
+
+                        "Wounded the invisible
+        Palms of her tender feet where'er they fell."
+
+
+When her feet became very sore, the king's son sometimes took her
+up on his broad shoulders, on which she sat astride; but the load,
+however lovely, was too heavy to be carried any great distance. She
+therefore, for the most part, travelled on foot.
+
+One evening they bivouacked beneath a tree, as no human habitations
+were visible. The minister's son said to the prince and princess,
+"Both of you go to sleep, and I will keep watch in order to prevent any
+danger." The royal couple were soon locked in the arms of sleep. The
+faithful son of the minister did not sleep, but sat up watching. It so
+happened that on that tree swung the nest of the two immortal birds,
+Bihangama and Bihangami, who were not only endowed with the power
+of human speech, but who could see into the future. To the no little
+astonishment of the minister's son the two prophetical birds joined
+in the following conversation:--
+
+Bihangama. The minister's son has already risked his own life for the
+safety of his friend, the king's son; but he will find it difficult
+to save the prince at last.
+
+Bihangami. Why so?
+
+Bihangama. Many dangers await the king's son. The prince's father, when
+he hears of the approach of his son, will send for him an elephant,
+some horses, and attendants. When the king's son rides on the elephant
+he will fall down and die.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one prevents the king's son from riding
+on the elephant, and makes him ride on horseback, will he not in that
+case be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, he will in that case escape that danger, but a fresh
+danger awaits him. When the king's son is in sight of his father's
+palace, and when he is in the act of passing through its lion-gate,
+the lion-gate will fall upon him and crush him to death.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one destroys the lion-gate before the
+king's son goes up to it; will not the king's son in that case
+be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, in that case he will escape that particular danger;
+but a fresh danger awaits him. When the king's son reaches the palace
+and sits at a feast prepared for him, and when he takes into his
+mouth the head of a fish cooked for him, the head of the fish will
+stick in his throat and choke him to death.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one sitting at the feast snatches the head
+of the fish from the prince's plate, and thus prevents him from putting
+it into his mouth, will not the king's son in that case be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, in that case he will escape that particular danger;
+but a fresh danger awaits him. When the prince and princess after
+dinner retire into their sleeping apartment, and they lie together
+in bed, a terrible cobra will come into the room and bite the king's
+son to death.
+
+Bihangami. But suppose some one lying in wait in the room cut the
+snake into pieces, will not the king's son in that case be saved?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, in that case the life of the king's son will be
+saved; but if the man who kills the snake repeats to the king's son
+the conversation between you and me, that man will be turned into a
+marble statue.
+
+Bihangami. But is there no means of restoring the marble statue
+to life?
+
+Bihangama. Yes, the marble statue may be restored to life if it is
+washed with the life-blood of the infant which the princess will give
+birth to, immediately after it is ushered into the world.
+
+The conversation of the prophetical birds had extended thus far
+when the crows began to caw, the east put on a reddish hue, and the
+travellers beneath the tree bestirred themselves. The conversation
+stopped, but the minister's son had heard it all.
+
+The prince, the princess, and the minister's son pursued their journey
+in the morning; but they had not walked many hours when they met a
+procession consisting of an elephant, a horse, a palki, and a large
+number of attendants. These animals and men had been sent by the king,
+who had heard that his son, together with his newly married wife and
+his friend the minister's son, were not far from the capital on their
+journey homewards. The elephant, which was richly caparisoned, was
+intended for the prince; the palki the framework of which was silver
+and was gaudily adorned, was meant for the princess; and the horse for
+the minister's son. As the prince was about to mount on the elephant,
+the minister's son went up to him and said--"Allow me to ride on
+the elephant, and you please ride on horseback." The prince was not
+a little surprised at the coolness of the proposal. He thought his
+friend was presuming too much on the services he had rendered; he was
+therefore nettled, but remembering that his friend had saved both him
+and his wife, he said nothing, but quietly mounted the horse, though
+his mind became somewhat alienated from him. The procession started,
+and after some time came in sight of the palace, the lion-gate of
+which had been gaily adorned for the reception of the prince and
+the princess. The minister's son told the prince that the lion-gate
+should be broken down before the prince could enter the palace. The
+prince was astounded at the proposal, especially as the minister's
+son gave no reasons for so extraordinary a request. His mind became
+still more estranged from him; but in consideration of the services
+the minister's son had rendered, his request was complied with,
+and the beautiful lion-gate, with its gay decorations, was broken down.
+
+The party now went into the palace, where the king gave a warm
+reception to his son, to his daughter-in-law, and to the minister's
+son. When the story of their adventures was related, the king and his
+courtiers expressed great astonishment, and they all with one voice
+extolled the sagacity, prudence, and devotedness of the minister's
+son. The ladies of the palace were struck with the extraordinary
+beauty of the new-comer; her complexion was milk and vermilion mixed
+together; her neck was like that of a swan; her eyes were like those
+of a gazelle; her lips were as red as the berry bimba; her cheeks were
+lovely; her nose was straight and high; her hair reached her ankles;
+her walk was as graceful as that of a young elephant--such were the
+terms in which the connoisseurs of beauty praised the princess whom
+destiny had brought into the midst of them. They sat around her and
+put her a thousand questions regarding her parents, regarding the
+subterranean palace in which she formerly lived, and the serpent
+which had killed all her relatives. It was now time that the new
+arrivals should have their dinner. The dinner was served up in dishes
+of gold. All sorts of delicacies were there, amongst which the most
+conspicuous was the large head of a rohita fish placed in a golden
+cup near the prince's plate. While they were eating, the minister's
+son suddenly snatched the head of the fish from the prince's plate,
+and said, "Let me, prince, eat this rohita's head." The king's son was
+quite indignant. He said nothing, however. The minister's son perceived
+that his friend was in a terrible rage; but he could not help it,
+as his conduct, however strange, was necessary to the safety of his
+friend's life; neither could he clear himself by stating the reason of
+his behaviour, as in that case he himself would be transformed into
+a marble statue. The dinner over, the minister's son expressed his
+desire to go to his own house. At other times the king's son would
+not allow his friend to go away in that fashion; but being shocked at
+his strange conduct, he readily agreed to the proposal. The minister's
+son, however, had not the slightest notion of going to his own house;
+he was resolved to avert the last peril that was to threaten the life
+of his friend. Accordingly, with a sword in his hand, he stealthily
+entered the room in which the prince and the princess were to sleep
+that night, and ensconced himself under the bedstead, which was
+furnished with mattresses of down and canopied with mosquito curtains
+of the richest silk and gold lace. Soon after dinner the prince and
+princess came into the bedroom, and undressing themselves went to
+bed. At midnight, while the royal couple were asleep, the minister's
+son perceived a snake of gigantic size enter the room through one of
+the water-passages, and climb up the tester-frame of the bed. He rushed
+out of his hiding-place, killed the serpent, cut it up in pieces, and
+put the pieces in the dish for holding betel-leaves and spices. It so
+happened, however, that as the minister's son was cutting the serpent
+into pieces, a drop of blood fell on the breast of the princess, and
+the rather as the mosquito curtains had not been let down. Thinking
+that the drop of blood might injure the fair princess, he resolved
+to lick it up. But as he regarded it as a great sin to look upon a
+young woman lying asleep half naked, he blindfolded himself with
+seven-fold cloth, and licked up the drop of blood. But while he
+was in the act of licking it, the princess awoke and screamed, and
+her scream roused her husband lying beside her. The prince seeing
+the minister's son, who he thought had gone away to his own house,
+bending over the body of his wife, fell into a great rage, and would
+have got up and killed him, had not the minister's son besought him
+to restrain his anger, adding--"Friend, I have done this only in
+order to save your life." "I do not understand what you mean," said
+the prince; "ever since we came out of the subterranean palace you
+have been behaving in a most extraordinary way. In the first place,
+you prevented me from getting upon the richly caparisoned elephant,
+though my father, the king, had purposely sent it for me. I thought,
+however, that a sense of the services you had rendered to me had made
+you exceedingly vain; I therefore let the matter pass, and mounted
+the horse. In the second place, you insisted on the destruction of the
+fine lion-gate, which my father had adorned with gay decorations; and
+I let that matter also pass. Then, again, at dinner you snatched away,
+in a most shameful manner, the rohita's head which was on my plate,
+and devoured it yourself, thinking, no doubt, that you were entitled
+to higher honours than I. You then pretended that you were going
+home, for which I was not at all sorry, as you had made yourself
+very disagreeable to me. And now you are actually in my bedroom,
+bending over the naked bosom of my wife. You must have had some evil
+design; and you pretend that you have done this to save my life. I
+fancy it was not for saving my life, but for destroying my wife's
+chastity." "Oh, do not harbour such thoughts in your mind against
+me. The gods know that I have done all this for the preservation of
+your life. You would see the reasonableness of my conduct throughout
+if I had the liberty of stating my reasons." "And why are you not
+at liberty?" asked the prince; "who has shut up your mouth?" "It is
+destiny that has shut up my mouth," answered the minister's son;
+"if I were to tell it all, I should be transformed into a marble
+statue." "You would be transformed into a marble statue!" exclaimed
+the prince; "you must take me to be a simpleton to believe this
+nonsense." "Do you wish me then, friend," said the minister's son,
+"to tell you all? You must then make up your mind to see your friend
+turned into stone." "Come, out with it," said the prince, "or else you
+are a dead man." The minister's son, in order to clear himself of the
+foul accusation brought against him, deemed it his duty to reveal the
+secret at the risk of his life. He again and again warned the prince
+not to press him. But the prince remained inexorable. The minister's
+son then went on to say that, while bivouacking under a lofty tree
+one night, he had overheard a conversation between Bihangama and
+Bihangami, in which the former predicted all the dangers that were to
+threaten the life of the prince. When the minister's son had related
+the prediction concerning the mounting upon the elephant, his lower
+parts were turned into stone. He then, turning to the prince, said,
+"See, friend, my lower parts have already turned into stone." "Go on,
+go on," said the prince, "with your story." The minister's son then
+related the prophecy regarding the destruction of the lion-gate,
+when half of his body was converted into stone. He then related
+the prediction regarding the eating of the head of the fish, when
+his body up to his neck was petrified. "Now, friend," said the
+minister's son, "the whole of my body, excepting my neck and head,
+is petrified; if I tell the rest, I shall assuredly become a man of
+stone. Do you wish me still to go on?" "Go on," answered the prince,
+"go on." "Very well, I will go on to the end," said the minister's
+son; "but in case you repent after I have become turned into stone,
+and wish me to be restored to life, I will tell you of the manner
+in which it may be effected. The princess after a few months will be
+delivered of a child; if immediately after the birth of the infant you
+kill it and besmear my marble body with its blood, I shall be restored
+to life." He then related the prediction regarding the serpent in the
+bedroom; and when the last word was on his lips the rest of his body
+was turned into stone, and he dropped on the floor a marble image. The
+princess jumped out of bed, opened the vessel for betel-leaves and
+spices, and saw there pieces of a serpent. Both the prince and the
+princess now became convinced of the good faith and benevolence of
+their departed friend. They went to the marble figure, but it was
+lifeless. They set up a loud lamentation; but it was to no purpose,
+for the marble moved not. They then resolved to keep the marble figure
+concealed in a safe place, and to besmear it with the blood of their
+first-born child when it should be ushered into existence.
+
+In process of time the hour of the princess's travail came on,
+and she was delivered of a beautiful boy, the perfect image of his
+mother. Both father and mother were struck with the beauty of their
+child, and would fain have spared its life; but recollecting the vows
+they had made on behalf of their best friend, now lying in a corner of
+the room a lifeless stone, and the inestimable services he had rendered
+to both of them, they cut the child into two, and besmeared the marble
+figure of the minister's son with its blood. The marble became animated
+in a moment. The minister's son stood before the prince and princess,
+who became exceedingly glad to see their old friend again in life. But
+the minister's son, who saw the lovely new-born babe lying in a pool
+of blood, was overwhelmed with grief. He took up the dead infant,
+carefully wrapped it up in a towel, and resolved to get it restored
+to life.
+
+The minister's son, intent on the reanimation of his friend's child,
+consulted all the physicians of the country; but they said that
+they would undertake to cure any person of any disease so long as
+life was in him, but when life was extinct, the case was beyond
+their jurisdiction. The minister's son at last bethought himself
+of his own wife, who was living in a distant town, and who was a
+devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali, who, through his wife's
+intercession, might be prevailed upon to give life to the dead
+child. He, accordingly, set out on a journey to the town in which
+his wife was living in her father's house. Adjoining that house there
+was a garden where upon a tree he hung the dead child wrapped up in
+a towel. His wife was overjoyed to see her husband after so long a
+time; but to her surprise she found that he was very melancholy, that
+he spoke very little, and that he was brooding over something in his
+mind. She asked the reason of his melancholy, but he kept quiet. One
+night while they were lying together in bed, the wife got up and
+opening the door went out. The husband, who had little sleep any night
+in consequence of the weight of anxiety regarding the reanimation of
+his friend's child, perceiving his wife go out at that dead hour of
+night, determined to follow her without being noticed. She went to a
+temple of the goddess Kali, which was at no great distance from her
+house. She worshipped the goddess with flowers and sandal-wood perfume,
+and said, "O mother Kali! have mercy upon me, and deliver me out of
+all my troubles." The goddess replied, "Why, what further grievance
+have you? You long prayed for the return of your husband, and he has
+returned; what aileth thee now?" The woman answered, "True, O Mother,
+my husband has come to me, but he is very moody and melancholy,
+hardly speaks to me, takes no delight in me, only sits moping in a
+corner." To which the goddess rejoined, "Ask your husband what the
+reason of his melancholy is, and let me know it." The minister's son
+overheard the conversation between the goddess and his wife, but he
+did not make his appearance; he quietly slunk away before his wife
+and went to bed. The following day the wife asked her husband of the
+cause of his melancholy; and he related all the particulars regarding
+the killing of the infant child of the prince. Next night at the same
+dead hour the wife proceeded to Kali's temple and mentioned to the
+goddess the reason of her husband's melancholy; on which the goddess
+said, "Bring the child here and I will restore it to life." On the
+succeeding night the child was produced before the goddess Kali,
+and she called it back to life. Entranced with joy, the minister's
+son took up the reanimated child, went as fast as his legs could
+carry him to the prince and princess, and presented to them their
+child alive and well. They all rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
+and lived together happily till the day of their death.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+THE INDIGENT BRAHMAN
+
+
+There was a Brahman who had a wife and four children. He was
+very poor. With no resources in the world, he lived chiefly on the
+benefactions of the rich. His gains were considerable when marriages
+were celebrated or funeral ceremonies were performed; but as his
+parishioners did not marry every day, neither did they die every
+day, he found it difficult to make the two ends meet. His wife
+often rebuked him for his inability to give her adequate support,
+and his children often went about naked and hungry. But though poor
+he was a good man. He was diligent in his devotions; and there was
+not a single day in his life in which he did not say his prayers at
+stated hours. His tutelary deity was the goddess Durga, the consort
+of Siva, the creative Energy of the Universe. On no day did he either
+drink water or taste food till he had written in red ink the name
+of Durga at least one hundred and eight times; while throughout the
+day he incessantly uttered the ejaculation, "O Durga! O Durga! have
+mercy upon me." Whenever he felt anxious on account of his poverty
+and his inability to support his wife and children, he groaned
+out--"Durga! Durga! Durga!"
+
+One day, being very sad, he went to a forest many miles distant
+from the village in which he lived, and indulging his grief wept
+bitter tears. He prayed in the following manner:--"O Durga! O Mother
+Bhagavati! wilt thou not make an end of my misery? Were I alone in
+the world, I should not have been sad on account of poverty; but thou
+hast given me a wife and children. Give me, O Mother, the means to
+support them." It so happened that on that day and on that very spot
+the god Siva and his wife Durga were taking their morning walk. The
+goddess Durga, on seeing the Brahman at a distance, said to her divine
+husband--"O Lord of Kailas! do you see that Brahman? He is always
+taking my name on his lips and offering the prayer that I should
+deliver him out of his troubles. Can we not, my lord, do something
+for the poor Brahman, oppressed as he is with the cares of a growing
+family? We should give him enough to make him comfortable. As the
+poor man and his family have never enough to eat, I propose that you
+give him a handi [7] which should yield him an inexhaustible supply
+of mudki." [8] The lord of Kailas readily agreed to the proposal of
+his divine consort, and by his decree created on the spot a handi
+possessing the required quality. Durga then, calling the Brahman
+to her, said,--"O Brahman! I have often thought of your pitiable
+case. Your repeated prayers have at last moved my compassion. Here is
+a handi for you. When you turn it upside down and shake it, it will
+pour down a never-ceasing shower of the finest mudki, which will not
+end till you restore the handi to its proper position. Yourself,
+your wife, and your children can eat as much mudki as you like,
+and you can also sell as much as you like." The Brahman, delighted
+beyond measure at obtaining so inestimable a treasure, made obeisance
+to the goddess, and, taking the handi in his hand, proceeded towards
+his house as fast as his legs could carry him. But he had not gone
+many yards when he thought of testing the efficacy of the wonderful
+vessel. Accordingly he turned the handi upside down and shook it, when,
+lo, and behold! a quantity of the finest mudki he had ever seen fell
+to the ground. He tied the sweetmeat in his sheet and walked on. It
+was now noon, and the Brahman was hungry; but he could not eat without
+his ablutions and his prayers. As he saw in the way an inn, and not
+far from it a tank, he purposed to halt there that he might bathe,
+say his prayers, and then eat the much-desired mudki. The Brahman
+sat at the innkeeper's shop, put the handi near him, smoked tobacco,
+besmeared his body with mustard oil, and before proceeding to bathe
+in the adjacent tank gave the handi in charge to the innkeeper,
+begging him again and again to take especial care of it.
+
+When the Brahman went to his bath and his devotions, the innkeeper
+thought it strange that he should be so careful as to the safety of
+his earthen vessel. There must be something valuable in the handi,
+he thought, otherwise why should the Brahman take so much thought
+about it? His curiosity being excited he opened the handi, and to his
+surprise found that it contained nothing. What can be the meaning of
+this? thought the innkeeper within himself. Why should the Brahman
+care so much for an empty handi? He took up the vessel, and began
+to examine it carefully; and when, in the course of examination, he
+turned the handi upside down, a quantity of the finest mudki fell
+from it, and went on falling without intermission. The innkeeper
+called his wife and children to witness this unexpected stroke of good
+fortune. The showers of the sugared fried paddy were so copious that
+they filled all the vessels and jars of the innkeeper. He resolved
+to appropriate to himself this precious handi, and accordingly put in
+its place another handi of the same size and make. The ablutions and
+devotions of the Brahman being now over, he came to the shop in wet
+clothes reciting holy texts of the Vedas. Putting on dry clothes,
+he wrote on a sheet of paper the name of Durga one hundred and
+eight times in red ink; after which he broke his fast on the mudki
+his handi had already given him. Thus refreshed, and being about
+to resume his journey homewards, he called for his handi, which the
+innkeeper delivered to him, adding--"There, sir, is your handi; it is
+just where you put it; no one has touched it." The Brahman, without
+suspecting anything, took up the handi and proceeded on his journey;
+and as he walked on, he congratulated himself on his singular good
+fortune. "How agreeably," he thought within himself, "will my poor
+wife be surprised! How greedily the children will devour the mudki
+of heaven's own manufacture! I shall soon become rich, and lift up
+my head with the best of them all." The pains of travelling were
+considerably alleviated by these joyful anticipations. He reached his
+house, and calling his wife and children, said--"Look now at what I
+have brought. This handi that you see is an unfailing source of wealth
+and contentment. You will see what a stream of the finest mudki will
+flow from it when I turn it upside down." The Brahman's good wife,
+hearing of mudki falling from the handi unceasingly, thought that her
+husband must have gone mad; and she was confirmed in her opinion when
+she found that nothing fell from the vessel though it was turned upside
+down again and again. Overwhelmed with grief, the Brahman concluded
+that the innkeeper must have played a trick with him; he must have
+stolen the handi Durga had given him, and put a common one in its
+stead. He went back the next day to the innkeeper, and charged him
+with having changed his handi. The innkeeper put on a fit of anger,
+expressed surprise at the Brahman's impudence in charging him with
+theft, and drove him away from his shop.
+
+The Brahman then bethought himself of an interview with the goddess
+Durga who had given him the handi, and accordingly went to the forest
+where he had met her. Siva and Durga again favoured the Brahman
+with an interview. Durga said--"So, you have lost the handi I gave
+you. Here is another, take it and make good use of it." The Brahman,
+elated with joy, made obeisance to the divine couple, took up the
+vessel, and went on his way. He had not gone far when he turned it
+upside down, and shook it in order to see whether any mudki would
+fall from it. Horror of horrors! instead of sweetmeats about a score
+of demons, of gigantic size and grim visage, jumped out of the handi,
+and began to belabour the astonished Brahman with blows, fisticuffs and
+kicks. He had the presence of mind to turn up the handi and to cover
+it, when the demons forthwith disappeared. He concluded that this new
+handi had been given him only for the punishment of the innkeeper. He
+accordingly went to the innkeeper, gave him the new handi in charge,
+begged of him carefully to keep it till he returned from his ablutions
+and prayers. The innkeeper, delighted with this second godsend, called
+his wife and children, and said--"This is another handi brought here by
+the same Brahman who brought the handi of mudki. This time, I hope, it
+is not mudki but sandesa. [9] Come, be ready with baskets and vessels,
+and I'll turn the handi upside down and shake it." This was no sooner
+done than scores of fierce demons started up, who caught hold of the
+innkeeper and his family and belaboured them mercilessly. They also
+began upsetting the shop, and would have completely destroyed it,
+if the victims had not besought the Brahman, who had by this time
+returned from his ablutions, to show mercy to them and send away
+the terrible demons. The Brahman acceded to the innkeeper's request,
+he dismissed the demons by shutting up the vessel; he got the former
+handi, and with the two handis went to his native village.
+
+On reaching home the Brahman shut the door of his house, turned the
+mudki-handi upside down, and shook it; the result was an unceasing
+stream of the finest mudki that any confectioner in the country
+could produce. The man, his wife, and their children devoured the
+sweetmeat to their hearts' content; all the available earthen pots
+and pans of the house were filled with it; and the Brahman resolved
+the next day to turn confectioner, to open a shop in his house, and
+sell mudki. On the very day the shop was opened, the whole village
+came to the Brahman's house to buy the wonderful mudki. They had never
+seen such mudki in their life, it was so sweet, so white, so large, so
+luscious; no confectioner in the village or any town in the country had
+ever manufactured anything like it. The reputation of the Brahman's
+mudki extended, in a few days, beyond the bounds of the village,
+and people came from remote parts to purchase it. Cartloads of the
+sweetmeat were sold every day, and the Brahman in a short time became
+very rich. He built a large brick house, and lived like a nobleman
+of the land. Once, however, his property was about to go to wreck
+and ruin. His children one day by mistake shook the wrong handi,
+when a large number of demons dropped down and caught hold of the
+Brahman's wife and children and were striking them mercilessly, when
+happily the Brahman came into the house and turned up the handi. In
+order to prevent a similar catastrophe in future, the Brahman shut up
+the demon-handi in a private room to which his children had no access.
+
+Pure and uninterrupted prosperity, however, is not the lot of mortals;
+and though the demon-handi was put aside, what security was there
+that an accident might not befall the mudki-handi? One day, during
+the absence of the Brahman and his wife from the house, the children
+decided upon shaking the handi; but as each of them wished to enjoy
+the pleasure of shaking it there was a general struggle to get it, and
+in the melee the handi fell to the ground and broke. It is needless to
+say that the Brahman, when on reaching home he heard of the disaster,
+became inexpressibly sad. The children were of course well cudgelled,
+but no flogging of children could replace the magical handi. After some
+days he again went to the forest, and offered many a prayer for Durga's
+favour. At last Siva and Durga again appeared to him, and heard how
+the handi had been broken. Durga gave him another handi, accompanied
+with the following caution--"Brahman, take care of this handi; if you
+again break it or lose it, I'll not give you another." The Brahman
+made obeisance, and went away to his house at one stretch without
+halting anywhere. On reaching home he shut the door of his house,
+called his wife to him, turned the handi upside down, and began to
+shake it. They were only expecting mudki to drop from it, but instead
+of mudki a perennial stream of beautiful sandesa issued from it. And
+such sandesa! No confectioner of Burra Bazar ever made its like. It
+was more the food of gods than of men. The Brahman forthwith set up
+a shop for selling sandesa, the fame of which soon drew crowds of
+customers from all parts of the country. At all festivals, at all
+marriage feasts, at all funeral celebrations, at all Pujas, no one
+bought any other sandesa than the Brahman's. Every day, and every
+hour, many jars of gigantic size, filled with the delicious sweetmeat,
+were sent to all parts of the country.
+
+The wealth of the Brahman excited the envy of the Zemindar of the
+village, who, having heard that the sandesa was not manufactured but
+dropped from a handi, devised a plan for getting possession of the
+miraculous vessel. At the celebration of his son's marriage he held
+a great feast, to which were invited hundreds of people. As many
+mountain-loads of sandesa would be required for the purpose, the
+Zemindar proposed that the Brahman should bring the magical handi to
+the house in which the feast was held. The Brahman at first refused
+to take it there; but as the Zemindar insisted on its being carried
+to his own house, he reluctantly consented to take it there. After
+many Himalayas of sandesa had been shaken out, the handi was taken
+possession of by the Zemindar, and the Brahman was insulted and driven
+out of the house. The Brahman, without giving vent to anger in the
+least, quietly went to his house, and taking the demon-handi in his
+hand, came back to the door of the Zemindar's house. He turned the
+handi upside down and shook it, on which a hundred demons started up
+as from the vasty deep and enacted a scene which it is impossible to
+describe. The hundreds of guests that had been bidden to the feast
+were caught hold of by the unearthly visitants and beaten; the women
+were dragged by their hair from the Zenana and dashed about amongst
+the men; while the big and burly Zemindar was driven about from room
+to room like a bale of cotton. If the demons had been allowed to do
+their will only for a few minutes longer, all the men would have been
+killed, and the very house razed to the ground. The Zemindar fell
+prostrate at the feet of the Brahman and begged for mercy. Mercy was
+shown him, and the demons were removed. After that the Brahman was
+no more disturbed by the Zemindar or by any one else; and he lived
+many years in great happiness and enjoyment.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE STORY OF THE RAKSHASAS
+
+
+There was a poor half-witted Brahman who had a wife but no children. It
+was only with difficulty he could supply the wants of himself and his
+wife. And the worst of it was that he was rather lazily inclined. He
+was averse to taking long journeys, otherwise he might always have
+had enough, in the shape of presents from rich men, to enable him
+and his wife to live comfortably. There was at that time a king in a
+neighbouring country who was celebrating the funeral obsequies of his
+mother with great pomp. Brahmans and beggars were going from different
+parts with the expectation of receiving rich presents. Our Brahman was
+requested by his wife to seize this opportunity and get a little money;
+but his constitutional indolence stood in the way. The woman, however,
+gave her husband no rest till she extorted from him the promise that
+he would go. The good woman, accordingly, cut down a plantain tree
+and burnt it to ashes, with which ashes she cleaned the clothes of
+her husband, and made them as white as any fuller could make them. She
+did this because her husband was going to the palace of a great king,
+who could not be approached by men clothed in dirty rags; besides,
+as a Brahman, he was bound to appear neat and clean. The Brahman at
+last one morning left his house for the palace of the great king. As
+he was somewhat imbecile, he did not inquire of any one which road
+he should take; but he went on and on, and proceeded whithersoever
+his two eyes directed him. He was of course not on the right road,
+indeed he had reached a region where he did not meet with a single
+human being for many miles, and where he saw sights which he had
+never seen in his life. He saw hillocks of cowries (shells used as
+money) on the roadside: he had not proceeded far from them when he
+saw hillocks of pice, then successively hillocks of four-anna pieces,
+hillocks of eight-anna pieces, and hillocks of rupees. To the infinite
+surprise of the poor Brahman, these hillocks of shining silver coins
+were succeeded by a large hill of burnished gold-mohurs, which were
+all as bright as if they had been just issued from the mint. Close
+to this hill of gold-mohurs was a large house which seemed to be
+the palace of a powerful and rich king, at the door of which stood
+a lady of exquisite beauty. The lady, seeing the Brahman, said,
+"Come, my beloved husband; you married me when I was young, and
+you never came once after our marriage, though I have been daily
+expecting you. Blessed be this day which has made me see the face of
+my husband. Come, my sweet, come in, wash your feet and rest after the
+fatigues of your journey; eat and drink, and after that we shall make
+ourselves merry." The Brahman was astonished beyond measure. He had
+no recollection of having been married in early youth to any other
+woman than the woman who was now keeping house with him. But being
+a Kulin Brahman, he thought it was quite possible that his father
+had got him married when he was a little child, though the fact had
+made no impression on his mind. But whether he remembered it or not,
+the fact was certain, for the woman declared that she was his wedded
+wife,--and such a wife! as beautiful as the goddesses of Indra's
+heaven, and no doubt as wealthy as she was beautiful. While these
+thoughts were passing through the Brahman's mind, the lady said again,
+"Are you doubting in your mind whether I am your wife? Is it possible
+that all recollection of that happy event has been effaced from your
+mind--all the pomp and circumstance of our nuptials? Come in, beloved;
+this is your own house, for whatever is mine is thine." The Brahman
+succumbed to the loving entreaties of the fair lady, and went into the
+house. The house was not an ordinary one--it was a magnificent palace,
+all the apartments being large and lofty and richly furnished. But one
+thing surprised the Brahman very much, and that was that there was
+no other person in the house besides the lady herself. He could not
+account for so singular a phenomenon; neither could he explain how
+it was that he did not meet with any human being in his morning and
+evening walks. The fact was that the lady was not a human being. She
+was a Rakshasi. [10] She had eaten up the king, the queen, and all
+the members of the royal family, and gradually all his subjects. This
+was the reason why human beings were not seen in those parts.
+
+The Rakshasi and the Brahman lived together for about a week, when
+the former said to the latter, "I am very anxious to see my sister,
+your other wife. You must go and fetch her, and we shall all live
+together happily in this large and beautiful house. You must go early
+to-morrow, and I will give you clothes and jewels for her." Next
+morning the Brahman, furnished with fine clothes and costly ornaments,
+set out for his home. The poor woman was in great distress; all the
+Brahmans and Pandits that had been to the funeral ceremony of the
+king's mother had returned home loaded with largesses; but her husband
+had not returned,--and no one could give any news of him, for no one
+had seen him there. The woman therefore concluded that he must have
+been murdered on the road by highwaymen. She was in this terrible
+suspense, when one day she heard a rumour in the village that her
+husband was seen coming home with fine clothes and costly jewels for
+his wife. And sure enough the Brahman soon appeared with his valuable
+load. On seeing his wife the Brahman thus accosted her:--"Come with
+me, my dearest wife; I have found my first wife. She lives in a
+stately palace, near which are hillocks of rupees and a large hill
+of gold-mohurs. Why should you pine away in wretchedness and misery
+in this horrible place? Come with me to the house of my first wife,
+and we shall all live together happily." When the woman heard her
+husband speak of his first wife, of hillocks of rupees and of a hill
+of gold-mohurs, she thought in her mind that her half-witted good man
+had become quite mad; but when she saw the exquisitely beautiful silks
+and satins and the ornaments set with diamonds and precious stones,
+which only queens and princesses were in the habit of putting on,
+she concluded in her mind that her poor husband had fallen into the
+meshes of a Rakshasi. The Brahman, however, insisted on his wife's
+going with him, and declared that if she did not come she was at
+liberty to pine away in poverty, but that for himself he meant to
+return forthwith to his first and rich wife. The good woman, after a
+great deal of altercation with her husband, resolved to go with him
+and judge for herself how matters stood. They set out accordingly
+the next morning, and went by the same road on which the Brahman had
+travelled. The woman was not a little surprised to see hillocks of
+cowries, of pice, of eight-anna pieces, of rupees, and last of all a
+lofty hill of gold-mohurs. She saw also an exceedingly beautiful lady
+coming out of the palace hard by, and hastening towards her. The lady
+fell on the neck of the Brahman woman, wept tears of joy, and said,
+"Welcome, beloved sister! this is the happiest day of my life! I have
+seen the face of my dearest sister!" The party then entered the palace.
+
+What with the stately mansion in which he was lodged, with the most
+delectable provisions which seemed to rise as if by enchantment, what
+with the caresses and endearments of his two wives, the one human and
+the other demoniac, who vied with each other in making him happy and
+comfortable, the Brahman had a jolly time of it. He was steeped as
+it were in an ocean of enjoyment. Some fifteen or sixteen years were
+spent by the Brahman in this state of Elysian pleasure, during which
+period his two wives presented him with two sons. The Rakshasi's son,
+who was the elder, and who looked more like a god than a human being,
+was named Sahasra Dal, literally the Thousand-Branched; and the son
+of the Brahman woman, who was a year younger, was named Champa Dal,
+that is, branch of a champaka tree. The two boys loved each other
+dearly. They were both sent to a school which was several miles
+distant, to which they used every day to go riding on two little
+ponies of extraordinary fleetness.
+
+The Brahman woman had all along suspected from a thousand little
+circumstances that her sister-in-law was not a human being but a
+Rakshasi; but her suspicion had not yet ripened into certainty, for
+the Rakshasi exercised great self-restraint on herself, and never
+did anything which human beings did not do. But the demoniac nature,
+like murder, will out. The Brahman having nothing to do, in order
+to pass his time had recourse to hunting. The first day he returned
+from the hunt, he had bagged an antelope. The antelope was laid in the
+courtyard of the palace. At the sight of the antelope the mouth of the
+raw-eating Rakshasi began to water. Before the animal was dressed for
+the kitchen, she took it away into a room, and began devouring it. The
+Brahman woman, who was watching the whole scene from a secret place,
+saw her Rakshasi sister tear off a leg of the antelope, and opening her
+tremendous jaws, which seemed to her imagination to extend from earth
+to heaven, swallow it up. In this manner the body and other limbs of
+the antelope were devoured, till only a little bit of the meat was
+kept for the kitchen. The second day another antelope was bagged,
+and the third day another; and the Rakshasi, unable to restrain her
+appetite for raw flesh, devoured these two as she had devoured the
+first. On the third day the Brahman woman expressed to the Rakshasi her
+surprise at the disappearance of nearly the whole of the antelope with
+the exception of a little bit. The Rakshasi looked fierce and said,
+"Do I eat raw flesh?" To which the Brahman woman replied, "Perhaps you
+do, for aught I know to the contrary." The Rakshasi, knowing herself
+to be discovered, looked fiercer than before, and vowed revenge. The
+Brahman woman concluded in her mind that the doom of herself, of
+her husband, and of her son was sealed. She spent a miserable night,
+believing that next day she would be killed and eaten up, and that her
+husband and son would share the same fate. Early next morning, before
+her son Champa Dal went to school, she gave him in a small golden
+vessel a little quantity of her own breast milk, and told him to be
+constantly watching its colour. "Should you," she said, "see the milk
+get a little red, then conclude that your father has been killed; and
+should you see it grow still redder, then conclude that I am killed:
+when you see this, gallop away for your life as fast as your horse
+can carry you, for if you do not, you also will be devoured."
+
+The Rakshasi on getting up from bed--and she had prevented the Brahman
+overnight from having any communication with his wife--proposed that
+she and the Brahman should go to bathe in the river, which was at
+some distance. She would take no denial; the Brahman had therefore
+to follow her as meekly as a lamb. The Brahman woman at once saw from
+the proposal that ruin was impending; but it was beyond her power to
+avert the catastrophe. The Rakshasi, on the river-side, assuming her
+own proper gigantic dimensions, took hold of the ill-fated Brahman,
+tore him limb by limb, and devoured him up. She then ran to her house,
+and seized the Brahman woman, and put her into her capacious stomach,
+clothes, hair and all. Young Champa Dal, who, agreeably to his mother's
+instructions, was diligently watching the milk in the small golden
+vessel, was horror-struck to find the milk redden a little. He set
+up a cry and said that his father was killed; a few minutes after,
+finding the milk become completely red, he cried yet louder, and
+rushing to his pony, mounted it. His half-brother, Sahasra Dal,
+surprised at Champa Dal's conduct, said, "Where are you going,
+Champa? Why are you crying? Let me accompany you." "Oh! do not come
+to me. Your mother has devoured my father and mother; don't you come
+and devour me." "I will not devour you; I'll save you." Scarcely
+had he uttered these words and galloped away after Champa Dal, when
+he saw his mother in her own Rakshasi form appearing at a distance,
+and demanding that Champa Dal should come to her. He said, "I will
+come to you, not Champa." So saying, he went to his mother, and with
+his sword, which he always wore as a young prince, cut off her head.
+
+Champa Dal had, in the meantime, galloped off a good distance, as
+he was running for his life; but Sahasra Dal, by pricking his horse
+repeatedly, soon overtook him, and told him that his mother was no
+more. This was small consolation to Champa Dal, as the Rakshasi,
+before being killed, had devoured both his father and mother; still
+he could not but feel that Sahasra Dal's friendship was sincere. They
+both rode fast, and as their horses were of the breed of pakshirajes
+(literally, kings of birds), they travelled over hundreds of miles. An
+hour or two before sundown they descried a village, to which they made
+up, and became guests in the house of one of its most respectable
+inhabitants. The two friends found the members of that respectable
+family in deep gloom. Evidently there was something agitating them
+very much. Some of them held private consultations, and others were
+weeping. The eldest lady of the house, the mother of its head, said
+aloud, "Let me go, as I am the eldest. I have lived long enough;
+at the utmost my life would be cut short only by a year or two." The
+youngest member of the house, who was a little girl, said, "Let me
+go, as I am young and useless to the family; if I die I shall not be
+missed." The head of the house, the son of the old lady, said, "I am
+the head and representative of the family; it is but reasonable that
+I should give up my life." His younger brother said, "You are the main
+prop and pillar of the family; if you go the whole family is ruined. It
+is not reasonable that you should go; let me go, as I shall not be
+much missed." The two strangers listened to all this conversation
+with no little curiosity. They wondered what it all meant. Sahasra
+Dal at last, at the risk of being thought meddlesome, ventured to
+ask the head of the house the subject of their consultations, and
+the reason of the deep misery but too visible in their countenances
+and words. The head of the house gave the following answer: "Know
+then, worthy guests, that this part of the country is infested by a
+terrible Rakshasi, who has depopulated all the regions round. This
+town, too, would have been depopulated, but that our king became a
+suppliant before the Rakshasi, and begged her to show mercy to us his
+subjects. The Rakshasi replied, 'I will consent to show mercy to you
+and to your subjects only on this condition, that you every night put
+a human being, either male or female, in a certain temple for me to
+feast upon. If I get a human being every night I will rest satisfied,
+and not commit any further depredations on your subjects.' Our king
+had no other alternative than to agree to this condition, for what
+human beings can ever hope to contend against a Rakshasi? From that
+day the king made it a rule that every family in the town should in
+its turn send one of its members to the temple as a victim to appease
+the wrath and to satisfy the hunger of the terrible Rakshasi. All the
+families in this neighbourhood have had their turn, and this night
+it is the turn for one of us to devote himself to destruction. We are
+therefore discussing who should go. You must now perceive the cause of
+our distress." The two friends consulted together for a few minutes,
+and at the conclusion of their consultations, Sahasra Dal, who was the
+spokesman of the party, said, "Most worthy host, do not any longer be
+sad: as you have been very kind to us, we have resolved to requite
+your hospitality by ourselves going to the temple and becoming the
+food of the Rakshasi. We go as your representatives." The whole
+family protested against the proposal. They declared that guests
+were like gods, and that it was the duty of the host to endure all
+sorts of privation for the comfort of the guest, and not the duty of
+the guest to suffer for the host. But the two strangers insisted on
+standing proxy to the family, who, after a great deal of yea and nay,
+at last consented to the arrangement.
+
+Immediately after candle-light, Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal, with
+their two horses, installed themselves in the temple, and shut the
+door. Sahasra told his brother to go to sleep, as he himself was
+determined to sit up the whole night and watch against the coming of
+the terrible Rakshasi. Champa was soon in a fine sleep, while Sahasra
+lay awake. Nothing happened during the early hours of the night, but
+no sooner had the gong of the king's palace announced the dead hour
+of midnight than Sahasra heard the sound as of a rushing tempest,
+and immediately concluded, from his knowledge of Rakshasas, that
+the Rakshasi was nigh. A thundering knock was heard at the door,
+accompanied with the following words:--
+
+
+           "How, mow, khow!
+            A human being I smell;
+            Who watches inside?"
+
+
+To this question Sahasra Dal made the following reply:--
+
+
+           "Sahasra Dal watcheth,
+            Champa Dal watcheth,
+            Two winged horses watch."
+
+
+On hearing this answer the Rakshasi turned away with a groan, knowing
+that Sahasra Dal had Rakshasa blood in his veins. An hour after,
+the Rakshasi returned, thundered at the door, and called out--
+
+
+           "How, mow, khow!
+            A human being I smell;
+            Who watcheth inside?"
+
+
+Sahasra Dal again replied--
+
+
+           "Sahasra Dal watcheth,
+            Champa Dal watcheth,
+            Two winged horses watch."
+
+
+The Rakshasi again groaned and went away. At two o'clock and at three
+o'clock the Rakshasi again and again made her appearance, and made
+the usual inquiry, and obtaining the same answer, went away with a
+groan. After three o'clock, however, Sahasra Dal felt very sleepy:
+he could not any longer keep awake. He therefore roused Champa,
+told him to watch, and strictly enjoined upon him, in reply to the
+query of the Rakshasi, to mention Sahasra's name first. With these
+instructions he went to sleep. At four o'clock the Rakshasi again
+made her appearance, thundered at the door, and said--
+
+
+           "How, mow, khow!
+            A human being I smell;
+            Who watches inside?"
+
+
+As Champa Dal was in a terrible fright, he forgot the instructions
+of his brother for the moment, and answered--
+
+
+           "Champa Dal watcheth,
+            Sahasra Dal watcheth,
+            Two winged horses watch."
+
+
+On hearing this reply the Rakshasi uttered a shout of exultation,
+laughed such a laugh as only demons can, and with a dreadful noise
+broke open the door. The noise roused Sahasra, who in a moment
+sprung to his feet, and with his sword, which was as supple as a
+palm-leaf, cut off the head of the Rakshasi. The huge mountain of a
+body fell to the ground, making a great noise, and lay covering many
+an acre. Sahasra Dal kept the severed head of the Rakshasi near him,
+and went to sleep. Early in the morning some wood-cutters, who were
+passing near the temple, saw the huge body on the ground. They could
+not from a distance make out what it was, but on coming near they
+knew that it was the carcase of the terrible Rakshasi, who had by
+her voracity nearly depopulated the country. Remembering the promise
+made by the king that the killer of the Rakshasi should be rewarded
+by the hand of his daughter and with a share of the kingdom, each of
+the wood-cutters, seeing no claimant at hand, thought of obtaining
+the reward. Accordingly each of them cut off a part of a limb of the
+huge carcase, went to the king, and represented himself to be the
+destroyer of the great raw-eater, and claimed the reward. The king,
+in order to find out the real hero and deliverer, inquired of his
+minister the name of the family whose turn it was on the preceding
+night to offer a victim to the Rakshasi. The head of that family, on
+being brought before the king, related how two youthful travellers,
+who were guests in his house, volunteered to go into the temple
+in the room of a member of his family. The door of the temple was
+broken open; Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal and their horses were found
+all safe; and the head of the Rakshasi, which was with them, proved
+beyond the shadow of a doubt that they had killed the monster. The
+king kept his word. He gave his daughter in marriage to Sahasra Dal
+and the sovereignty of half his dominions. Champa Dal remained with
+his friend in the king's palace, and rejoiced in his prosperity.
+
+Sahasra Dal and Champa Dal lived together happily for some time, when
+a misunderstanding arose between them in this wise. There was in the
+service of the queen-mother a certain maid-servant who was the most
+useful domestic in the palace. There was nothing which she could not
+put her hands to and perform. She had uncommon strength for a woman;
+neither was her intelligence of a mean order. She was a woman of
+immense activity and energy; and if she were absent one day from the
+palace, the affairs of the zenana would be in perfect disorder. Hence
+her services were highly valued by the queen-mother and all the ladies
+of the palace. But this woman was not a woman; she was a Rakshasi, who
+had put on the appearance of a woman to serve some purposes of her own,
+and then taken service in the royal household. At night, when every
+one in the palace was asleep, she used to assume her own real form, and
+go about in quest of food, for the quantity of food that is sufficient
+for either man or woman was not sufficient for a Rakshasi. Now Champa
+Dal, having no wife, was in the habit of sleeping outside the zenana,
+and not far from the outer gate of the palace. He had noticed her going
+about on the premises and devouring sundry goats and sheep, horses and
+elephants. The maid-servant, finding that Champa Dal was in the way of
+her supper, determined to get rid of him. She accordingly went one day
+to the queen-mother, and said, "Queen-mother! I am unable any longer
+to work in the palace." "Why? what is the matter, Dasi? [11] How can
+I get on without you? Tell me your reasons. What ails you?" "Why,"
+said the woman, "nowadays it is impossible for a poor woman like
+me to preserve my honour in the palace. There is that Champa Dal,
+the friend of your son-in-law; he always cracks indecent jokes with
+me. It is better for me to beg for my rice than to lose my honour. If
+Champa Dal remains in the palace I must go away." As the maid-servant
+was an absolute necessity in the palace, the queen-mother resolved
+to sacrifice Champa Dal to her. She therefore told Sahasra Dal that
+Champa Dal was a bad man, that his character was loose, and that
+therefore he must leave the palace. Sahasra Dal earnestly pleaded on
+behalf of his friend, but in vain; the queen-mother had made up her
+mind to drive him out of the palace. Sahasra Dal had not the courage
+to speak personally to his friend on the subject; he therefore wrote
+a letter to him, in which he simply said that for certain reasons
+Champa must leave the palace immediately. The letter was put in his
+room after he had gone to bathe. On reading the letter Champa Dal,
+exceedingly grieved, mounted his fleet horse and left the palace.
+
+As Champa's horse was uncommonly fleet, in a few hours he traversed
+thousands of miles, and at last found himself at the gateway of what
+seemed a magnificent palace. Dismounting from his horse, he entered
+the house, where he did not meet with a single creature. He went from
+apartment to apartment, but though they were all richly furnished he
+did not see a single human being. At last, in one of the side rooms,
+he found a young lady of heavenly beauty lying down on a splendid
+bedstead. She was asleep. Champa Dal looked upon the sleeping beauty
+with rapture--he had not seen any woman so beautiful. Upon the bed,
+near the head of the young lady, were two sticks, one of silver and the
+other of gold. Champa took the silver stick into his hand, and touched
+with it the body of the lady; but no change was perceptible. He then
+took up the gold stick and laid it upon the lady, when in a trice
+she woke up, sat in her bed, and eyeing the stranger, inquired who
+he was. Champa Dal briefly told his story. The young lady, or rather
+princess--for she was nothing less--said, "Unhappy man! why have you
+come here? This is the country of Rakshasas, and in this house and
+round about there live no less than seven hundred Rakshasas. They
+all go away to the other side of the ocean every morning in search of
+provisions; and they all return every evening before dusk. My father
+was formerly king in these regions, and had millions of subjects, who
+lived in flourishing towns and cities. But some years ago the invasion
+of the Rakshasas took place, and they devoured all his subjects,
+and himself and my mother, and my brothers and sisters. They devoured
+also all the cattle of the country. There is no living human being in
+these regions excepting myself; and I too should long ago have been
+devoured had not an old Rakshasi, conceiving strange affection for
+me, prevented the other Rakshasas from eating me up. You see those
+sticks of silver and gold; the old Rakshasi, when she goes away in
+the morning, kills me with the silver stick, and on her return in
+the evening re-animates me with the gold stick. I do not know how
+to advise you; if the Rakshasas see you, you are a dead man." Then
+they both talked to each other in a very affectionate manner, and
+laid their heads together to devise if possible some means of escape
+from the hands of the Rakshasas. The hour of the return of the seven
+hundred raw-eaters was fast approaching; and Keshavati--for that
+was the name of the princess, so called from the abundance of her
+hair--told Champa to hide himself in the heaps of the sacred trefoil
+which were lying in the temple of Siva in the central part of the
+palace. Before Champa went to his place of concealment, he touched
+Keshavati with the silver stick, on which she instantly died.
+
+Shortly after sunset Champa Dal heard from beneath the heaps of the
+sacred trefoil the sound as of a mighty rushing wind. Presently he
+heard terrible noises in the palace. The Rakshasas had come home
+from cruising, after having filled their stomachs, each one, with
+sundry goats, sheep, cows, horses, buffaloes, and elephants. The old
+Rakshasi, of whom we have already spoken, came to Keshavati's room,
+roused her by touching her body with the gold stick, and said--
+
+
+           "Hye, mye, khye!
+            A human being I smell."
+
+
+On which Keshavati said, "I am the only human being here; eat me if you
+like." To which the raw-eater replied, "Let me eat up your enemies;
+why should I eat you?" She laid herself down on the ground, as long
+and as high as the Vindhya Hills, and presently fell asleep. The other
+Rakshasas and Rakshasis also soon fell asleep, being all tired out on
+account of their gigantic labours in the day. Keshavati also composed
+herself to sleep; while Champa, not daring to come out of the heaps
+of leaves, tried his best to court the god of repose. At daybreak all
+the raw-eaters, seven hundred in number, got up and went as usual to
+their hunting and predatory excursions, and along with them went the
+old Rakshasi, after touching Keshavati with the silver stick. When
+Champa Dal saw that the coast was clear, he came out of the temple,
+walked into Keshavati's room, and touched her with the gold stick,
+on which she woke up. They sauntered about in the gardens, enjoying
+the cool breeze of the morning; they bathed in a lucid tank which
+was in the grounds; they ate and drank, and spent the day in sweet
+converse. They concocted a plan for their deliverance. They settled
+that Keshavati should ask the old Rakshasi on what the life of a
+Rakshasa depended, and when the secret should be made known they would
+adopt measures accordingly. As on the preceding evening, Champa, after
+touching his fair friend with the silver stick, took refuge in the
+temple beneath the heaps of the sacred trefoil. At dusk the Rakshasas
+as usual came home; and the old Rakshasi, rousing her pet, said--
+
+
+           "Hye, mye, khye!
+            A human being I smell."
+
+
+Keshavati answered, "What other human being is here excepting
+myself? Eat me up, if you like." "Why should I eat you, my darling? Let
+me eat up all your enemies." Then she laid down on the ground her huge
+body, which looked like a part of the Himalaya mountains. Keshavati,
+with a phial of heated mustard oil, went towards the feet of the
+Rakshasi, and said, "Mother, your feet are sore with walking; let me
+rub them with oil." So saying, she began to rub with oil the Rakshasi's
+feet; and while she was in the act of doing so, a few tear-drops from
+her eyes fell on the monster's leg. The Rakshasi smacked the tear-drops
+with her lips, and finding the taste briny, said, "Why are you weeping,
+darling? What aileth thee?" To which the princess replied, "Mother,
+I am weeping because you are old, and when you die I shall certainly
+be devoured by one of the Rakshasas." "When I die! Know, foolish girl,
+that we Rakshasas never die. We are not naturally immortal, but our
+life depends on a secret which no human being can unravel. Let me
+tell you what it is that you may be comforted. You know yonder tank;
+there is in the middle of it a Sphatikasthambha, [12] on the top of
+which in deep waters are two bees. If any human being can dive into
+the waters, and bring up to land the two bees from the pillar in one
+breath, and destroy them so that not a drop of their blood falls to
+the ground, then we Rakshasas shall certainly die; but if a single
+drop of blood falls to the ground, then from it will start up a
+thousand Rakshasas. But what human being will find out this secret,
+or, finding it, will be able to achieve the feat? You need not,
+therefore, darling, be sad; I am practically immortal." Keshavati
+treasured up the secret in her memory, and went to sleep.
+
+Early next morning the Rakshasas as usual went away; Champa came
+out of his hiding-place, roused Keshavati, and fell a-talking. The
+princess told him the secret she had learnt from the Rakshasi. Champa
+immediately made preparations for accomplishing the mighty deed. He
+brought to the side of the tank a knife and a quantity of ashes. He
+disrobed himself, put a drop or two of mustard oil into each of his
+ears to prevent water from entering in, and dived into the waters. In
+a moment he got to the top of the crystal pillar in the middle of the
+tank, caught hold of the two bees he found there, and came up in one
+breath. Taking the knife, he cut up the bees over the ashes, a drop
+or two of the blood fell, not on the ground, but on the ashes. When
+Champa caught hold of the bees, a terrible scream was heard at a
+distance. This was the wailing of the Rakshasas, who were all running
+home to prevent the bees from being killed; but before they could reach
+the palace, the bees had perished. The moment the bees were killed,
+all the Rakshasas died, and their carcases fell on the very spot on
+which they were standing. Champa and the princess afterwards found
+that the gateway of the palace was blocked up by the huge carcases
+of the Rakshasas--some of them having nearly succeeded in getting to
+the palace. In this manner was effected the destruction of the seven
+hundred Rakshasas.
+
+After the destruction of the seven hundred raw-eating monsters, Champa
+Dal and Keshavati got married together by the exchange of garlands of
+flowers. The princess, who had never been out of the house, naturally
+expressed a desire to see the outer world. They used every day to
+take long walks both morning and evening, and as a large river was
+hard by Keshavati wished to bathe in it. The first day they went to
+bathe, one of Keshavati's hairs came off, and as it is the custom
+with women never to throw away a hair unaccompanied with something
+else, she tied the hair to a shell which was floating on the water;
+after which they returned home. In the meantime the shell with the hair
+tied to it floated down the stream, and in course of time reached that
+ghat [13] at which Sahasra Dal and his companions were in the habit
+of performing their ablutions. The shell passed by when Sahasra Dal
+and his friends were bathing; and he, seeing it at some distance,
+said to them, "Whoever succeeds in catching hold of yonder shell
+shall be rewarded with a hundred rupees." They all swam towards it,
+and Sahasra Dal, being the fleetest swimmer, got it. On examining
+it he found a hair tied to it. But such hair! He had never seen so
+long a hair. It was exactly seven cubits long. "The owner of this
+hair must be a remarkable woman, and I must see her"--such was the
+resolution of Sahasra Dal. He went home from the river in a pensive
+mood, and instead of proceeding to the zenana for breakfast, remained
+in the outer part of the palace. The queen-mother, on hearing that
+Sahasra Dal was looking melancholy and had not come to breakfast,
+went to him and asked the reason. He showed her the hair, and said
+he must see the woman whose head it had adorned. The queen-mother
+said, "Very well, you shall have that lady in the palace as soon as
+possible. I promise you to bring her here." The queen-mother told her
+favourite maid-servant, whom she knew to be full of resources--the same
+who was a Rakshasi in disguise--that she must, as soon as possible,
+bring to the palace that lady who was the owner of the hair seven
+cubits long. The maid-servant said she would be quite able to fetch
+her. By her directions a boat was built of Hajol wood, the oars of
+which were of Mon Paban wood. The boat was launched on the stream,
+and she went on board of it with some baskets of wicker-work of
+curious workmanship; she also took with her some sweetmeats into
+which some poison had been mixed. She snapped her fingers thrice,
+and uttered the following charm:--
+
+
+           "Boat of Hajol!
+            Oars of Mon Paban!
+            Take me to the Ghat,
+            In which Keshavati bathes."
+
+
+No sooner had the words been uttered than the boat flew like lightning
+over the waters. It went on and on, leaving behind many a town and
+city. At last it stopped at a bathing-place, which the Rakshasi
+maid-servant concluded was the bathing ghat of Keshavati. She landed
+with the sweetmeats in her hand. She went to the gate of the palace,
+and cried aloud, "O Keshavati! Keshavati! I am your aunt, your mother's
+sister. I am come to see you, my darling, after so many years. Are you
+in, Keshavati?" The princess, on hearing these words, came out of her
+room, and making no doubt that she was her aunt, embraced and kissed
+her. They both wept rivers of joy--at least the Rakshasi maid-servant
+did, and Keshavati followed suit through sympathy. Champa Dal also
+thought that she was the aunt of his newly married wife. They all
+ate and drank and took rest in the middle of the day. Champa Dal,
+as was his habit, went to sleep after breakfast. Towards afternoon,
+the supposed aunt said to Keshavati, "Let us both go to the river and
+wash ourselves." Keshavati replied, "How can we go now? my husband
+is sleeping." "Never mind," said the aunt, "let him sleep on; let me
+put these sweetmeats, that I have brought, near his bedside, that he
+may eat them when he gets up." They then went to the river-side close
+to the spot where the boat was. Keshavati, when she saw from some
+distance the baskets of wicker-work in the boat, said, "Aunt, what
+beautiful things are those! I wish I could get some of them." "Come,
+my child, come and look at them; and you can have as many as you
+like." Keshavati at first refused to go into the boat, but on being
+pressed by her aunt, she went. The moment they two were on board,
+the aunt snapped her fingers thrice and said:--
+
+
+           "Boat of Hajol!
+            Oars of Mon Paban!
+            Take me to the Ghat,
+            In which Sahasra Dal bathes."
+
+
+As soon as these magical words were uttered the boat moved and flew
+like an arrow over the waters. Keshavati was frightened and began to
+cry, but the boat went on and on, leaving behind many towns and cities,
+and in a trice reached the ghat where Sahasra Dal was in the habit of
+bathing. Keshavati was taken to the palace; Sahasra Dal admired her
+beauty and the length of her hair; and the ladies of the palace tried
+their best to comfort her. But she set up a loud cry, and wanted to be
+taken back to her husband. At last when she saw that she was a captive,
+she told the ladies of the palace that she had taken a vow that she
+would not see the face of any strange man for six months. She was
+then lodged apart from the rest in a small house, the window of which
+overlooked the road; there she spent the livelong day and also the
+livelong night--for she had very little sleep--in sighing and weeping.
+
+In the meantime when Champa Dal awoke from sleep, he was distracted
+with grief at not finding his wife. He now thought that the woman,
+who pretended to be his wife's aunt, was a cheat and an impostor,
+and that she must have carried away Keshavati. He did not eat the
+sweetmeats, suspecting they might be poisoned. He threw one of
+them to a crow which, the moment it ate it, dropped down dead. He
+was now the more confirmed in his unfavourable opinion of the
+pretended aunt. Maddened with grief, he rushed out of the house,
+and determined to go whithersoever his eyes might lead him. Like a
+madman, always blubbering "O Keshavati! O Keshavati!" he travelled
+on foot day after day, not knowing whither he went. Six months were
+spent in this wearisome travelling when, at the end of that period, he
+reached the capital of Sahasra Dal. He was passing by the palace-gate
+when the sighs and wailings of a woman sitting at the window of
+a house, on the road-side, attracted his attention. One moment's
+look, and they recognised each other. They continued to hold secret
+communications. Champa Dal heard everything, including the story of
+her vow, the period of which was to terminate the following day. It
+is customary, on the fulfilment of a vow, for some learned Brahman
+to make public recitations of events connected with the vow and
+the person who makes it. It was settled that Champa Dal should take
+upon himself the functions of the reciter. Accordingly, next morning,
+when it was proclaimed by beat of drum that the king wanted a learned
+Brahman who could recite the story of Keshavati on the fulfilment
+of her vow, Champa Dal touched the drum and said that he would make
+the recitation. Next morning a gorgeous assembly was held in the
+courtyard of the palace under a huge canopy of silk. The old king,
+Sahasra Dal, all the courtiers and the learned Brahmans of the country,
+were present there. Keshavati was also there behind a screen that she
+might not be exposed to the rude gaze of the people. Champa Dal, the
+reciter, sitting on a dais, began the story of Keshavati, as we have
+related it, from the beginning, commencing with the words--"There
+was a poor and half-witted Brahman, etc." As he was going on with
+the story, the reciter every now and then asked Keshavati behind the
+screen whether the story was correct; to which question she as often
+replied, "Quite correct; go on, Brahman." During the recitation of
+the story the Rakshasi maid-servant grew pale, as she perceived that
+her real character was discovered; and Sahasra Dal was astonished
+at the knowledge of the reciter regarding the history of his own
+life. The moment the story was finished, Sahasra Dal jumped up from
+his seat, and embracing the reciter, said, "You can be none other
+than my brother Champa Dal." Then the prince, inflamed with rage,
+ordered the maid-servant into his presence. A large hole, as deep
+as the height of a man, was dug in the ground; the maid-servant was
+put into it in a standing posture; prickly thorn was heaped around
+her up to the crown of her head: in this wise was the maid-servant
+buried alive. After this Sahasra Dal and his princess, and Champa
+Dal and Keshavati, lived happily together many years.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE STORY OF SWET-BASANTA
+
+
+There was a rich merchant who had an only son whom he loved
+passionately. He gave to his son whatever he wanted. His son wanted
+a beautiful house in the midst of a large garden. The house was built
+for him, and the grounds were laid out into a fine garden. One day as
+the merchant's son was walking in his garden, he put his hand into
+the nest of a small bird called toontooni, and found in it an egg,
+which he took and put in an almirah which was dug into the wall of
+his house. He closed the door of the almirah, and thought no more of
+the egg.
+
+Though the merchant's son had a house of his own, he had no separate
+establishment; at any rate he kept no cook, for his mother used to
+send him regularly his breakfast and dinner every day. The egg which
+he deposited in the wall-almirah one day burst, and out of it came a
+beautiful infant, a girl. But the merchant's son knew nothing about
+it. He had forgotten everything about the egg, and the door of the
+wall-almirah had been kept closed, though not locked, ever since the
+day the egg was put there. The child grew up within the wall-almirah
+without the knowledge of the merchant's son or of any one else. When
+the child could walk, it had the curiosity one day to open the door;
+and seeing some food on the floor (the breakfast of the merchant's son
+sent by his mother), it came out, and ate a little of it, and returned
+to its cell in the wall-almirah. As the mother of the merchant's
+son sent him always more than he could himself eat, he perceived no
+diminution in the quantity. The girl of the wall-almirah used every
+day to come out and eat a part of the food, and after eating used
+to return to her place in the almirah. But as the girl got older and
+older, she began to eat more and more; hence the merchant's son began
+to perceive a diminution in the quantity of his food. Not dreaming of
+the existence of the wall-almirah girl, he wondered that his mother
+should send him such a small quantity of food. He sent word to his
+mother, complaining of the insufficiency of his meals, and of the
+slovenly manner in which the food was served up in the dish; for the
+girl of the wall-almirah used to finger the rice, curry, and other
+articles of food, and as she always went in a hurry back into the
+almirah that she might not be perceived by any one, she had no time
+to put the rice and the other things into proper order after she had
+eaten part of them. The mother was astonished at her son's complaint,
+for she gave always a much larger quantity than she knew her son could
+consume, and the food was served up on a silver plate neatly by her
+own hand. But as her son repeated the same complaint day after day,
+she began to suspect foul play. She told her son to watch and see
+whether any one ate part of it unperceived. Accordingly, one day when
+the servant brought the breakfast and laid it in a clean place on the
+floor, the merchant's son, instead of going to bathe as it had hitherto
+been his custom, hid himself in a secret place and began to watch. In
+a few minutes he saw the door of the wall-almirah open; a beautiful
+damsel of sweet sixteen stepped out of it, sat on the carpet spread
+before the breakfast, and began to eat. The merchant's son came out
+of his hiding-place, and the damsel could not escape. "Who are you,
+beautiful creature? You do not seem to be earth-born. Are you one
+of the daughters of the gods?" asked the merchant's son. The girl
+replied, "I do not know who I am. This I know, that one day I found
+myself in yonder almirah, and have been ever since living in it." The
+merchant's son thought it strange. He now remembered that sixteen years
+before he had put in the almirah an egg he had found in the nest of
+a toontooni bird. The uncommon beauty of the wall-almirah girl made
+a deep impression on the mind of the merchant's son, and he resolved
+in his mind to marry her. The girl no more went into the almirah, but
+lived in one of the rooms of the spacious house of the merchant's son.
+
+The next day the merchant's son sent word to his mother to the effect
+that he would like to get married. His mother reproached herself
+for not having long before thought of her son's marriage, and sent
+a message to her son to the effect that she and his father would
+the next day send ghataks [14] to different countries to seek for a
+suitable bride. The merchant's son sent word that he had secured for
+himself a most lovable young lady, and that if his parents had no
+objections he would produce her before them. Accordingly the young
+lady of the wall-almirah was taken to the merchant's house; and the
+merchant and his wife were so struck with the matchless beauty, grace,
+and loveliness of the stranger, that, without asking any questions
+as to her birth, the nuptials were celebrated.
+
+In course of time the merchant's son had two sons; the elder he
+named Swet and the younger Basanta. The old merchant died and so
+did his wife. Swet and Basanta grew up fine lads, and the elder was
+in due time married. Some time after Swet's marriage his mother,
+the wall-almirah lady, also died, and the widower lost no time in
+marrying a young and beautiful wife. As Swet's wife was older than
+his stepmother, she became the mistress of the house. The stepmother,
+like all stepmothers, hated Swet and Basanta with a perfect hatred;
+and the two ladies were naturally often at loggerheads with each other.
+
+It so happened one day that a fisherman brought to the merchant (we
+shall no longer call him the merchant's son, as his father had died)
+a fish of singular beauty. It was unlike any other fish that had
+been seen. The fish had marvellous qualities ascribed to it by the
+fisherman. If any one eats it, said he, when he laughs maniks [15]
+will drop from his mouth, and when he weeps pearls will drop from his
+eyes. The merchant, hearing of the wonderful properties of the fish,
+bought it at one thousand rupees, and put it into the hands of Swet's
+wife, who was the mistress of the house, strictly enjoining on her
+to cook it well and to give it to him alone to eat. The mistress,
+or house-mother, who had overheard the conversation between her
+father-in-law and the fisherman, secretly resolved in her mind to
+give the cooked fish to her husband and to his brother to eat, and to
+give to her father-in-law instead a frog daintily cooked. When she had
+finished cooking both the fish and the frog, she heard the noise of a
+squabble between her stepmother-in-law and her husband's brother. It
+appears that Basanta, who was but a lad yet, was passionately fond
+of pigeons, which he tamed. One of these pigeons had flown into the
+room of his stepmother, who had secreted it in her clothes. Basanta
+rushed into the room, and loudly demanded the pigeon. His stepmother
+denied any knowledge of the pigeon, on which the elder brother,
+Swet, forcibly took out the bird from her clothes and gave it to
+his brother. The stepmother cursed and swore, and added, "Wait,
+when the head of the house comes home I will make him shed the blood
+of you both before I give him water to drink." Swet's wife called
+her husband and said to him, "My dearest lord, that woman is a most
+wicked woman, and has boundless influence over my father-in-law. She
+will make him do what she has threatened. Our life is in imminent
+danger. Let us first eat a little, and let us all three run away
+from this place." Swet forthwith called Basanta to him, and told him
+what he had heard from his wife. They resolved to run away before
+nightfall. The woman placed before her husband and her brother-in-law
+the fish of wonderful properties, and they ate of it heartily. The
+woman packed up all her jewels in a box. As there was only one horse,
+and it was of uncommon fleetness, the three sat upon it; Swet held
+the reins, the woman sat in the middle with the jewel-box in her lap,
+and Basanta brought up the rear.
+
+The horse galloped with the utmost swiftness. They passed through
+many a plain and many a noted town, till after midnight they found
+themselves in a forest not far from the bank of a river. Here
+the most untoward event took place. Swet's wife began to feel the
+pains of child-birth. They dismounted, and in an hour or two Swet's
+wife gave birth to a son. What were the two brothers to do in this
+forest? A fire must be kindled to give heat both to the mother and
+the new-born baby. But where was the fire to be got? There were no
+human habitations visible. Still fire must be procured--and it was
+the month of December--or else both the mother and the baby would
+certainly perish. Swet told Basanta to sit beside his wife, while he
+set out in the darkness of the night in search of fire.
+
+Swet walked many a mile in darkness. Still he saw no human
+habitations. At last the genial light of Sukra [16] somewhat illumined
+his path, and he saw at a distance what seemed a large city. He was
+congratulating himself on his journey's end and on his being able to
+obtain fire for the benefit of his poor wife lying cold in the forest
+with the new-born babe, when on a sudden an elephant, gorgeously
+caparisoned, shot across his path, and gently taking him up by his
+trunk, placed him on the rich howdah [17] on its back. It then walked
+rapidly towards the city. Swet was quite taken aback. He did not
+understand the meaning of the elephant's action, and wondered what
+was in store for him. A crown was in store for him. In that kingdom,
+the chief city of which he was approaching, every morning a king was
+elected, for the king of the previous day was always found dead in
+the morning in the room of the queen. What caused the death of the
+king no one knew; neither did the queen herself (for every successive
+king took her to wife) know the cause. And the elephant who took
+hold of Swet was the king-maker. Early in the morning it went about,
+sometimes to distant places, and whosoever was brought on its back was
+acknowledged king by the people. The elephant majestically marched
+through the crowded streets of the city, amid the acclamations of
+the people, the meaning of which Swet did not understand, entered
+the palace, and placed him on the throne. He was proclaimed king
+amid the rejoicings of some and the lamentations of others. In the
+course of the day he heard of the strange fatality which overtook
+every night the elected king of those realms, but being possessed of
+great discretion and courage, he took every precaution to avert the
+dreadful catastrophe. Yet he hardly knew what expedients to adopt,
+as he was unacquainted with the nature of the danger. He resolved,
+however, upon two things, and these were, to go armed into the
+queen's bedchamber, and to sit up awake the whole night. The queen
+was young and of exquisite beauty, and so guileless and benevolent
+was the expression of her face that it was impossible from looking
+at her to suppose that she could use any foul means of taking away
+the life of her nightly consort. In the queen's chamber Swet spent a
+very agreeable evening; as the night advanced the queen fell asleep,
+but Swet kept awake, and was on the alert, looking at every creek
+and corner of the room, and expecting every minute to be murdered. In
+the dead of night he perceived something like a thread coming out of
+the left nostril of the queen. The thread was so thin that it was
+almost invisible. As he watched it he found it several yards long,
+and yet it was coming out. When the whole of it had come out, it
+began to grow thick, and in a few minutes it assumed the form of a
+huge serpent. In a moment Swet cut off the head of the serpent, the
+body of which wriggled violently. He sat quiet in the room, expecting
+other adventures. But nothing else happened. The queen slept longer
+than usual as she had been relieved of the huge snake which had made
+her stomach its den. Early next morning the ministers came expecting
+as usual to hear of the king's death; but when the ladies of the
+bedchamber knocked at the door of the queen they were astonished
+to see Swet come out. It was then known to all the people how that
+every night a terrible snake issued from the queen's nostrils, how
+it devoured the king every night, and how it had at last been killed
+by the fortunate Swet. The whole country rejoiced in the prospect
+of a permanent king. It is a strange thing, nevertheless it is true,
+that Swet did not remember his poor wife with the new-born babe lying
+in the forest, nor his brother attending on her. With the possession
+of the throne he seemed to forget the whole of his past history.
+
+Basanta, to whom his brother had entrusted his wife and child, sat
+watching for many a weary hour, expecting every moment to see Swet
+return with fire. The whole night passed away without his return. At
+sunrise he went to the bank of the river which was close by, and
+anxiously looked about for his brother, but in vain. Distressed beyond
+measure, he sat on the river side and wept. A boat was passing by in
+which a merchant was returning to his country. As the boat was not
+far from the shore the merchant saw Basanta weeping; and what struck
+the attention of the merchant was the heap of what looked like pearls
+near the weeping man. At the request of the merchant the boatman took
+his vessel towards the bank; the merchant went to the weeping man,
+and found that the heap was a heap of real pearls of the finest
+lustre: and what astonished him most of all was that the heap was
+increasing every second, for the tear-drops that were falling from
+his eyes fell to the ground not as tears but as pearls. The merchant
+stowed away the heap of pearls into his boat, and with the help of his
+servants caught hold of Basanta himself, put him on board the vessel,
+and tied him to a post. Basanta, of course, resisted; but what could
+he do against so many? Thinking of his brother, his brother's wife
+and baby, and his own captivity, Basanta wept more bitterly than
+before, which mightily pleased the merchant, as the more tears his
+captive shed the richer he himself became. When the merchant reached
+his native town he confined Basanta in a room, and at stated hours
+every day scourged him in order to make him shed tears, every one of
+which was converted into a bright pearl. The merchant one day said
+to his servants, "As the fellow is making me rich by his weeping,
+let us see what he gives me by laughing." Accordingly he began to
+tickle his captive, on which Basanta laughed, and as he laughed a
+great many maniks dropped from his mouth. After this poor Basanta
+was alternately whipped and tickled all the day and far into the
+night; and the merchant, in consequence, became the wealthiest man
+in the land. Leaving Basanta subjected to the alternate processes
+of castigation and titillation, let us attend to the fortunes of the
+poor wife of Swet, alone in the forest, with a child just born.
+
+Swet's wife, apparently deserted by her husband and her brother-in-law,
+was overwhelmed with grief. A woman, but a few hours since delivered
+of a child--and her first child, alone, and in a forest, far from the
+habitations of men,--her case was indeed pitiable. She wept rivers of
+tears. Excessive grief, however, brought her relief. She fell asleep
+with the new-born baby in her arms. It so happened that at that
+hour the Kotwal (prefect of the police) of the country was passing
+that way. He had been very unfortunate with regard to his offspring;
+every child his wife presented him with died shortly after birth, and
+he was now going to bury the last infant on the banks of the river. As
+he was going, he saw in the forest a woman sleeping with a baby in her
+arms. It was a lively and beautiful boy. The Kotwal coveted the lovely
+infant. He quietly took it up, put in its place his own dead child,
+and returning home, told his wife that the child had not really died
+and had revived. Swet's wife, unconscious of the deceit practised
+upon her by the Kotwal, on waking found her child dead. The distress
+of her mind may be imagined. The whole world became dark to her. She
+was distracted with grief, and in her distraction she formed the
+resolution of committing suicide. The river was not far from the spot,
+and she determined to drown herself in it. She took in her hand the
+bundle of jewels and proceeded to the river-side. An old Brahman was
+at no great distance, performing his morning ablutions. He noticed
+the woman going into the water, and naturally thought that she was
+going to bathe; but when he saw her going far into deep waters, some
+suspicion arose in his mind. Discontinuing his devotions, he bawled
+out and ordered the woman to come to him. Swet's wife seeing that it
+was an old man that was calling her, retraced her steps and came to
+him. On being asked what she was about to do, she said that she was
+going to make an end of herself, and that as she had some jewels with
+her she would be obliged if he would accept them as a present. At the
+request of the old Brahman she related to him her whole story. The
+upshot was, that she was prevented from drowning herself, and that
+she was received into the Brahman's family, where she was treated by
+the Brahman's wife as her own daughter.
+
+Years passed on. The reputed son of the Kotwal grew up a vigorous,
+robust lad. As the house of the old Brahman was not far from the
+Kotwal's, the Kotwal's son used accidentally to meet the handsome
+strange woman who passed for the Brahman's daughter. The lad liked
+the woman, and wanted to marry her. He spoke to his father about
+the woman, and the father spoke to the Brahman. The Brahman's rage
+knew no bounds. What! the infidel Kotwal's son aspiring to the hand
+of a Brahman's daughter! A dwarf may as well aspire to catch hold of
+the moon! But the Kotwal's son determined to have her by force. With
+this wicked object he one day scaled the wall that encompassed the
+Brahman's house, and got upon the thatched roof of the Brahman's
+cow-house. While he was reconnoitering from that lofty position, he
+heard the following conversation between two calves in the cow-house:--
+
+First Calf. Men accuse us of brutish ignorance and immorality; but
+in my opinion men are fifty times worse.
+
+Second Calf. What makes you say so, brother? Have you witnessed to-day
+any instance of human depravity?
+
+First Calf. Who can be a greater monster of crime than the same lad
+who is at this moment standing on the thatched roof of this hut over
+our head?
+
+Second Calf. Why, I thought it was only the son of our Kotwal; and
+I never heard that he was exceptionally vicious.
+
+First Calf. You never heard, but now you hear from me. This wicked
+lad is now wishing to get married to his own mother!
+
+The First Calf then related to the inquisitive Second Calf in full
+the story of Swet and Basanta; how they and Swet's wife fled from
+the vengeance of their stepmother; how Swet's wife was delivered of a
+child in the forest by the river-side; how Swet was made king by the
+elephant, and how he succeeded in killing the serpent which issued out
+of the queen's nostrils; how Basanta was carried away by the merchant,
+confined in a dungeon, and alternately flogged and tickled for pearls
+and maniks; how the Kotwal exchanged his dead child for the living
+one of Swet; how Swet's wife was prevented from drowning herself in
+the river by the Brahman; how she was received into the Brahman's
+family and treated as his daughter; how the Kotwal's son grew up a
+hardy, lusty youth, and fell in love with her; and how at that very
+moment he was intent on accomplishing his brutal object. All this
+story the Kotwal's son heard from the thatched roof of the cow-house,
+and was struck with horror. He forthwith got down from the thatch,
+and went home and told his father that he must have an interview
+with the king. Notwithstanding his reputed father's protestations
+to the contrary, he had an interview with the king, to whom he
+repeated the whole story as he had overheard it from the thatch of
+the cow-house. The king now remembered his poor wife's case. She
+was brought from the house of the Brahman, whom he richly rewarded,
+and put her in her proper position as the queen of the kingdom;
+the reputed son of the Kotwal was acknowledged as his own son, and
+proclaimed the heir-apparent to the throne; Basanta was brought out
+of the dungeon, and the wicked merchant who had maltreated him was
+buried alive in the earth surrounded with thorns. After this, Swet,
+his wife and son, and Basanta, lived together happily for many years.
+
+
+            Now my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+THE EVIL EYE OF SANI
+
+
+Once upon a time Sani, or Saturn, the god of bad luck, and Lakshmi,
+the goddess of good luck, fell out with each other in heaven. Sani said
+he was higher in rank than Lakshmi, and Lakshmi said she was higher in
+rank than Sani. As all the gods and goddesses of heaven were equally
+ranged on either side, the contending deities agreed to refer the
+matter to some human being who had a name for wisdom and justice. Now,
+there lived at that time upon earth a man of the name of Sribatsa,
+[18] who was as wise and just as he was rich. Him, therefore, both the
+god and the goddess chose as the settler of their dispute. One day,
+accordingly, Sribatsa was told that Sani and Lakshmi were wishing to
+pay him a visit to get their dispute settled. Sribatsa was in a fix. If
+he said Sani was higher in rank than Lakshmi, she would be angry with
+him and forsake him. If he said Lakshmi was higher in rank than Sani,
+Sani would cast his evil eye upon him. Hence he made up his mind not to
+say anything directly, but to leave the god and the goddess to gather
+his opinion from his action. He got two stools made, the one of gold
+and the other of silver, and placed them beside him. When Sani and
+Lakshmi came to Sribatsa, he told Sani to sit upon the silver stool,
+and Lakshmi upon the gold stool. Sani became mad with rage, and said
+in an angry tone to Sribatsa, "Well, as you consider me lower in rank
+than Lakshmi, I will cast my eye on you for three years; and I should
+like to see how you fare at the end of that period." The god then went
+away in high dudgeon. Lakshmi, before going away, said to Sribatsa,
+"My child, do not fear. I'll befriend you." The god and the goddess
+then went away.
+
+Sribatsa said to his wife, whose name was Chintamani, "Dearest, as the
+evil eye of Sani will be upon me at once, I had better go away from the
+house; for if I remain in the house with you, evil will befall you and
+me; but if I go away, it will overtake me only." Chintamani said, "That
+cannot be; wherever you go, I will go, your lot shall be my lot." The
+husband tried hard to persuade his wife to remain at home; but it was
+of no use. She would go with her husband. Sribatsa accordingly told
+his wife to make an opening in their mattress, and to stow away in
+it all the money and jewels they had. On the eve of leaving their
+house, Sribatsa invoked Lakshmi, who forthwith appeared. He then
+said to her, "Mother Lakshmi! as the evil eye of Sani is upon us,
+we are going away into exile; but do thou befriend us, and take
+care of our house and property." The goddess of good luck answered,
+"Do not fear; I'll befriend you; all will be right at last." They
+then set out on their journey. Sribatsa rolled up the mattress and
+put it on his head. They had not gone many miles when they saw a
+river before them. It was not fordable; but there was a canoe there
+with a man sitting in it. The travellers requested the ferryman to
+take them across. The ferryman said, "I can take only one at a time;
+but you are three--yourself, your wife, and the mattress." Sribatsa
+proposed that first his wife and the mattress should be taken across,
+and then he; but the ferryman would not hear of it. "Only one at a
+time," repeated he; "first let me take across the mattress." When the
+canoe with the mattress was in the middle of the stream, a fierce gale
+arose, and carried away the mattress, the canoe, and the ferryman,
+no one knows whither. And it was strange the stream also disappeared,
+for the place, where they saw a few minutes since the rush of waters,
+had now become firm ground. Sribatsa then knew that this was nothing
+but the evil eye of Sani.
+
+Sribatsa and his wife, without a pice in their pocket, went to a
+village which was hard by. It was dwelt in for the most part by
+wood-cutters, who used to go at sunrise to the forest to cut wood,
+which they sold in a town not far from the village. Sribatsa proposed
+to the wood-cutters that he should go along with them to cut wood. They
+agreed. So he began to fell trees as well as the best of them; but
+there was this difference between Sribatsa and the other wood-cutters,
+that whereas the latter cut any and every sort of wood, the former cut
+only precious wood like sandal-wood. The wood-cutters used to bring
+to market large loads of common wood, and Sribatsa only a few pieces
+of sandal-wood, for which he got a great deal more money than the
+others. As this was going on day after day, the wood-cutters through
+envy plotted together, and drove away from the village Sribatsa and
+his wife.
+
+The next place they went to was a village of weavers, or rather
+cotton-spinners. Here Chintamani, the wife of Sribatsa, made herself
+useful by spinning cotton. And as she was an intelligent and skilful
+woman, she spun finer thread than the other women; and she got more
+money. This roused the envy of the native women of the village. But
+this was not all. Sribatsa, in order to gain the good grace of
+the weavers, asked them to a feast, the dishes of which were all
+cooked by his wife. As Chintamani excelled in cooking, the barbarous
+weavers of the village were quite charmed by the delicacies set
+before them. When the men went to their homes, they reproached their
+wives for not being able to cook so well as the wife of Sribatsa,
+and called them good-for-nothing women. This thing made the women of
+the village hate Chintamani the more. One day Chintamani went to the
+river-side to bathe along with the other women of the village. A boat
+had been lying on the bank stranded on the sand for many days; they
+had tried to move it, but in vain. It so happened that as Chintamani
+by accident touched the boat, it moved off to the river. The boatmen,
+astonished at the event, thought that the woman had uncommon power,
+and might be useful on similar occasions in future. They therefore
+caught hold of her, put her in the boat, and rowed off. The women of
+the village, who were present, did not offer any resistance as they
+hated Chintamani. When Sribatsa heard how his wife had been carried
+away by boatmen, he became mad with grief. He left the village, went to
+the river-side, and resolved to follow the course of the stream till
+he should meet the boat where his wife was a prisoner. He travelled
+on and on, along the side of the river, till it became dark. As there
+were no huts to be seen, he climbed into a tree for the night. Next
+morning as he got down from the tree he saw at the foot of it a cow
+called a Kapila-cow, which never calves, but which gives milk at all
+hours of the day whenever it is milked. Sribatsa milked the cow, and
+drank its milk to his heart's content. He was astonished to find that
+the cow-dung which lay on the ground was of a bright yellow colour;
+indeed, he found it was pure gold. While it was in a soft state he
+wrote his own name upon it, and when in the course of the day it
+became hardened, it looked like a brick of gold--and so it was. As
+the tree grew on the river-side, and as the Kapila-cow came morning
+and evening to supply him with milk, Sribatsa resolved to stay there
+till he should meet the boat. In the meantime the gold-bricks were
+increasing in number every day, for the cow both morning and evening
+deposited there the precious article. He put the gold-bricks, upon
+all of which his name was engraved, one upon another in rows, so that
+from a distance they looked like a hillock of gold.
+
+Leaving Sribatsa to arrange his gold-bricks under the tree on the
+river-side we must follow the fortunes of his wife. Chintamani was a
+woman of great beauty; and thinking that her beauty might be her ruin,
+she, when seized by the boatmen, offered to Lakshmi the following
+prayer----"O Mother Lakshmi! have pity upon me. Thou hast made me
+beautiful, but now my beauty will undoubtedly prove my ruin by the loss
+of honour and chastity. I therefore beseech thee, gracious Mother, to
+make me ugly, and to cover my body with some loathsome disease, that
+the boatmen may not touch me." Lakshmi heard Chintamani's prayer; and
+in the twinkling of an eye, while she was in the arms of the boatmen,
+her naturally beautiful form was turned into a vile carcase. The
+boatmen, on putting her down in the boat, found her body covered
+with loathsome sores which were giving out a disgusting stench. They
+therefore threw her into the hold of the boat amongst the cargo,
+where they used morning and evening to send her a little boiled rice
+and some water. In that hold Chintamani had a miserable life of it;
+but she greatly preferred that misery to the loss of chastity. The
+boatmen went to some port, sold the cargo, and were returning to their
+country when the sight of what seemed a hillock of gold, not far from
+the river-side, attracted their attention. Sribatsa, whose eyes were
+ever directed towards the river, was delighted when he saw a boat turn
+towards the bank, as he fondly imagined his wife might be in it. The
+boatmen went to the hillock of gold, when Sribatsa said that the gold
+was his. They put all the gold-bricks on board their vessel, took
+Sribatsa prisoner, and put him into the hold not far from the woman
+covered with sores. They of course immediately recognised each other,
+in spite of the change Chintamani had undergone, but thought it prudent
+not to speak to each other. They communicated their ideas, therefore,
+by signs and gestures. Now, the boatmen were fond of playing at dice,
+and as Sribatsa appeared to them from his looks to be a respectable
+man, they always asked him to join in the game. As he was an expert
+player, he almost always won the game, on which the boatmen, envying
+his superior skill, threw him overboard. Chintamani had the presence
+of mind, at that moment, to throw into the water a pillow which she
+had for resting her head upon. Sribatsa took hold of the pillow,
+by means of which he floated down the stream till he was carried
+at nightfall to what seemed a garden on the water's edge. There he
+stuck among the trees, where he remained the whole night, wet and
+shivering. Now, the garden belonged to an old widow who was in former
+years the chief flower-supplier to the king of that country. Through
+some cause or other a blight seemed to have come over her garden, as
+almost all the trees and plants ceased flowering; she had therefore
+given up her place as the flower-supplier of the royal household. On
+the morning following the night on which Sribatsa had stuck among
+the trees, however, the old woman on getting up from her bed could
+scarcely believe her eyes when she saw the whole garden ablaze with
+flowers. There was not a single tree or plant which was not begemmed
+with flowers. Not understanding the cause of such a miraculous sight,
+she took a walk through the garden, and found on the river's brink,
+stuck among the trees, a man shivering and almost dying with cold. She
+brought him to her cottage, lighted a fire to give him warmth, and
+showed him every attention, as she ascribed the wonderful flowering
+of her trees to his presence. After making him as comfortable as
+she could, she ran to the king's palace, and told his chief servants
+that she was again in a position to supply the palace with flowers;
+so she was restored to her former office as the flower-woman of the
+royal household. Sribatsa, who stopped a few days with the woman,
+requested her to recommend him to one of the king's ministers for a
+berth. He was accordingly sent for to the palace, and as he was at
+once found to be a man of intelligence, the king's minister asked
+him what post he would like to have. Agreeably to his wish he was
+appointed collector of tolls on the river. While discharging his
+duties as river toll-gatherer, in the course of a few days he saw the
+very boat in which his wife was a prisoner. He detained the boat, and
+charged the boatmen with the theft of gold-bricks which he claimed as
+his own. At the mention of gold-bricks the king himself came to the
+river-side, and was astonished beyond measure to see bricks made of
+gold, every one of which had the inscription--Sribatsa. At the same
+time Sribatsa rescued from the boatmen his wife, who, the moment she
+came out of the vessel, became as lovely as before. The king heard
+the story of Sribatsa's misfortunes from his lips, entertained him
+in a princely style for many days, and at last sent him and his wife
+to their own country with presents of horses and elephants. The evil
+eye of Sani was now turned away from Sribatsa, and he again became
+what he formerly was, the Child of Fortune.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+THE BOY WHOM SEVEN MOTHERS SUCKLED
+
+
+Once on a time there reigned a king who had seven queens. He was
+very sad, for the seven queens were all barren. A holy mendicant,
+however, one day told the king that in a certain forest there grew
+a tree, on a branch of which hung seven mangoes; if the king himself
+plucked those mangoes and gave one to each of the queens they would
+all become mothers. So the king went to the forest, plucked the seven
+mangoes that grew upon one branch, and gave a mango to each of the
+queens to eat. In a short time the king's heart was filled with joy,
+as he heard that the seven queens were all with child.
+
+One day the king was out hunting, when he saw a young lady of peerless
+beauty cross his path. He fell in love with her, brought her to his
+palace, and married her. This lady was, however, not a human being,
+but a Rakshasi; but the king of course did not know it. The king became
+dotingly fond of her; he did whatever she told him. She said one day
+to the king, "You say that you love me more than any one else. Let
+me see whether you really love me so. If you love me, make your seven
+other queens blind, and let them be killed." The king became very sad
+at the request of his best-beloved queen, the more so as the seven
+queens were all with child. But there was nothing for it but to comply
+with the Rakshasi-queen's request. The eyes of the seven queens were
+plucked out of their sockets, and the queens themselves were delivered
+up to the chief minister to be destroyed. But the chief minister was
+a merciful man. Instead of killing the seven queens he hid them in a
+cave which was on the side of a hill. In course of time the eldest
+of the seven queens gave birth to a child. "What shall I do with
+the child," said she, "now that we are blind and are dying for want
+of food? Let me kill the child, and let us all eat of its flesh." So
+saying she killed the infant, and gave to each of her sister-queens a
+part of the child to eat. The six ate their portion, but the seventh
+or youngest queen did not eat her share, but laid it beside her. In a
+few days the second queen also was delivered of a child, and she did
+with it as her eldest sister had done with hers. So did the third,
+the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth queen. At last the seventh
+queen gave birth to a son; but she, instead of following the example
+of her sister-queens, resolved to nurse the child. The other queens
+demanded their portions of the newly-born babe. She gave each of them
+the portion she had got of the six children which had been killed,
+and which she had not eaten but laid aside. The other queens at once
+perceived that their portions were dry, and could not therefore be
+the parts of the child just born. The seventh queen told them that she
+had made up her mind not to kill the child but to nurse it. The others
+were glad to hear this, and they all said that they would help her in
+nursing the child. So the child was suckled by seven mothers, and it
+became after some years the hardiest and strongest boy that ever lived.
+
+In the meantime the Rakshasi-wife of the king was doing infinite
+mischief to the royal household and to the capital. What she ate at
+the royal table did not fill her capacious stomach. She therefore,
+in the darkness of night, gradually ate up all the members of the
+royal family, all the king's servants and attendants, all his horses,
+elephants, and cattle; till none remained in the palace except she
+herself and her royal consort. After that she used to go out in
+the evenings into the city and eat up a stray human being here and
+there. The king was left unattended by servants; there was no person
+left to cook for him, for no one would take his service. At last the
+boy who had been suckled by seven mothers, and who had now grown up to
+a stalwart youth, volunteered his services. He attended on the king,
+and took every care to prevent the queen from swallowing him up, for
+he went away home long before nightfall; and the Rakshasi-queen never
+seized her victims except at night. Hence the queen determined in
+some other way to get rid of the boy. As the boy always boasted that
+he was equal to any work, however hard, the queen told him that she
+was suffering from some disease which could be cured only by eating a
+certain species of melon, which was twelve cubits long, but the stone
+of which was thirteen cubits long, and that that fruit could be had
+only from her mother, who lived on the other side of the ocean. She
+gave him a letter of introduction to her mother, in which she requested
+her to devour the boy the moment he put the letter into her hands. The
+boy, suspecting foul play, tore up the letter and proceeded on his
+journey. The dauntless youth passed through many lands, and at last
+stood on the shore of the ocean, on the other side of which was the
+country of the Rakshasis. He then bawled as loud as he could, and
+said, "Granny! granny! come and save your daughter; she is dangerously
+ill." An old Rakshasi on the other side of the ocean heard the words,
+crossed the ocean, came to the boy, and on hearing the message took the
+boy on her back and re-crossed the ocean. So the boy was in the country
+of the Rakshasis. The twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit stone
+was given to the boy at once, and he was told to perform the journey
+back. But the boy pleaded fatigue, and begged to be allowed to rest
+one day. To this the old Rakshasi consented. Observing a stout club
+and a rope hanging in the Rakshasi's room, the boy inquired what
+they were there for. She replied, "Child, by that club and rope I
+cross the ocean. If any one takes the club and the rope in his hands,
+and addresses them in the following magical words--
+
+
+           "O stout club! O strong rope!
+            Take me at once to the other side,"
+
+
+then immediately the club and rope will take him to the other side
+of the ocean." Observing a bird in a cage hanging in one corner of
+the room, the boy inquired what it was. The old Rakshasi replied,
+"It contains a secret, child, which must not be disclosed to mortals,
+and yet how can I hide it from my own grandchild? That bird, child,
+contains the life of your mother. If the bird is killed, your mother
+will at once die." Armed with these secrets, the boy went to bed that
+night. Next morning the old Rakshasi, together with all the other
+Rakshasis, went to distant countries for forage. The boy took down
+the cage from the ceiling, as well as the club and rope. Having well
+secured the bird, he addressed the club and rope thus--
+
+
+           "O stout club! O strong rope!
+            Take me at once to the other side."
+
+
+In the twinkling of an eye the boy was put on this side of the
+ocean. He then retraced his steps, came to the queen, and gave her,
+to her astonishment, the twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit
+stone; but the cage with the bird in it he kept carefully concealed.
+
+In the course of time the people of the city came to the king and said,
+"A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace every evening,
+and seizes the passengers in the streets and swallows them up. This
+has been going on for so long a time that the city has become almost
+desolate." The king could not make out what this monstrous bird
+was. The king's servant, the boy, replied that he knew the monstrous
+bird, and that he would kill it provided the queen stood beside
+the king. By royal command the queen was made to stand beside the
+king. The boy then took the bird from the cage which he had brought
+from the other side of the ocean, on seeing which she fell into a
+fainting fit. Turning to the king the boy said, "Sire, you will soon
+perceive who the monstrous bird is that devours your subjects every
+evening. As I tear off each limb of this bird, the corresponding limb
+of the man-devourer will fall off." The boy then tore off one leg of
+the bird in his hand; immediately, to the astonishment of the whole
+assembly, for the citizens were all present, one of the legs of the
+queen fell off. And when the boy squeezed the throat of the bird,
+the queen gave up the ghost. The boy then related his own history
+and that of his mother and his stepmothers. The seven queens, whose
+eyesight was miraculously restored, were brought back to the palace;
+and the boy that was suckled by seven mothers was recognised by the
+king as his rightful heir. So they lived together happily.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, &c.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+THE STORY OF PRINCE SOBUR
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived a certain merchant who had seven
+daughters. One day the merchant put to his daughters the question:
+"By whose fortune do you get your living?" The eldest daughter
+answered--"Papa, I get my living by your fortune." The same answer
+was given by the second daughter, the third, the fourth, the fifth,
+and the sixth; but his youngest daughter said--"I get my living by my
+own fortune." The merchant got very angry with the youngest daughter,
+and said to her--"As you are so ungrateful as to say that you get
+your living by your own fortune, let me see how you fare alone. This
+very day you shall leave my house without a pice in your pocket." He
+forthwith called his palki-bearers, and ordered them to take away the
+girl and leave her in the midst of a forest. The girl begged hard to
+be allowed to take with her her work-box containing her needles and
+threads. She was allowed to do so. She then got into the palki, which
+the bearers lifted on their shoulders. The bearers had not gone many
+hundred yards to the tune of "Hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon! hoon!" when
+an old woman bawled out to them and bid them stop. On coming up to
+the palki, she said, "Where are you taking away my daughter?" for she
+was the nurse of the merchant's youngest child. The bearers replied,
+"The merchant has ordered us to take her away and leave her in the
+midst of a forest; and we are going to do his bidding." "I must go with
+her," said the old woman. "How will you be able to keep pace with us,
+as we must needs run?" said the bearers. "Anyhow I must go where my
+daughter goes," rejoined the old woman. The upshot was that, at the
+entreaty of the merchant's youngest daughter, the old woman was put
+inside the palki along with her. In the afternoon the palki-bearers
+reached a dense forest. They went far into it; and towards sunset
+they put down the girl and the old woman at the foot of a large tree,
+and retraced their steps homewards.
+
+The case of the merchant's youngest daughter was truly pitiable. She
+was scarcely fourteen years old; she had been bred in the lap of
+luxury; and she was now here at sundown in the heart of what seemed
+an interminable forest, with not a penny in her pocket, and with no
+other protection than what could be given her by an old, decrepit,
+imbecile woman. The very trees of the forest looked upon her with
+pity. The gigantic tree, at whose foot she was mingling her tears
+with those of the old woman, said to her (for trees could speak in
+those days)--"Unhappy girl! I much pity you. In a short time the wild
+beasts of the forest will come out of their lairs and roam about for
+their prey; and they are sure to devour you and your companion. But
+I can help you; I will make an opening for you in my trunk. When you
+see the opening go into it; I will then close it up; and you will
+remain safe inside; nor can the wild beasts touch you." In a moment
+the trunk of the tree was split into two. The merchant's daughter
+and the old woman went inside the hollow, on which the tree resumed
+its natural shape. When the shades of night darkened the forest the
+wild beasts came out of their lairs. The fierce tiger was there; the
+wild bear was there; the hard-skinned rhinoceros was there; the bushy
+bear was there; the musty elephant was there; and the horned buffalo
+was there. They all growled round about the tree, for they got the
+scent of human blood. The merchant's daughter and the old woman heard
+from within the tree the growl of the beasts. The beasts came dashing
+against the tree; they broke its branches; they pierced its trunk with
+their horns; they scratched its bark with their claws: but in vain. The
+merchant's daughter and her old nurse were safe within. Towards dawn
+the wild beasts went away. After sunrise the good tree said to her two
+inmates, "Unhappy women, the wild beasts have gone into their lairs
+after greatly tormenting me. The sun is up; you can now come out." So
+saying the tree split itself into two, and the merchant's daughter
+and the old woman came out. They saw the extent of the mischief done
+by the wild beasts to the tree. Many of its branches had been broken
+down; in many places the trunk had been pierced; and in other places
+the bark had been stripped off. The merchant's daughter said to the
+tree, "Good mother, you are truly good to give us shelter at such
+a fearful cost. You must be in great pain from the torture to which
+the wild beasts subjected you last night." So saying she went to the
+tank which was near the tree, and bringing thence a quantity of mud,
+she besmeared the trunk with it, especially those parts which had
+been pierced and scratched. After she had done this, the tree said,
+"Thank you, my good girl, I am now greatly relieved of my pain. I am,
+however, concerned not so much about myself as about you both. You
+must be hungry, not having eaten the whole of yesterday. And what can I
+give you? I have no fruit of my own to give you. Give to the old woman
+whatever money you have, and let her go into the city hard by and
+buy some food." They said they had no money. On searching, however,
+in the work-box she found five cowries. [19] The tree then told the
+old woman to go with the cowries to the city and buy some khai. [20]
+The old woman went to the city, which was not far, and said to one
+confectioner, "Please give me five cowries' worth of khai." The
+confectioner laughed at her and said, "Be off, you old hag, do you
+think khai can be had for five cowries?" She tried another shop,
+and the shopkeeper, thinking the woman to be in great distress,
+compassionately gave her a large quantity of khai for the five cowries.
+
+When the old woman returned with the khai, the tree said to the
+merchant's daughter, "Each of you eat a little of the khai, lay by
+more than half, and strew the rest on the embankments of the tank all
+round." They did as they were bidden, though they did not understand
+the reason why they were told to scatter the khai on the sides of the
+tank. They spent the day in bewailing their fate, and at night they
+were housed inside the trunk of the tree as on the previous night. The
+wild beasts came as before, further mutilated the tree, and tortured
+it as in the preceding night. But during the night a scene was being
+enacted on the embankments of the tank of which the two women saw the
+outcome only on the following morning. Hundreds of peacocks of gorgeous
+plumes came to the embankments to eat the khai which had been strewed
+on them; and as they strove with each other for the tempting food
+many of their plumes fell off their bodies. Early in the morning the
+tree told the two women to gather the plumes together, out of which
+the merchant's daughter made a beautiful fan. This fan was taken into
+the city to the palace, where the son of the king admired it greatly
+and paid for it a large sum of money. As each morning a quantity of
+plumes was collected, every day one fan was made and sold. So that
+in a short time the two women got rich. The tree then advised them
+to employ men in building a house for them to live in. Accordingly
+bricks were burnt, trees were cut down for beams and rafters, bricks
+were reduced to powder, lime was manufactured, and in a few months
+a stately, palace-like house was built for the merchant's daughter
+and her old nurse. It was thought advisable to lay out the adjoining
+grounds as a garden, and to dig a tank for supplying them with water.
+
+In the meantime the merchant himself with his wife and six daughters
+had been frowned upon by the goddess of wealth. By a sudden stroke of
+misfortune he lost all his money, his house and property were sold,
+and he, his wife, and six daughters, were turned adrift penniless into
+the world. It so happened that they lived in a village not far from the
+place where the two strange women had built a palace and were digging
+a tank. As the once rich merchant was now supporting his family by
+the pittance which he obtained every day for his manual labour, he
+bethought himself of employing himself as a day labourer in digging
+the tank of the strange lady on the skirts of the forest. His wife
+said she would also go to dig the tank with him. So one day while
+the strange lady was amusing herself from the window of her palace
+with looking at the labourers digging her tank, to her utter surprise
+she saw her father and mother coming towards the palace, apparently
+to engage themselves as day labourers. Tears ran down her cheeks as
+she looked at them, for they were clothed in rags. She immediately
+sent servants to bring them inside the house. The poor man and woman
+were frightened beyond measure. They saw that the tank was all ready;
+and as it was customary in those days to offer a human sacrifice when
+the digging was over, they thought that they were called inside in
+order to be sacrificed. Their fears increased when they were told to
+throw away their rags and to put on fine clothes which were given to
+them. The strange lady of the palace, however, soon dispelled their
+fears; for she told them that she was their daughter, fell on their
+necks and wept. The rich daughter related her adventures, and the
+father felt she was right when she said that she lived upon her own
+fortune and not on that of her father. She gave her father a large
+fortune, which enabled him to go to the city in which he formerly
+lived, and to set himself up again as a merchant.
+
+The merchant now bethought himself of going in his ship to distant
+countries for purposes of trade. All was ready. He got on board,
+ready to start, but, strange to say, the ship would not move. The
+merchant was at a loss what to make of this. At last the idea occurred
+to him that he had asked each of his six daughters, who were living
+with him, what thing she wished he should bring for her; but he had
+not asked that question of his seventh daughter who had made him
+rich. He therefore immediately despatched a messenger to his youngest
+daughter, asking her what she wished her father to bring for her on
+his return from his mercantile travels. When the messenger arrived
+she was engaged in her devotions, and hearing that a messenger had
+arrived from her father she said to him "Sobur," meaning "wait." The
+messenger understood that she wanted her father to bring for her
+something called Sobur. He returned to the merchant and told him that
+she wanted him to bring for her Sobur. The ship now moved of itself,
+and the merchant started on his travels. He visited many ports,
+and by selling his goods obtained immense profit. The things his
+six daughters wanted him to bring for them he easily got, but Sobur,
+the thing which he understood his youngest daughter wished to have,
+he could get nowhere. He asked at every port whether Sobur could be
+had there, but the merchants all told him that they had never heard
+of such an article of commerce. At the last port he went through the
+streets bawling out--"Wanted Sobur! wanted Sobur!" The cry attracted
+the notice of the son of the king of that country whose name was
+Sobur. The prince, hearing from the merchant that his daughter wanted
+Sobur, said that he had the article in question, and bringing out a
+small box of wood containing a magical fan with a looking-glass in
+it, said--"This is Sobur which your daughter wishes to have." The
+merchant having obtained the long-wished-for Sobur weighed anchor,
+and sailed for his native land. On his arrival he sent to his youngest
+daughter the said wonderful box. The daughter, thinking it to be a
+common wooden box, laid it aside. Some days after when she was at
+leisure she bethought herself of opening the box which her father
+had sent her. When she opened it she saw in it a beautiful fan,
+and in it a looking-glass. As she shook the fan, in a moment the
+Prince Sobur stood before her, and said--"You called me, here I
+am. What's your wish?" The merchant's daughter, astonished at the
+sudden appearance of a prince of such exquisite beauty, asked who he
+was, and how he had made his appearance there. The prince told her
+of the circumstances under which he gave the box to her father, and
+informed her of the secret that whenever the fan would be shaken he
+would make his appearance. The prince lived for a day or two in the
+house of the merchant's daughter, who entertained him hospitably. The
+upshot was, that they fell in love with each other, and vowed to
+each other to be husband and wife. The prince returned to his royal
+father and told him that he had selected a wife for himself. The
+day for the wedding was fixed. The merchant and his six daughters
+were invited. The nuptial knot was tied. But there was death in the
+marriage-bed. The six daughters of the merchant, envying the happy
+lot of their youngest sister, had determined to put an end to the
+life of her newly-wedded husband. They broke several bottles, reduced
+the broken pieces into fine powder, and scattered it profusely on the
+bed. The prince, suspecting no danger, laid himself down in the bed;
+but he had scarcely been there two minutes when he felt acute pain
+through his whole system, for the fine bottle-powder had gone through
+every pore of his body. As the prince became restless through pain,
+and was shrieking aloud, his attendants hastily took him away to his
+own country.
+
+The king and queen, the parents of Prince Sobur, consulted all the
+physicians and surgeons of the kingdom; but in vain. The young prince
+was day and night screaming with pain, and no one could ascertain
+the disease, far less give him relief. The grief of the merchant's
+daughter may be imagined. The marriage knot had been scarcely tied
+when her husband was attacked, as she thought, by a terrible disease
+and carried away many hundreds of miles off. Though she had never seen
+her husband's country she determined to go there and nurse him. She
+put on the garb of a Sannyasi, and with a dagger in her hand set
+out on her journey. Of tender years, and unaccustomed to make long
+journeys on foot, she soon got weary and sat under a tree to rest. On
+the top of the tree was the nest of the divine bird Bihangama and
+his mate Bihangami. They were not in their nest at the time, but two
+of their young ones were in it. Suddenly the young ones on the top
+of the tree gave a scream which roused the half-drowsy merchant's
+daughter whom we shall now call the young Sannyasi. He saw near
+him a huge serpent raising its hood and about to climb into the
+tree. In a moment he cut the serpent into two, on which the young
+birds left off screaming. Shortly after the Bihangama and Bihangami
+came sailing through the air; and the latter said to the former--"I
+suppose our offspring as usual have been devoured by our great enemy
+the serpent. Ah me! I do not hear the cries of my young ones." On
+nearing the nest, however, they were agreeably surprised to find
+their offspring alive. The young ones told their dams how the young
+Sannyasi under the tree had destroyed the serpent. And sure enough
+the snake was lying there cut into two.
+
+The Bihangami then said to her mate--"The young Sannyasi has saved
+our offspring from death, I wish we could do him some service in
+return." The Bihangama replied, "We shall presently do her service,
+for the person under the tree is not a man but a woman. She got married
+only last night to Prince Sobur, who, a few hours after, when jumping
+into his bed, had every pore of his body pierced with fine particles
+of ground bottles which had been spread over his bed by his envious
+sisters-in-law. He is still suffering pain in his native land, and,
+indeed, is at the point of death. And his heroic bride taking the garb
+of a Sannyasi is going to nurse him." "But," asked the Bihangami, "is
+there no cure for the prince?" "Yes, there is," replied the Bihangama:
+"if our dung which is lying on the ground round about, and which is
+hardened, be reduced to powder, and applied by means of a brush to
+the body of the prince after bathing him seven times with seven jars
+of water and seven jars of milk, Prince Sobur will undoubtedly get
+well." "But," asked the Bihangami, "how can the poor daughter of the
+merchant walk such a distance? It must take her many days, by which
+time the poor prince will have died." "I can," replied the Bihangama,
+"take the young lady on my back, and put her in the capital of Prince
+Sobur, and bring her back, provided she does not take any presents
+there." The merchant's daughter, in the garb of a Sannyasi, heard
+this conversation between the two birds, and begged the Bihangama
+to take her on his back. To this the bird readily consented. Before
+mounting on her aerial car she gathered a quantity of birds' dung
+and reduced it to fine powder. Armed with this potent drug she got
+up on the back of the kind bird, and sailing through the air with the
+rapidity of lightning, soon reached the capital of Prince Sobur. The
+young Sannyasi went up to the gate of the palace, and sent word to
+the king that he was acquainted with potent drugs and would cure the
+prince in a few hours. The king, who had tried all the best doctors
+in the kingdom without success, looked upon the Sannyasi as a mere
+pretender, but on the advice of his councillors agreed to give him
+a trial. The Sannyasi ordered seven jars of water and seven jars of
+milk to be brought to him. He poured the contents of all the jars on
+the body of the prince. He then applied, by means of a feather, the
+dung-powder he had already prepared to every pore of the prince's
+body. Thereafter seven jars of water and seven jars of milk were
+again six times poured upon him. When the prince's body was wiped,
+he felt perfectly well. The king ordered that the richest treasures
+he had should be presented to the wonderful doctor; but the Sannyasi
+refused to take any. He only wanted a ring from the prince's finger to
+preserve as a memorial. The ring was readily given him. The merchant's
+daughter hastened to the sea-shore where the Bihangama was awaiting
+her. In a moment they reached the tree of the divine birds. Hence
+the young bride walked to her house on the skirts of the forest. The
+following day she shook the magical fan, and forthwith Prince Sobur
+appeared before her. When the lady showed him the ring, he learnt with
+infinite surprise that his own wife was the doctor that cured him. The
+prince took away his bride to his palace in his far-off kingdom,
+forgave his sisters-in-law, lived happily for scores of years, and
+was blessed with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+THE ORIGIN OF OPIUM [21]
+
+
+Once on a time there lived on the banks of the holy Ganga a Rishi,
+[22] who spent his days and nights in the performance of religious
+rites and in meditation upon God. From sunrise to sunset he sat on the
+river bank engaged in devotion, and at night he took shelter in a hut
+of palm-leaves which his own hand had raised in a bush hard by. There
+were no men and women for miles round. In the hut, however, there was a
+mouse, which used to live upon the leavings of the Rishi's supper. As
+it was not in the nature of the sage to hurt any living thing, our
+mouse never ran away from him, but, on the contrary, went to him,
+touched his feet, and played with him. The Rishi, partly in kindness to
+the little brute, and partly to have some one by to talk to at times,
+gave the mouse the power of speech. One night the mouse, standing on
+its hind-legs and joining together its fore-legs reverently, said to
+the Rishi, "Holy sage, you have been so kind as to give me the power
+to speak like men. If it will not displease your reverence, I have one
+more boon to ask." "What is it?" said the Rishi. "What is it, little
+mousie? Say what you want." The mouse answered--"When your reverence
+goes in the day to the river-side for devotion, a cat comes to the
+hut to catch me. And had it not been for fear of your reverence, the
+cat would have eaten me up long ago; and I fear it will eat me some
+day. My prayer is that I may be changed into a cat that I may prove a
+match for my foe." The Rishi became propitious to the mouse, and threw
+some holy water on its body, and it was at once changed into a cat.
+
+Some nights after, the Rishi asked his pet, "Well, little puss,
+how do you like your present life?" "Not much, your reverence,"
+answered the cat. "Why not?" demanded the sage. "Are you not strong
+enough to hold your own against all the cats in the world?" "Yes,"
+rejoined the cat. "Your reverence has made me a strong cat, able to
+cope with all the cats in the world. But I do not now fear cats; I
+have got a new foe. Whenever your reverence goes to the river-side,
+a pack of dogs comes to the hut, and sets up such a loud barking
+that I am frightened out of my life. If your reverence will not be
+displeased with me, I beg you to change me into a dog." The Rishi said,
+"Be turned into a dog," and the cat forthwith became a dog.
+
+Some days passed, when one night the dog said thus to the Rishi:
+"I cannot thank your reverence enough for your kindness to me. I was
+but a poor mouse, and you not only gave me speech but turned me into a
+cat; and again you were kind enough to change me into a dog. As a dog,
+however, I suffer a great deal of trouble, I do not get enough food:
+my only food is the leavings of your supper, but that is not sufficient
+to fill the maw of such a large beast as you have made me. O how I
+envy those apes who jump about from tree to tree, and eat all sorts
+of delicious fruits! If your reverence will not get angry with me,
+I pray that I be changed into an ape." The kind-hearted sage readily
+granted his pet's wish, and the dog became an ape.
+
+Our ape was at first wild with joy. He leaped from one tree to
+another, and sucked every luscious fruit he could find. But his
+joy was short-lived. Summer came on with its drought. As a monkey
+he found it hard to drink water out of a river or of a pool; and
+he saw the wild boars splashing in the water all the day long. He
+envied their lot, and exclaimed, "O how happy those boars are! All
+day their bodies are cooled and refreshed by water. I wish I were a
+boar." Accordingly at night he recounted to the Rishi the troubles of
+the life of an ape and the pleasures of that of a boar, and begged
+of him to change him into a boar. The sage, whose kindness knew no
+bounds, complied with his pet's request, and turned him into a wild
+boar. For two whole days our boar kept his body soaking wet, and on
+the third day, as he was splashing about in his favourite element,
+whom should he see but the king of the country riding on a richly
+caparisoned elephant. The king was out hunting, and it was only by a
+lucky chance that our boar escaped being bagged. He dwelt in his own
+mind on the dangers attending the life of a wild boar, and envied the
+lot of the stately elephant who was so fortunate as to carry about
+the king of the country on his back. He longed to be an elephant,
+and at night besought the Rishi to make him one.
+
+Our elephant was roaming about in the wilderness, when he saw the king
+out hunting. The elephant went towards the king's suite with the view
+of being caught. The king, seeing the elephant at a distance, admired
+it on account of its beauty, and gave orders that it should be caught
+and tamed. Our elephant was easily caught, and taken into the royal
+stables, and was soon tamed. It so chanced that the queen expressed
+a wish to bathe in the waters of the holy Ganga. The king, who wished
+to accompany his royal consort, ordered that the newly-caught elephant
+should be brought to him. The king and queen mounted on his back. One
+would suppose that the elephant had now got his wishes, as the king
+had mounted on his back. But no. There was a fly in the ointment. The
+elephant, who looked upon himself as a lordly beast, could not brook
+the idea that a woman, though a queen, should ride on his back. He
+thought himself degraded. He jumped up so violently that both the
+king and queen fell to the ground. The king carefully picked up the
+queen, took her in his arms, asked her whether she had been much
+hurt, wiped off the dust from her clothes with his handkerchief, and
+tenderly kissed her a hundred times. Our elephant, after witnessing
+the king's caresses, scampered off to the woods as fast as his legs
+could carry him. As he ran he thought within himself thus: "After
+all, I see that a queen is the happiest of all creatures. Of what
+infinite regard is she the object! The king lifted her up, took her
+in his arms, made many tender inquiries, wiped off the dust from her
+clothes with his own royal hands, and kissed her a hundred times! O
+the happiness of being a queen! I must tell the Rishi to make me a
+queen!" So saying the elephant, after traversing the woods, went at
+sunset to the Rishi's hut, and fell prostrate on the ground at the feet
+of the holy sage. The Rishi said, "Well, what's the news? Why have
+you left the king's stud?" "What shall I say to your reverence? You
+have been very kind to me; you have granted every wish of mine. I
+have one more boon to ask, and it will be the last. By becoming an
+elephant I have got only my bulk increased, but not my happiness. I
+see that of all creatures a queen is the happiest in the world. Do,
+holy father, make me a queen." "Silly child," answered the Rishi,
+"how can I make you a queen? Where can I get a kingdom for you,
+and a royal husband to boot? All I can do is to change you into an
+exquisitely beautiful girl, possessed of charms to captivate the
+heart of a prince, if ever the gods grant you an interview with some
+great prince! "Our elephant agreed to the change; and in a moment the
+sagacious beast was transformed into a beautiful young lady, to whom
+the holy sage gave the name of Postomani, or the poppy-seed lady.
+
+Postomani lived in the Rishi's hut, and spent her time in tending
+the flowers and watering the plants. One day, as she was sitting at
+the door of the hut during the Rishi's absence, she saw a man dressed
+in a very rich garb come towards the cottage. She stood up and asked
+the stranger who he was, and what he had come there for. The stranger
+answered that he had come a-hunting in those parts, that he had been
+chasing in vain a deer, that he felt thirsty, and that he came to
+the hut of the hermit for refreshment.
+
+Postomani. Stranger, look upon this cot as your own house. I'll do
+everything I can to make you comfortable; I am only sorry we are too
+poor suitably to entertain, a man of your rank, for if I mistake not
+you are the king of this country.
+
+The king smiled. Postomani then brought out a water-pot, and made
+as if she would wash the feet of her royal guest with her own hands,
+when the king said, "Holy maid, do not touch my feet, for I am only
+a Kshatriya, and you are the daughter of a holy sage."
+
+Postomani. Noble sir, I am not the daughter of the Rishi, neither
+am I a Brahmani girl; so there can be no harm in my touching your
+feet. Besides, you are my guest, and I am bound to wash your feet.
+
+King. Forgive my impertinence. What caste do you belong to?
+
+Postomani. I have heard from the sage that my parents were Kshatriyas.
+
+King. May I ask you whether your father was a king, for your uncommon
+beauty and your stately demeanour show that you are a born princess.
+
+Postomani, without answering the question, went inside the hut,
+brought out a tray of the most delicious fruits, and set it before the
+king. The king, however, would not touch the fruits till the maid had
+answered his questions. When pressed hard Postomani gave the following
+answer: "The holy sage says that my father was a king. Having been
+overcome in battle, he, along with my mother, fled into the woods. My
+poor father was eaten up by a tiger, and my mother at that time was
+brought to bed of me, and she closed her eyes as I opened mine. Strange
+to say, there was a bee-hive on the tree at the foot of which I lay;
+drops of honey fell into my mouth and kept alive the spark of life
+till the kind Rishi found me and brought me into his hut. This is
+the simple story of the wretched girl who now stands before the king."
+
+King. Call not yourself wretched. You are the loveliest and most
+beautiful of women. You would adorn the palace of the mightiest
+sovereign.
+
+The upshot was, that the king made love to the girl and they were
+joined in marriage by the Rishi. Postomani was treated as the favourite
+queen, and the former queen was in disgrace. Postomani's happiness,
+however, was short-lived. One day as she was standing by a well,
+she became giddy, fell into the water, and died. The Rishi then
+appeared before the king and said: "O king, grieve not over the
+past. What is fixed by fate must come to pass. The queen, who has
+just been drowned, was not of royal blood. She was born a mouse; I
+then changed her successively, according to her own wish, into a cat,
+a dog, an ape, a boar, an elephant, and a beautiful girl. Now that
+she is gone, do you again take into favour your former queen. As
+for my reputed daughter, through the favour of the gods I'll make
+her name immortal. Let her body remain in the well; fill the well up
+with earth. Out of her flesh and bones will grow a tree which shall
+be called after her Posto, that is, the Poppy tree. From this tree
+will be obtained a drug called opium, which will be celebrated as a
+powerful medicine through all ages, and which will always be either
+swallowed or smoked as a wonderful narcotic to the end of time. The
+opium swallower or smoker will have one quality of each of the animals
+to which Postomani was transformed. He will be mischievous like a
+mouse, fond of milk like a cat, quarrelsome like a dog, filthy like
+an ape, savage like a boar, and high-tempered like a queen."
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+STRIKE BUT HEAR
+
+
+Once upon a time there reigned a king who had three sons. His subjects
+one day came to him and said, "O incarnation of justice! the kingdom
+is infested with thieves and robbers. Our property is not safe. We
+pray your majesty to catch hold of these thieves and punish them." The
+king said to his sons, "O my sons, I am old, but you are all in the
+prime of manhood. How is it that my kingdom is full of thieves? I
+look to you to catch hold of these thieves." The three princes then
+made up their minds to patrol the city every night. With this view
+they set up a station in the outskirts of the city, where they kept
+their horses. In the early part of the night the eldest prince rode
+upon his horse and went through the whole city, but did not see a
+single thief. He came back to the station. About midnight the second
+prince got upon his horse and rode through every part of the city,
+but he did not see or hear of a single thief. He came also back to
+the station. Some hours after midnight the youngest prince went the
+rounds, and when he came near the gate of the palace where his father
+lived, he saw a beautiful woman coming out of the palace. The prince
+accosted the woman, and asked who she was and where she was going
+at that hour of the night. The woman answered, "I am Rajlakshmi,
+[23] the guardian deity of this palace. The king will be killed this
+night. I am therefore not needed here. I am going away." The prince
+did not know what to make of this message. After a moment's reflection
+he said to the goddess, "But suppose the king is not killed to-night,
+then have you any objection to return to the palace and stay there?" "I
+have no objection," replied the goddess. The prince then begged the
+goddess to go in, promising to do his best to prevent the king from
+being killed. Then the goddess entered the palace again, and in a
+moment went the prince knew not whither.
+
+The prince went straight into the bedroom of his royal father. There he
+lay immersed in deep sleep. His second and young wife, the stepmother
+of our prince, was sleeping in another bed in the room. A light
+was burning dimly. What was his surprise when the prince saw a huge
+cobra going round and round the golden bedstead on which his father
+was sleeping. The prince with his sword cut the serpent in two. Not
+satisfied with killing the cobra, he cut it up into a hundred pieces,
+and put them inside the pan dish [24] which was in the room. While the
+prince was cutting up the serpent a drop of blood fell on the breast
+of his stepmother who was sleeping hard by. The prince was in great
+distress. He said to himself, "I have saved my father but killed my
+mother." How was the drop of blood to be taken out of his mother's
+breast? He wrapped round his tongue a piece of cloth sevenfold, and
+with it licked up the drop of blood. But while he was in the act of
+doing this, his stepmother woke up, and opening her eyes saw that
+it was her stepson, the youngest prince. The young prince rushed
+out of the room. The queen, intending to ruin the youngest prince,
+whom she hated, called out to her husband, "My lord, my lord, are
+you awake? are you awake? Rouse yourself up. Here is a nice piece of
+business." The king on awaking inquired what the matter was. "The
+matter, my lord? Your worthy son, the youngest prince, of whom you
+speak so highly, was just here. I caught him in the act of touching
+my breast. Doubtless he came with a wicked intent. And this is your
+worthy son!" The king was horror-struck. The prince went to the
+station to his brothers, but told them nothing.
+
+Early in the morning the king called his eldest son to him and said,
+"If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless,
+how should he be punished?" The eldest prince replied, "Doubtless such
+a man's head should be cut off; but before you kill, you should see
+whether the man is really faithless." "What do you mean?" inquired
+the king. "Let your majesty be pleased to listen," answered the prince.
+
+"Once on a time there lived a goldsmith who had a grown-up son. And
+this son had a wife who had the rare faculty of understanding the
+language of beasts; but neither her husband nor any one else knew
+that she had this uncommon gift. One night she was lying in bed
+beside her husband in their house, which was close to a river, when
+she heard a jackal howl out, 'There goes a carcase floating on the
+river; is there any one who will take off the diamond ring from the
+finger of the dead man and give me the corpse to eat?' The woman
+understood the jackal's language, got up from bed and went to the
+river-side. The husband, who was not asleep, followed his wife at
+some distance so as not to be observed by her. The woman went into
+the water, tugged the floating corpse towards the shore, and saw the
+diamond ring on the finger. Unable to loosen it with her hand, as the
+fingers of the dead body had swelled, she bit it off with her teeth,
+and put the dead body upon land. She then went to her bed, whither
+she had been preceded by her husband. The young goldsmith lay beside
+his wife almost petrified with fear, for he concluded after what he
+saw that his wife was not a human being but a Rakshasi. He spent the
+rest of the night in tossing in his bed, and early in the morning
+spoke to his father in the following manner: 'Father, the woman whom
+thou hast given me to wife is not a real woman but a Rakshasi. Last
+night as I was lying in bed with her, I heard outside the house,
+towards the river-side, a jackal set up a fearful howl. On this she,
+thinking that I was asleep, got up from bed, opened the door, and
+went out to the river-side. Surprised to see her go out alone at
+the dead hour of night, I suspected evil and followed her, but so
+that she could not see me. What did she do, do you think? O horror of
+horrors! She went into the stream, dragged towards the shore the dead
+body of a man which was floating by, and began to eat it! I saw this
+with mine own eyes. I then returned home while she was feasting upon
+the carcase, and jumped into bed. In a few minutes she also returned,
+bolted the door, and lay beside me. O my father, how can I live with
+a Rakshasi? She will certainly kill me and eat me up one night.' The
+old goldsmith was not a little shocked to hear this account. Both
+father and son agreed that the woman should be taken into the forest
+and there left to be devoured by wild beasts. Accordingly the young
+goldsmith spoke to his wife thus: 'My dear love, you had better not
+cook much this morning; only boil rice and burn a brinjal, for I must
+take you to-day to see your father and mother, who are dying to see
+you.' At the mention of her father's house she became full of joy,
+and finished the cooking in no time. The husband and wife snatched a
+hasty breakfast and started on their journey. The way lay through a
+dense jungle, in which the goldsmith bethought himself of leaving his
+wife alone to be eaten up by wild beasts. But while they were passing
+through this jungle the woman heard a serpent hiss, the meaning of
+which hissing, as understood by her, was as follows: 'O passer-by, how
+thankful should I be to you if you would catch hold of that croaking
+frog in yonder hole, which is full of gold and precious stones,
+and give me the frog to swallow, and you take the gold and precious
+stones.' The woman forthwith made for the frog, and began digging
+the hole with a stick. The young goldsmith was now quaking with fear,
+thinking his Rakshasi-wife was about to kill him. She called out to
+him and said, 'Husband, take up all this large quantity of gold and
+these precious stones.' The goldsmith, not knowing what to make of it,
+timidly went to the place, and to his infinite surprise saw the gold
+and the precious stones. They took up as much as they could. On the
+husband's asking his wife how she came to know of the existence of all
+this riches, she said that she understood the language of animals,
+and that the snake coiled up hard by had informed her of it. The
+goldsmith, on finding out what an accomplished wife he was blessed
+with, said to her, 'My love, it has got very late to-day; it would be
+impossible to reach your father's house before nightfall, and we may
+be devoured by wild beasts in the jungle; I propose therefore that
+we both return home.' It took them a long time to reach home, for
+they were laden with a large quantity of gold and precious stones. On
+coming near the house, the goldsmith said to his wife, 'My dear, you
+go by the back door, while I go by the front door and see my father
+in his shop and show him all this gold and these precious stones.' So
+she entered the house by the back door, and the moment she entered
+she was met by the old goldsmith, who had come that minute into the
+house for some purpose with a hammer in his hand. The old goldsmith,
+when he saw his Rakshasi daughter-in-law, concluded in his mind that
+she had killed and swallowed up his son. He therefore struck her on
+the head with the hammer, and she immediately died. That moment the
+son came into the house, but it was too late. Hence it is that I told
+your majesty that before you cut off a man's head you should inquire
+whether the man is really guilty."
+
+The king then called his second son to him, and said, "If a man to
+whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless, how should he
+be punished?" The second prince replied, "Doubtless such a man's head
+should be cut off, but before you kill you should see whether the
+man is really faithless." "What do you mean?" inquired the king. "Let
+your majesty be pleased to listen," answered the prince.
+
+"Once on a time there reigned a king who was very fond of going out
+a-hunting. Once while he was out hunting his horse took him into
+a dense forest far from his followers. He rode on and on, and did
+not see either villages or towns. He became very thirsty, but he
+could see neither pond, lake, nor stream. At last he found something
+dripping from the top of a tree. Concluding it to be rain-water which
+had rested in some cavity of the tree, he stood on horseback under
+the tree and caught the dripping contents in a small cup. It was,
+however, no rain-water. A huge cobra, which was on the top of the
+tree, was dashing in rage its fangs against the tree; and its poison
+was coming out and was falling in drops. The king, however, thought
+it was rain-water; though his horse knew better. When the cup was
+nearly filled with the liquid snake-poison, and the king was about
+to drink it off, the horse, to save the life of his royal master,
+so moved about that the cup fell from the king's hand and all the
+liquid spilled about. The king became very angry with his horse,
+and with his sword gave a cut to the horse's neck, and the horse died
+immediately. Hence it is that I told your majesty that before you cut
+off a man's head you should inquire whether the man is really guilty."
+
+The king then called to him his third and youngest son, and said,
+"If a man to whom I intrust my honour and my life prove faithless,
+how should he be punished?" The youngest prince replied, "Doubtless
+such a man's head should be cut off, but before you kill you should
+see whether the man is really faithless." "What do you mean?" inquired
+the king. "Let your majesty be pleased to listen," answered the prince.
+
+"Once on a time there reigned a king who had in his palace a remarkable
+bird of the Suka species. One day as the Suka went out to the fields
+for an airing, he saw his dad and dam, who pressed him to come and
+spend some days with them in their nest in some far-off land. The
+Suka answered he would be very happy to come, but he could not go
+without the king's leave; he added that he would speak to the king
+that very day, and would be ready to go the following morning if his
+dad and dam would come to that very spot. The Suka spoke to the king,
+and the king gave leave with reluctance as he was very fond of the
+bird. So the next morning the Suka met his dad and dam at the place
+appointed, and went with them to his paternal nest on the top of some
+high tree in a far-off land. The three birds lived happily together
+for a fortnight, at the end of which period the Suka said to his
+dad and dam, 'My beloved parents, the king granted me leave only
+for a fortnight, and to-day the fortnight is over: to-morrow I must
+start for the city of the king.' His dad and dam readily agreed to the
+reasonable proposal, and told him to take a present to the king. After
+laying their heads together for some time they agreed that the present
+should be a fruit of the tree of Immortality. So early next morning
+the Suka plucked a fruit off the tree of Immortality, and carefully
+catching it in his beak, started on his aerial journey. As he had a
+heavy weight to carry, the Suka was not able to reach the city of
+the king that day, and was benighted on the road. He took shelter
+in a tree, and was at a loss to know where to keep the fruit. If
+he kept it in his beak it was sure, he thought, to fall out when he
+fell asleep. Fortunately he saw a hole in the trunk of the tree in
+which he had taken shelter, and accordingly put the fruit in it. It
+so happened that in that hole there was a snake; in the course of the
+night the snake darted its fangs on the fruit, and thus besmeared it
+with its poison. Early before crow-cawing the Suka, suspecting nothing,
+took up the fruit of Immortality in its beak, and began his aerial
+voyage. The Suka reached the palace while the king was sitting with
+his ministers. The king was delighted to see his pet bird come again,
+and greatly admired the beautiful fruit which the Suka had brought as
+a present. The fruit was very fair to look at; it was the loveliest
+fruit in all the earth; and as its name implies it makes the eater
+of it immortal. The king was going to eat it, but his courtiers said
+that it was not advisable for the king to eat it, as it might be a
+poisonous fruit. He accordingly threw it to a crow which was perched
+on the wall; the crow ate a part of it; but in a moment the crow fell
+down and died. The king, imagining that the Suka had intended to take
+away his life, took hold of the bird and killed it. The king ordered
+the stone of the deadly fruit, as it was thought to be, to be planted
+in a garden outside the city. The stone in course of time became
+a large tree bearing lovely fruit. The king ordered a fence to be
+put round the tree, and placed a guard lest people should eat of the
+fruit and die. There lived in that city an old Brahman and his wife,
+who used to live upon charity. The Brahman one day mourned his hard
+lot, and told his wife that instead of leading the wretched life of
+a beggar he would eat the fruit of the poisonous tree in the king's
+garden and thus end his days. So that very night he got up from his
+bed in order to get into the king's garden. His wife, suspecting her
+husband's intention, followed him, resolved also to eat of the fruit
+and die with her husband. As at that dead hour of night the guard
+was asleep, the old Brahman plucked a fruit and ate it. The woman
+said to her husband, 'If you die what is the use of my life? I'll
+also eat and die.' So saying she plucked a fruit and ate it. Thinking
+that the poison would take some time to produce its due effect, they
+both went home and lay in bed, supposing that they would never rise
+again. To their infinite surprise next morning they found themselves
+to be not only alive, but young and vigorous. Their neighbours could
+scarcely recognise them--they had become so changed. The old Brahman
+had become handsome and vigorous, no grey hairs, no wrinkles on his
+cheeks; and as for his wife, she had become as beautiful as any lady
+in the king's household. The king, hearing of this wonderful change,
+sent for the old Brahman, who told him all the circumstances. The
+king then greatly lamented the sad fate of his pet bird, and blamed
+himself for having killed it without fully inquiring into the case.
+
+"Hence it is," continued the youngest prince, "that I told your majesty
+that before you cut off a man's head you should inquire whether the
+man is really guilty. I know your majesty thinks that last night
+I entered your chamber with wicked intent. Be pleased to hear me
+before you strike. Last night as I was on my rounds I saw a female
+figure come out of the palace. On challenging her she said that she
+was Rajlakshmi, the guardian deity of the palace; and that she was
+leaving the palace as the king would be killed that night. I told her
+to come in, and that I would prevent the king from being killed. I
+went straight into your bedroom, and saw a large cobra going round
+and round your golden bedstead. I killed the cobra, cut it up into a
+hundred pieces, and put them in the pan dish. But while I was cutting
+up the snake, a drop of its blood fell on the breast of my mother;
+and then I thought that while I had saved my father I had killed
+my mother. I wrapped round my tongue a piece of cloth sevenfold
+and licked up the drop of blood. While I was licking up the blood,
+my mother opened her eyes and noticed me. This is what I have done;
+now cut off my head if your majesty wishes it."
+
+The king filled with joy and gratitude embraced his son, and from
+that time loved him more even than he had loved him before.
+
+
+            Thus my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF TWO THIEVES AND OF THEIR SONS
+
+
+PART I
+
+Once on a time there lived two thieves in a village who earned their
+livelihood by stealing. As they were well-known thieves, every act
+of theft in the village was ascribed to them whether they committed
+it or not; they therefore left the village, and, being resolved to
+support themselves by honest labour, went to a neighbouring town for
+service. Both of them were engaged by a householder; the one had to
+tend a cow, and the other to water a champaka plant. The elder thief
+began watering the plant early in the morning, and as he had been
+told to go on pouring water till some of it collected itself round
+the foot of the plant he went on pouring bucketful after bucketful:
+but to no purpose. No sooner was the water poured on the foot of the
+plant than it was forthwith sucked up by the thirsty earth; and it
+was late in the afternoon when the thief, tired with drawing water,
+laid himself down on the ground, and fell asleep. The younger thief
+fared no better. The cow which he had to tend was the most vicious
+in the whole country. When taken out of the village for pasturage it
+galloped away to a great distance with its tail erect; it ran from one
+paddy-field to another, and ate the corn and trod upon it; it entered
+into sugar-cane plantations and destroyed the sweet cane;--for all
+which damage and acts of trespass the neat-herd was soundly rated by
+the owners of the fields. What with running after the cow from field
+to field, from pool to pool; what with the abusive language poured
+not only upon him, but upon his forefathers up to the fourteenth
+generation, by the owners of the fields in which the corn had been
+destroyed,--the younger thief had a miserable day of it. After a
+world of trouble he succeeded about sunset in catching hold of the
+cow, which he brought back to the house of his master. The elder
+thief had just roused himself from sleep when he saw the younger one
+bringing in the cow. Then the elder said to the younger--"Brother,
+why are you so late in coming from the fields?"
+
+Younger. What shall I say, brother? I took the cow to that part of the
+meadow where there is a tank, near which there is a large tree. I let
+the cow loose, and it began to graze about without giving the least
+trouble. I spread my gamchha [25] upon the grass under the tree;
+and there was such a delicious breeze that I soon fell asleep, and
+I did not wake till after sunset; and when I awoke I saw my good cow
+grazing contentedly at the distance of a few paces. But how did you
+fare, brother?
+
+Elder. Oh, as for me, I had a jolly time of it. I had poured only
+one bucketful of water on the plant, when a large quantity rested
+round it. So my work was done, and I had the whole day to myself. I
+laid myself down on the ground; I meditated on the joys of this new
+mode of life; I whistled; I sang; and at last fell asleep. And I am
+up only this moment.
+
+When this talk was ended, the elder thief, believing that what the
+younger thief had said was true, thought that tending the cow was more
+comfortable than watering the plant; and the younger thief, for the
+same reason, thought that watering the plant was more comfortable
+than tending the cow: each therefore resolved to exchange his own
+work for that of the other.
+
+Elder. Well, brother, I have a wish to tend the cow. Suppose to-morrow
+you take my work, and I yours. Have you any objection?
+
+Younger. Not the slightest, brother. I shall be glad to take up your
+work, and you are quite welcome to take up mine. Only let me give
+you a bit of advice. I felt it rather uncomfortable to sleep nearly
+the whole of the day on the bare ground. If you take a charpoy [26]
+with you, you will have a merry time of it.
+
+Early the following morning the elder thief went out with the cow to
+the fields, not forgetting to take with him a charpoy for his ease and
+comfort; and the younger thief began watering the plant. The latter
+had thought that one bucketful, or at the outside two bucketfuls,
+of water would be enough. But what was his surprise when he found
+that even a hundred bucketfuls were not sufficient to saturate the
+ground around the roots of the plant. He was dead tired with drawing
+water. The sun was almost going down, and yet his work was not over. At
+last he gave it up through sheer weariness.
+
+The elder thief in the fields was in no better case. He took the
+cow beside the tank which the younger thief had spoken of, put his
+charpoy under the large tree hard by, and then let the cow loose. As
+soon as the cow was let loose it went scampering about in the meadow,
+jumping over hedges and ditches, running through paddy-fields, and
+injuring sugar-cane plantations. The elder thief was not a little
+put about. He had to run about the whole day, and to be insulted by
+the people whose fields had been trespassed upon. But the worst of
+it was, that our thief had to run about the meadow with the charpoy
+on his head, for he could not put it anywhere for fear it should be
+taken away. When the other neat-herds who were in the meadow saw the
+elder thief running about in breathless haste after the cow with the
+charpoy on his head, they clapped their hands and raised shouts of
+derision. The poor fellow, hungry and angry, bitterly repented of
+the exchange he had made. After infinite trouble, and with the help
+of the other neat-herds, he at last caught hold of the precious cow,
+and brought it home long after the village lamps had been lit.
+
+When the two thieves met in the house of their master, they merely
+laughed at each other without speaking a word. Their dinner over,
+they laid themselves to rest, when there took place the following
+conversation:--
+
+Younger. Well, how did you fare, brother?
+
+Elder. Just as you fared, and perhaps some degrees better.
+
+Younger. I am of opinion that our former trade of thieving was
+infinitely preferable to this sort of honest labour, as people call it.
+
+Elder. What doubt is there of that? But, by the gods, I have never
+seen a cow which can be compared to this. It has no second in the
+world in point of viciousness.
+
+Younger. A vicious cow is not a rare thing. I have seen some cows
+as vicious. But have you ever seen a plant like this champaka plant
+which you were told to water? I wonder what becomes of all the water
+that is poured round about it. Is there a tank below its roots?
+
+Elder. I have a good mind to dig round it and see what is beneath it.
+
+Younger. We had better do so this night when the good man of the
+house and his wife are asleep.
+
+At about midnight the two thieves took spades and shovels and began
+digging round the plant. After digging a good deal the younger thief
+lighted upon some hard thing against which the shovel struck. The
+curiosity of both was excited. The younger thief saw that it was
+a large jar; he thrust his hand into it and found that it was full
+of gold mohurs. But he said to the elder thief--"Oh, it is nothing;
+it is only a large stone." The elder thief, however, suspected that
+it was something else; but he took care not to give vent to his
+suspicion. Both agreed to give up digging as they had found nothing;
+and they went to sleep. An hour or two after, when the elder thief
+saw that the younger thief was asleep, he quietly got up and went
+to the spot which had been digged. He saw the jar filled with gold
+mohurs. Digging a little near it, he found another jar also filled
+with gold mohurs. Overjoyed to find the treasure, he resolved to secure
+it. He took up both the jars, went to the tank which was near, and from
+which water used to be drawn for the plant, and buried them in the mud
+of its bank. He then returned to the house, and quietly laid himself
+down beside the younger thief, who was then fast asleep. The younger
+thief, who had first found the jar of gold mohurs, now woke, and softly
+stealing out of bed, went to secure the treasure he had seen. On going
+to the spot he did not see any jar; he therefore naturally thought
+that his companion the elder thief had secreted it somewhere. He went
+to his sleeping partner, with a view to discover if possible by any
+marks on his body the place where the treasure had been hidden. He
+examined the person of his friend with the eye of a detective, and
+saw mud on his feet and near the ankles. He immediately concluded
+the treasure must have been concealed somewhere in the tank. But in
+what part of the tank? on which bank? His ingenuity did not forsake
+him here. He walked round all the four banks of the tank. When he
+walked round three sides, the frogs on them jumped into the water;
+but no frogs jumped from the fourth bank. He therefore concluded that
+the treasure must have been buried on the fourth bank. In a little
+he found the two jars filled with gold mohurs; he took them up, and
+going into the cow-house brought out the vicious cow he had tended,
+and put the two jars on its back. He left the house and started for
+his native village.
+
+When the elder thief at crow-cawing got up from sleep, he was surprised
+not to find his companion beside him. He hastened to the tank and
+found that the jars were not there. He went to the cow-house, and did
+not see the vicious cow. He immediately concluded the younger thief
+must have run away with the treasure on the back of the cow. And where
+could he think of going? He must be going to his native village. No
+sooner did this process of reasoning pass through his mind than he
+resolved forthwith to set out and overtake the younger thief. As
+he passed through the town, he invested all the money he had in a
+costly pair of shoes covered with gold lace. He walked very fast,
+avoiding the public road and making short cuts. He descried the
+younger thief trudging on slowly with his cow. He went before him
+in the highway about a distance of 200 yards, and threw down on the
+road one shoe. He walked on another 200 yards and threw the other
+shoe at a place near which was a large tree; amid the thick leaves of
+that tree he hid himself. The younger thief coming along the public
+road saw the first shoe and said to himself--"What a beautiful shoe
+that is! It is of gold lace. It would have suited me in my present
+circumstances now that I have got rich. But what shall I do with one
+shoe?" So he passed on. In a short time he came to the place where
+the other shoe was lying. The younger thief said within himself--"Ah,
+here is the other shoe! What a fool I was, that I did not pick up
+the one I first saw! However it is not too late. I'll tie the cow to
+yonder tree and go for the other shoe." He tied the cow to the tree,
+and taking up the second shoe went for the first, lying at a distance
+of about 200 yards. In the meantime the elder thief got down from
+the tree, loosened the cow, and drove it towards his native village,
+avoiding the king's highway. The younger thief on returning to the
+tree found that the cow was gone. He of course concluded that it
+could have been done only by the elder thief. He walked as fast as
+his legs could carry him, and reached his native village long before
+the elder thief with the cow. He hid himself near the door of the
+elder thief's house. The moment the elder thief arrived with the
+cow, the younger thief accosted him, saying--"So you are come safe,
+brother. Let us go in and divide the money." To this proposal the
+elder thief readily agreed. In the inner yard of the house the two
+jars were taken down from the back of the cow; they went to a room,
+bolted the door, and began dividing. Two mohurs were taken up by
+the hand, one was put in one place, and the other in another; and
+they went on doing that till the jars became empty. But last of all
+one gold mohur remained. The question was--Who was to take it? Both
+agreed that it should be changed the next morning, and the silver cash
+equally divided. But with whom was the single mohur to remain? There
+was not a little wrangling about the matter. After a great deal of yea
+and nay, it was settled that it should remain with the elder thief,
+and that next morning it should be changed and equally divided.
+
+At night the elder thief said to his wife and the other women of
+the house, "Look here, ladies, the younger thief will come to-morrow
+morning to demand the share of the remaining gold mohur; but I don't
+mean to give it to him. You do one thing to-morrow. Spread a cloth on
+the ground in the yard. I will lay myself on the cloth pretending to
+be dead; and to convince people that I am dead, put a tulasi [27]
+plant near my head. And when you see the younger thief coming to
+the door, you set up a loud cry and lamentation. Then he will of
+course go away, and I shall not have to pay his share of the gold
+mohur." To this proposal the women readily agreed. Accordingly the
+next day, about noon, the elder thief laid himself down in the yard
+like a corpse with the sacred basil near his head. When the younger
+thief was seen coming near the house, the women set up a loud cry,
+and when he came nearer and nearer, wondering what it all meant,
+they said, "Oh, where did you both go? What did you bring? What
+did you do to him? Look, he is dead!" So saying they rent the air
+with their cries. The younger thief, seeing through the whole, said,
+"Well, I am sorry my friend and brother is gone. I must now attend to
+his funeral. You all go away from this place, you are but women. I'll
+see to it that the remains are well burnt." He brought a quantity of
+straw and twisted it into a rope, which he fastened to the legs of the
+deceased man, and began tugging him, saying that he was going to take
+him to the place of burning. While the elder thief was being dragged
+through the streets, his body was getting dreadfully scratched and
+bruised, but he held his peace, being resolved to act his part out,
+and thus escape giving the share of the gold mohur. The sun had
+gone down when the younger thief with the corpse reached the place
+of burning. But as he was making preparations for a funeral pile,
+he remembered that he had not brought fire with him. If he went
+for fire leaving the elder thief behind, he would undoubtedly run
+away. What then was to be done? At last he tied the straw rope to the
+branch of a tree, and kept the pretended corpse hanging in the air,
+and he himself climbed into the tree and sat on that branch, keeping
+tight hold of the rope lest it should break, and the elder thief run
+away. While they were in this state, a gang of robbers passed by. On
+seeing the corpse hanging, the head of the gang said, "This raid of
+ours has begun very auspiciously. Brahmans and Pandits say that if
+on starting on a journey one sees a corpse, it is a good omen. Well,
+we have seen a corpse, it is therefore likely that we shall meet with
+success this night. If we do, I propose one thing: on our return let
+us first burn this dead body and then return home." All the robbers
+agreed to this proposal. The robbers then entered into the house of
+a rich man in the village, put its inmates to the sword, robbed it of
+all its treasures, and withal managed it so cleverly that not a mouse
+stirred in the village. As they were successful beyond measure, they
+resolved on their return to burn the dead body they had seen. When they
+came to the place of burning they found the corpse hanging as before,
+for the elder thief had not yet opened his mouth lest he should be
+obliged to give half of the gold mohur. The thieves dug a hollow
+in the ground, brought fuel, and laid it upon the hollow. They took
+down the corpse from the tree, and laid it upon the pile; and as they
+were going to set it on fire, the corpse gave out an unearthly scream
+and jumped up. That very moment the younger thief jumped down from
+the tree with a similar scream. The robbers were frightened beyond
+measure. They thought that a Dana (evil spirit) had possessed the
+corpse, and that a ghost jumped down from the tree. They ran away in
+great fear, leaving behind them the money and the jewels which they had
+obtained by robbery. The two thieves laughed heartily, took up all the
+riches of the robbers, went home, and lived merrily for a long time.
+
+
+
+
+PART II
+
+The elder thief and the younger thief had one son each. As they had
+been so far successful in life by practising the art of thieving, they
+resolved to train up their sons to the same profession. There was in
+the village a Professor of the Science of Roguery, who took pupils,
+and gave them lessons in that difficult science. The two thieves
+put their sons under this renowned Professor. The son of the elder
+thief distinguished himself very much, and bade fair to surpass his
+father in the art of stealing. The lad's cleverness was tested in the
+following manner. Not far from the Professor's house there lived a
+poor man in a hut, upon the thatch of which climbed a creeper of the
+gourd kind. In the middle of the thatch, which was also its topmost
+part, there was a splendid gourd, which the man and his wife watched
+day and night. They certainly slept at night, but then the thatch was
+so old and rickety that if even a mouse went up to it bits of straw
+and particles of earth used to fall inside the hut, and the man and
+his wife slept right below the spot where the gourd was; so that it
+was next to impossible to steal the gourd without the knowledge of
+its owners. The Professor said to his pupils--for he had many--that
+any one who stole the gourd without being caught would be pronounced
+the dux of the school. Our elder thief's son at once accepted the
+offer. He said he would steal away the gourd if he were allowed the use
+of three things, namely, a string, a cat, and a knife. The Professor
+allowed him the use of these three things. Two or three hours after
+nightfall, the lad, furnished with the three things mentioned above,
+sat behind the thatch under the eaves, listening to the conversation
+carried on by the man and his wife lying in bed inside the hut. In
+a short time the conversation ceased. The lad then concluded that
+they must both have fallen asleep. He waited half an hour longer,
+and hearing no sound inside, gently climbed up on the thatch. Chips of
+straw and particles of earth fell upon the couple sleeping inside. The
+woman woke up, and rousing her husband said, "Look there, some one is
+stealing the gourd!" That moment the lad squeezed the throat of the
+cat, and puss immediately gave out her usual "Mew! mew! mew!" The
+husband said, "Don't you hear the cat mewing? There is no thief;
+it is only a cat." The lad in the meantime cut the gourd from the
+plant with his knife, and tied the string which he had with him to
+its stalk. But how was he to get down without being discovered and
+caught, especially as the man and the woman were now awake? The woman
+was not convinced that it was only a cat; the shaking of the thatch,
+and the constant falling of bits of straw and particles of dust, made
+her think that it was a human being that was upon the thatch. She was
+telling her husband to go out and see whether a man was not there;
+but he maintained that it was only a cat. While the man and woman
+were thus disputing with each other, the lad with great force threw
+down the cat upon the ground, on which the poor animal purred most
+vociferously; and the man said aloud to his wife, "There it is; you
+are now convinced that it was only a cat." In the meantime, during
+the confusion created by the clamour of the cat and the loud talk
+of the man, the lad quietly came down from the thatch with the gourd
+tied to the string. Next morning the lad produced the gourd before his
+teacher, and described to him and to his admiring comrades the manner
+in which he had committed the theft. The Professor was in ecstasy,
+and remarked, "The worthy son of a worthy father." But the elder
+thief, the father of our hopeful genius, was by no means satisfied
+that his son was as yet fit to enter the world. He wanted to prove
+him still further. Addressing his son he said, "My son, if you can
+do what I tell you, I'll think you fit to enter the world. If you
+can steal the gold chain of the queen of this country from her neck,
+and bring it to me, I'll think you fit to enter the world." The gifted
+son readily agreed to do the daring deed.
+
+The young thief--for so we shall now call the son of the elder
+thief--made a reconnaissance of the palace in which the king and queen
+lived. He reconnoitred all the four gates, and all the outer and inner
+walls as far as he could; and gathered incidentally a good deal of
+information, from people living in the neighbourhood, regarding the
+habits of the king and queen, in what part of the palace they slept,
+what guards there were near the bedchamber, and who, if any, slept
+in the antechamber. Armed with all this knowledge the young thief
+fixed upon one dark night for doing the daring deed. He took with
+him a sword, a hammer and some large nails, and put on very dark
+clothes. Thus accoutred he went prowling about the Lion gate of the
+palace. Before the zenana [28] could be got at, four doors, including
+the Lion gate, had to be passed; and each of these doors had a guard
+of sixteen stalwart men. The same men, however, did not remain all
+night at their post. As the king had an infinite number of soldiers
+at his command, the guards at the doors were relieved every hour; so
+that once every hour at each door there were thirty-two men present,
+consisting of the relieving party and of the relieved. The young thief
+chose that particular moment of time for entering each of the four
+doors. At the time of relief when he saw the Lion gate crowded with
+thirty-two men, he joined the crowd without being taken notice of; he
+then spent the hour preceding the next relief in the large open space
+and garden between two doors; and he could not be taken notice of, as
+the night as well as his clothes was pitch dark. In a similar manner
+he passed the second door, the third door, and the fourth door. And
+now the queen's bedchamber stared him in the face. It was in the third
+loft; there was a bright light in it; and a low voice was heard as
+that of a woman saying something in a humdrum manner. The young thief
+thought that the voice must be the voice of a maid-servant reciting
+a story, as he had learnt was the custom in the palace every night,
+for composing the king and queen to sleep. But how to get up into the
+third loft? The inner doors were all closed, and there were guards
+everywhere. But the young thief had with him nails and a hammer: why
+not drive the nails into the wall and climb up by them? True; but the
+driving of nails into the wall would make a great noise which would
+rouse the guards, and possibly the king and queen,--at any rate the
+maid-servant reciting stories would give the alarm. Our erratic genius
+had considered that matter well before engaging in the work. There is
+a water-clock in the palace which shows the hours; and at the end of
+every hour a very large Chinese gong is struck, the sound of which
+is so loud that it is not only heard all over the palace, but over
+most part of the city; and the peculiarity of the gong, as of every
+Chinese gong, was that nearly one minute must elapse after the first
+stroke before the second stroke could be made, to allow the gong to
+give out the whole of its sound. The thief fixed upon the minutes
+when the gong was struck at the end of every hour for driving nails
+into the wall. At ten o'clock when the gong was struck ten times, the
+thief found it easy to drive ten nails into the wall. When the gong
+stopped, the thief also stopped, and either sat or stood quiet on the
+ninth nail catching hold of the tenth which was above the other. At
+eleven o'clock he drove into the wall in a similar manner eleven nails,
+and got a little higher than the second story; and by twelve o'clock
+he was in the loft where the royal bedchamber was. Peeping in he saw
+a drowsy maid-servant drowsily reciting a story, and the king and
+queen apparently asleep. He went stealthily behind the story-telling
+maid-servant and took his seat. The queen was lying down on a richly
+furnished bedstead of gold beside the king. The massive chain of gold
+round the neck of the queen was gleaming in candle-light. The thief
+quietly listened to the story of the drowsy maid-servant. She was
+becoming more and more sleepy. She stopped for a second, nodded her
+head, and again resumed the story. It was plain she was under the
+influence of sleep. In a moment the thief cut off the head of the
+maid-servant with his sword, and himself went on reciting for some
+minutes the story which the woman was telling. The king and queen were
+unconscious of any change as to the person of the story-teller, for
+they were both in deep sleep. He stripped the murdered woman of her
+clothes, put them on himself, tied up his own clothes in a bundle,
+and walking softly, gently took off the chain from the neck of the
+queen. He then went through the rooms down stairs, ordered the inner
+guard to open the door, as she was obliged to go out of the palace
+for purposes of necessity. The guards, seeing that it was the queen's
+maid-servant, readily allowed her to go out. In the same manner, and
+with the same pretext, he got through the other doors, and at last
+out into the street. That very night, or rather morning, the young
+thief put into his father's hand the gold chain of the queen. The
+elder thief could scarcely believe his own eyes. It was so like a
+dream. His joy knew no bounds. Addressing his son he said--"Well done,
+my son; you are not only as clever as your father, but you have beaten
+me hollow. The gods give you long life, my son."
+
+Next morning when the king and queen got up from bed, they were
+shocked to see the maid-servant lying in a pool of blood. The queen
+also found that her gold chain was not round her neck. They could not
+make out how all this could have taken place. How could any thief
+manage to elude the vigilance of so many guards? How could he get
+into the queen's bedchamber? And how could he again escape? The king
+found from the reports of the guards that a person calling herself
+the royal maid-servant had gone out of the palace some hours before
+dawn. All sorts of inquiries were made, but in vain. Proclamation
+was made in the city; a large reward was offered to any one who
+would give information tending to the apprehension of the thief and
+murderer. But no one responded to the call. At last the king ordered
+a camel to be brought to him. On the back of the animal was placed
+two large bags filled with gold mohurs. The man taking charge of the
+bags upon the camel was ordered to go through every part of the city
+making the following challenge:--"As the thief was daring enough to
+steal away a gold chain from the neck of the queen, let him further
+show his daring by stealing the gold mohurs from the back of this
+camel." Two days and nights the camel paraded through the city, but
+nothing happened. On the third night as the camel-driver was going
+his rounds he was accosted by a sannyasi, [29] who sat on a tiger's
+skin before a fire, and near whom was a monstrous pair of tongs. This
+sannyasi was no other than the young thief in disguise. The sannyasi
+said to the camel-driver--"Brother, why are you going through the city
+in this manner? Who is there so daring as to steal from the back of the
+king's camel? Come down, friend, and smoke with me." The camel-driver
+alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began smoking. The
+mendicant supplied him not only with tobacco, but with ganja and other
+intoxicating drugs, so that in a short time the camel-driver became
+quite intoxicated and fell asleep. The young thief led away the camel
+with the treasure on its back in the dead of night, through narrow
+lanes and bye-paths to his own house. That very night the camel was
+killed, and its carcase buried in deep pits in the earth, and the
+thing was so managed that no one could discover any trace of it.
+
+The next morning when the king heard that the camel-driver was
+lying drunk in the street, and that the camel had been made away
+with together with the treasure, he was almost beside himself with
+anger. Proclamation was made in the city to the effect that whoever
+caught the thief would get the reward of a lakh of rupees. The son of
+the younger thief--who, by the way, was in the same school of roguery
+with the son of the elder thief, though he did not distinguish himself
+so much--now came to the front and said that he would apprehend the
+thief. He of course suspected that the son of the elder thief must
+have done it--for who so daring and clever as he? In the evening of
+the following day the son of the younger thief disguised himself as a
+woman, and coming to that part of the town where the young thief lived,
+began to weep very much, and went from door to door saying--"O sirs,
+can any of you give me a bit of camel's flesh, for my son is dying,
+and the doctors say nothing but eating camel's meat can save his
+life. O for pity's sake, do give me a bit of camel's flesh." At last
+he went to the house of the young thief, and begged of the wife--for
+the young thief himself was out--to tell him where he could get hold
+of camel's flesh, as his son would assuredly perish if it could not
+be got. Saying this he rent the air with his cries, and fell down at
+the feet of the young thief's wife. Woman as she was, though the wife
+of a thief, she felt pity for the supposed woman, and said--"Wait,
+and I will try and get some camel's flesh for your son." So saying,
+she secretly went to the spot where the dead camel had been buried,
+brought a small quantity of flesh, and gave it to the party. The son
+of the younger thief was now entranced with joy. He went and told the
+king that he had succeeded in tracing the thief, and would be ready to
+deliver him up at night if the king would send some constables with
+him. At night the elder thief and his son were captured, the body
+of the camel dug out, and all the treasures in the house seized. The
+following morning the king sat in judgment. The son of the elder thief
+confessed that he had stolen the queen's gold chain, and killed the
+maid-servant, and had taken away the camel; but he added that the
+person who had detected him and his father--the younger thief--were
+also thieves and murderers, of which fact he gave undoubted proofs. As
+the king had promised to give a lakh of rupees to the detective, that
+sum was placed before the son of the younger thief. But soon after he
+ordered four pits to be dug in the earth in which were buried alive,
+with all sorts of thorns and thistles, the elder thief and the younger
+thief, and their two sons.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE GHOST-BRAHMAN
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman, who not being a Kulin,
+found it the hardest thing in the world to get married. He went to
+rich people and begged of them to give him money that he might marry a
+wife. And a large sum of money was needed, not so much for the expenses
+of the wedding, as for giving to the parents of the bride. He begged
+from door to door, flattered many rich folk, and at last succeeded in
+scraping together the sum needed. The wedding took place in due time;
+and he brought home his wife to his mother. After a short time he said
+to his mother--"Mother, I have no means to support you and my wife; I
+must therefore go to distant countries to get money somehow or other. I
+may be away for years, for I won't return till I get a good sum. In
+the meantime I'll give you what I have; you make the best of it, and
+take care of my wife." The Brahman receiving his mother's blessing set
+out on his travels. In the evening of that very day, a ghost assuming
+the exact appearance of the Brahman came into the house. The newly
+married woman, thinking it was her husband, said to him--"How is it
+that you have returned so soon? You said you might be away for years;
+why have you changed your mind?" The ghost said--"To-day is not a
+lucky day, I have therefore returned home; besides, I have already
+got some money." The mother did not doubt but that it was her son. So
+the ghost lived in the house as if he was its owner, and as if he was
+the son of the old woman and the husband of the young woman. As the
+ghost and the Brahman were exactly like each other in everything, like
+two peas, the people in the neighbourhood all thought that the ghost
+was the real Brahman. After some years the Brahman returned from his
+travels; and what was his surprise when he found another like him in
+the house. The ghost said to the Brahman--"Who are you? what business
+have you to come to my house?" "Who am I?" replied the Brahman, "let
+me ask who you are. This is my house; that is my mother, and this
+is my wife." The ghost said--"Why herein is a strange thing. Every
+one knows that this is my house, that is my wife, and yonder is
+my mother; and I have lived here for years. And you pretend this
+is your house, and that woman is your wife. Your head must have got
+turned, Brahman." So saying the ghost drove away the Brahman from his
+house. The Brahman became mute with wonder. He did not know what to
+do. At last he bethought himself of going to the king and of laying
+his case before him. The king saw the ghost-Brahman as well as the
+Brahman, and the one was the picture of the other; so he was in a
+fix, and did not know how to decide the quarrel. Day after day the
+Brahman went to the king and besought him to give him back his house,
+his wife, and his mother; and the king, not knowing what to say every
+time, put him off to the following day. Every day the king tells him
+to--"Come to-morrow"; and every day the Brahman goes away from the
+palace weeping and striking his forehead with the palm of his hand,
+and saying--"What a wicked world this is! I am driven from my own
+house, and another fellow has taken possession of my house and of my
+wife! And what a king this is! He does not do justice."
+
+Now, it came to pass that as the Brahman went away every day from
+the court outside the town, he passed a spot at which a great
+many cowboys used to play. They let the cows graze on the meadow,
+while they themselves met together under a large tree to play. And
+they played at royalty. One cowboy was elected king; another, prime
+minister or vizier; another, kotwal, or prefect of the police; and
+others, constables. Every day for several days together they saw
+the Brahman passing by weeping. One day the cowboy king asked his
+vizier whether he knew why the Brahman wept every day. On the vizier
+not being able to answer the question, the cowboy king ordered one of
+his constables to bring the Brahman to him. One of them went and said
+to the Brahman--"The king requires your immediate attendance." The
+Brahman replied--"What for? I have just come from the king, and he
+put me off till to-morrow. Why does he want me again?" "It is our king
+that wants you--our neat-herd king," rejoined the constable. "Who is
+neat-herd king?" asked the Brahman. "Come and see," was the reply. The
+neat-herd king then asked the Brahman why he every day went away
+weeping. The Brahman then told him his sad story. The neat-herd king,
+after hearing the whole, said, "I understand your case; I will give
+you again all your rights. Only go to the king and ask his permission
+for me to decide your case." The Brahman went back to the king of the
+country, and begged his Majesty to send his case to the neat-herd king,
+who had offered to decide it. The king, whom the case had greatly
+puzzled, granted the permission sought. The following morning was
+fixed for the trial. The neat-herd king, who saw through the whole,
+brought with him next day a phial with a narrow neck. The Brahman
+and the ghost-Brahman both appeared at the bar. After a great deal
+of examination of witnesses and of speech-making, the neat-herd king
+said--"Well, I have heard enough. I'll decide the case at once. Here
+is this phial. Whichever of you will enter into it shall be declared
+by the court to be the rightful owner of the house the title of
+which is in dispute. Now, let me see, which of you will enter." The
+Brahman said--"You are a neat-herd, and your intellect is that of
+a neat-herd. What man can enter into such a small phial?" "If you
+cannot enter," said the neat-herd king, "then you are not the rightful
+owner. What do you say, sir, to this?" turning to the ghost-Brahman
+and addressing him. "If you can enter into the phial, then the
+house and the wife and the mother become yours." "Of course I will
+enter," said the ghost. And true to his word, to the wonder of all,
+he made himself into a small creature like an insect, and entered
+into the phial. The neat-herd king forthwith corked up the phial,
+and the ghost could not get out. Then, addressing the Brahman, the
+neat-herd king said, "Throw this phial into the bottom of the sea,
+and take possession of your house, wife, and mother." The Brahman
+did so, and lived happily for many years and begat sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+THE MAN WHO WISHED TO BE PERFECT
+
+
+Once on a time a religious mendicant came to a king who had no issue,
+and said to him, "As you are anxious to have a son, I can give to the
+queen a drug, by swallowing which she will give birth to twin sons;
+but I will give the medicine on this condition, that of those twins you
+will give one to me, and keep the other yourself." The king thought
+the condition somewhat hard, but as he was anxious to have a son to
+bear his name, and inherit his wealth and kingdom, he at last agreed
+to the terms. Accordingly the queen swallowed the drug, and in due
+time gave birth to two sons. The twin brothers became one year old,
+two years old, three years old, four years old, five years old, and
+still the mendicant did not appear to claim his share; the king and
+queen therefore thought that the mendicant, who was old, was dead, and
+dismissed all fears from their minds. But the mendicant was not dead,
+but living; he was counting the years carefully. The young princes
+were put under tutors, and made rapid progress in learning, as well
+as in the arts of riding and shooting with the bow; and as they were
+uncommonly handsome, they were admired by all the people. When the
+princes were sixteen years old the mendicant made his appearance at the
+palace gate, and demanded the fulfilment of the king's promise. The
+hearts of the king and of the queen were dried up within them. They
+had thought that the mendicant was no more in the land of the living;
+but what was their surprise when they saw him standing at the gate
+in flesh and blood, and demanding one of the young princes for
+himself? The king and queen were plunged into a sea of grief. There
+was nothing for it, however, but to part with one of the princes;
+for the mendicant might by his curse turn into ashes not only both
+the princes, but also the king, queen, palace, and the whole of the
+kingdom to boot. But which one was to be given away? The one was as
+dear as the other. A fearful struggle arose in the hearts of the king
+and queen. As for the young princes, each of them said, "I'll go,"
+"I'll go." The younger one said to the elder, "You are older, if
+only by a few minutes; you are the pride of my father; you remain
+at home, I'll go with the mendicant." The elder said to the younger,
+"You are younger than I am; you are the joy of my mother; you remain
+at home, I'll go with the mendicant." After a great deal of yea and
+nay, after a great deal of mourning and lamentation, after the queen
+had wetted her clothes with her tears, the elder prince was let go
+with the mendicant. But before the prince left his father's roof he
+planted with his own hands a tree in the courtyard of the palace, and
+said to his parents and brother, "This tree is my life. When you see
+the tree green and fresh, then know that it is well with me; when you
+see the tree fade in some parts, then know that I am in an ill case;
+and when you see the whole tree fade, then know that I am dead and
+gone." Then kissing and embracing the king and queen and his brother,
+he followed the mendicant.
+
+As the mendicant and the prince were wending their way towards the
+forest they saw some dog's whelps on the roadside. One of the whelps
+said to its dam, "Mother, I wish to go with that handsome young man,
+who must be a prince." The dam said, "Go"; and the prince gladly
+took the puppy as his companion. They had not gone far when upon
+a tree on the roadside they saw a hawk and its young ones. One of
+the young ones said to its dam, "Mother, I wish to go with that
+handsome young man, who must be the son of a king." The hawk said,
+"Go"; and the prince gladly took the young hawk as his companion. So
+the mendicant, the prince, with the puppy and the young hawk, went
+on their journey. At last they went into the depth of the forest far
+away from the houses of men, where they stopped before a hut thatched
+with leaves. That was the mendicant's cell. The mendicant said to
+the prince, "You are to live in this hut with me. Your chief work
+will be to cull flowers from the forest for my devotions. You can
+go on every side except the north. If you go towards the north evil
+will betide you. You can eat whatever fruit or root you like; and
+for your drink, you will get it from the brook." The prince disliked
+neither the place nor his work. At dawn he used to cull flowers in
+the forest and give them to the mendicant; after which the mendicant
+went away somewhere the whole day and did not return till sundown;
+so the prince had the whole day to himself. He used to walk about in
+the forest with his two companions--the puppy and the young hawk. He
+used to shoot arrows at the deer, of which there was a great number;
+and thus made the best of his time. One day as he pierced a stag with
+an arrow, the wounded stag ran towards the north, and the prince, not
+thinking of the mendicant's behest, followed the stag, which entered
+into a fine-looking house that stood close by. The prince entered,
+but instead of finding the deer he saw a young woman of matchless
+beauty sitting near the door with a dice-table set before her. The
+prince was rooted to the spot while he admired the heaven-born
+beauty of the lady. "Come in, stranger," said the lady; "chance has
+brought you here, but don't go away without having with me a game of
+dice." The prince gladly agreed to the proposal. As it was a game of
+risk they agreed that if the prince lost the game he should give his
+young hawk to the lady; and that if the lady lost it, she should give
+to the prince a young hawk just like that of the prince. The lady won
+the game; she therefore took the prince's young hawk and kept it in a
+hole covered with a plank. The prince offered to play a second time,
+and the lady agreeing to it, they fell to it again, on the condition
+that if the lady won the game she should take the prince's puppy,
+and if she lost it she should give to the prince a puppy just like
+that of the prince. The lady won again, and stowed away the puppy in
+another hole with a plank upon it. The prince offered to play a third
+time, and the wager was that, if the prince lost the game, he should
+give himself up to the lady to be done to by her anything she pleased;
+and that if he won, the lady should give him a young man exactly like
+himself. The lady won the game a third time; she therefore caught hold
+of the prince and put him in a hole covered over with a plank. Now,
+the beautiful lady was not a woman at all; she was a Rakshasi who
+lived upon human flesh, and her mouth watered at the sight of the
+tender body of the young prince. But as she had had her food that
+day she reserved the prince for the meal of the following day.
+
+Meantime there was great weeping in the house of the prince's
+father. His brother used every day to look at the tree planted in
+the courtyard by his own hand. Hitherto he had found the leaves of
+a living green colour; but suddenly he found some leaves fading. He
+gave the alarm to the king and queen, and told them how the leaves
+were fading. They concluded that the life of the elder prince must
+be in great danger. The younger prince therefore resolved to go to
+the help of his brother, but before going he planted a tree in the
+courtyard of the palace, similar to the one his brother had planted,
+and which was to be the index of the manner of his life. He chose
+the swiftest steed in the king's stables, and galloped towards the
+forest. In the way he saw a dog with a puppy, and the puppy thinking
+that the rider was the same that had taken away his fellow-cub--for
+the two princes were exactly like each other--said, "As you have
+taken away my brother, take me also with you." The younger prince
+understanding that his brother had taken away a puppy, he took up
+that cub as a companion. Further on, a young hawk, which was perched
+on a tree on the roadside, said to the prince, "You have taken away
+my brother; take me also, I beseech you"; on which the younger prince
+readily took it up. With these companions he went into the heart of the
+forest, where he saw a hut which he supposed to be the mendicant's. But
+neither the mendicant nor his brother was there. Not knowing what to
+do or where to go, he dismounted from his horse, allowed it to graze,
+while he himself sat inside the house. At sunset the mendicant returned
+to his hut, and seeing the younger prince, said, "I am glad to see
+you. I told your brother never to go towards the north, for evil in
+that case would betide him; but it seems that, disobeying my orders,
+he has gone to the north and has fallen into the toils of a Rakshasi
+who lives there. There is no hope of rescuing him; perhaps he has
+already been devoured." The younger prince forthwith went towards
+the north, where he saw a stag which he pierced with an arrow. The
+stag ran into a house which stood by, and the younger prince followed
+it. He was not a little astonished when, instead of seeing a stag,
+he saw a woman of exquisite beauty. He immediately concluded, from
+what he had heard from the mendicant, that the pretended woman was none
+other than the Rakshasi in whose power his brother was. The lady asked
+him to play a game of dice with her. He complied with the request,
+and on the same conditions on which the elder prince had played. The
+younger prince won; on which the lady produced the young hawk from the
+hole and gave it to the prince. The joy of the two hawks on meeting
+each other was great. The lady and the prince played a second time,
+and the prince won again. The lady therefore brought to the prince
+the young puppy lying in the hole. They played a third time, and the
+prince won a third time. The lady demurred to producing a young man
+exactly like the prince, pretending that it was impossible to get one;
+but on the prince insisting upon the fulfilment of the condition,
+his brother was produced. The joy of the two brothers on meeting each
+other was great. The Rakshasi said to the princes, "Don't kill me,
+and I will tell you a secret which will save the life of the elder
+prince." She then told them that the mendicant was a worshipper of the
+goddess Kali, who had a temple not far off; that he belonged to that
+sect of Hindus who seek perfection from intercourse with the spirits of
+departed men; that he had already sacrificed at the altar of Kali six
+human victims whose skulls could be seen in niches inside her temple;
+that he would become perfect when the seventh victim was sacrificed;
+and that the elder prince was intended for the seventh victim. The
+Rakshasi then told the prince to go immediately to the temple to find
+out the truth of what she had said. To the temple they accordingly
+went. When the elder prince went inside the temple, the skulls in the
+niches laughed a ghastly laugh. Horror-struck at the sight and sound,
+he inquired the cause of the laughter; and the skulls told him that
+they were glad because they were about to get another added to their
+number. One of the skulls, as spokesman of the rest, said, "Young
+prince, in a few days the mendicant's devotions will be completed, and
+you will be brought into this temple and your head will be cut off, and
+you will keep company with us. But there is one way by which you can
+escape that fate and do us good." "Oh, do tell me," said the prince,
+"what that way is, and I promise to do you all the good I can." The
+skull replied, "When the mendicant brings you into this temple to offer
+you up as a sacrifice, before cutting off your head he will tell you
+to prostrate yourself before Mother Kali, and while you prostrate
+yourself he will cut off your head. But take our advice, when he
+tells you to bow down before Kali, you tell him that as a prince you
+never bowed down to any one, that you never knew what bowing down was,
+and that the mendicant should show it to you by himself doing it in
+your presence. And when he bows down to show you how it is done, you
+take up your sword and separate his head from his body. And when you
+do that we shall all be restored to life, as the mendicant's vows will
+be unfulfilled." The elder prince thanked the skulls for their advice,
+and went into the hut of the mendicant along with his younger brother.
+
+In the course of a few days the mendicant's devotions were
+completed. On the following day he told the prince to go along with
+him to the temple of Kali, for what reason he did not mention; but the
+prince knew it was to offer him up as a victim to the goddess. The
+younger prince also went with them, but he was not allowed to go
+inside the temple. The mendicant then stood in the presence of Kali
+and said to the prince, "Bow down to the goddess." The prince replied,
+"I have not, as a prince, bowed to any one; I do not know how to
+perform the act of prostration. Please show me the way first, and
+I'll gladly do it." The mendicant then prostrated himself before the
+goddess; and while he was doing so the prince at one stroke of his
+sword separated his head from his body. Immediately the skulls in the
+niches of the temple laughed aloud, and the goddess herself became
+propitious to the prince and gave him that virtue of perfection which
+the mendicant had sought to obtain. The skulls were again united to
+their respective bodies and became living men, and the two princes
+returned to their country.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+A GHOSTLY WIFE
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a Brahman who had married a wife, and who
+lived in the same house with his mother. Near his house was a tank,
+on the embankment of which stood a tree, on the boughs of which lived
+a ghost of the kind called Sankchinni. [30] One night the Brahman's
+wife had occasion to go to the tank, and as she went she brushed by a
+Sankchinni who stood near; on which the she-ghost got very angry with
+the woman, seized her by the throat, climbed into her tree, and thrust
+her into a hole in the trunk. There the woman lay almost dead with
+fear. The ghost put on the clothes of the woman and went into the house
+of the Brahman. Neither the Brahman nor his mother had any inkling
+of the change. The Brahman thought his wife returned from the tank,
+and the mother thought that it was her daughter-in-law. Next morning
+the mother-in-law discovered some change in her daughter-in-law. Her
+daughter-in-law, she knew, was constitutionally weak and languid, and
+took a long time to do the work of the house. But she had apparently
+become quite a different person. All of a sudden she had become very
+active. She now did the work of the house in an incredibly short
+time. Suspecting nothing, the old woman said nothing either to her
+son or to her daughter-in-law; on the contrary, she inly rejoiced
+that her daughter-in-law had turned over a new leaf. But her surprise
+became every day greater and greater. The cooking of the household
+was done in much less time than before. When the mother-in-law
+wanted the daughter-in-law to bring anything from the next room, it
+was brought in much less time than was required in walking from one
+room to the other. The ghost, instead of going inside the next room,
+would stretch a long arm--for ghosts can lengthen or shorten any
+limb of their bodies--from the door and get the thing. One day the
+old woman observed the ghost doing this. She ordered her to bring a
+vessel from some distance, and the ghost unconsciously stretched her
+hand to several yards' distance, and brought it in a trice. The old
+woman was struck with wonder at the sight. She said nothing to her,
+but spoke to her son. Both mother and son began to watch the ghost
+more narrowly. One day the old woman knew that there was no fire in
+the house, and she knew also that her daughter-in-law had not gone
+out of doors to get it; and yet, strange to say, the hearth in the
+kitchen-room was quite in a blaze. She went in, and, to her infinite
+surprise, found that her daughter-in-law was not using any fuel for
+cooking, but had thrust into the oven her foot, which was blazing
+brightly. The old mother told her son what she had seen, and they both
+concluded that the young woman in the house was not his real wife but
+a she-ghost. The son witnessed those very acts of the ghost which his
+mother had seen. An Ojha [31] was therefore sent for. The exorcist
+came, and wanted in the first instance to ascertain whether the woman
+was a real woman or a ghost. For this purpose he lighted a piece of
+turmeric and set it below the nose of the supposed woman. Now this
+was an infallible test, as no ghost, whether male or female, can put
+up with the smell of burnt turmeric. The moment the lighted turmeric
+was taken near her, she screamed aloud and ran away from the room. It
+was now plain that she was either a ghost or a woman possessed by a
+ghost. The woman was caught hold of by main force and asked who she
+was. At first she refused to make any disclosures, on which the Ojha
+took up his slippers and began belabouring her with them. Then the
+ghost said with a strong nasal accent--for all ghosts speak through
+the nose--that she was a Sankchinni, that she lived on a tree by the
+side of the tank, that she had seized the young Brahmani and put her
+in the hollow of her tree because one night she had touched her, and
+that if any person went to the hole the woman would be found. The
+woman was brought from the tree almost dead; the ghost was again
+shoebeaten, after which process, on her declaring solemnly that she
+would not again do any harm to the Brahman and his family, she was
+released from the spell of the Ojha and sent away; and the wife of
+the Brahman recovered slowly. After which the Brahman and his wife
+lived many years happily together and begat many sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+THE STORY OF A BRAHMADAITYA [32]
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a poor Brahman who had a wife. As he had
+no means of livelihood, he used every day to beg from door to door,
+and thus got some rice which they boiled and ate, together with some
+greens which they gleaned from the fields. After some time it chanced
+that the village changed its owner, and the Brahman bethought himself
+of asking some boon of the new laird. So one morning the Brahman
+went to the laird's house to pay him court. It so happened that at
+that time the laird was making inquiries of his servants about the
+village and its various parts. The laird was told that a certain
+banyan-tree in the outskirts of the village was haunted by a number
+of ghosts; and that no man had ever the boldness to go to that tree
+at night. In bygone days some rash fellows went to the tree at night,
+but the necks of them all were wrung, and they all died. Since that
+time no man had ventured to go to the tree at night, though in the
+day some neat-herds took their cows to the spot. The new laird on
+hearing this said, that if any one would go at night to the tree, cut
+one of its branches and bring it to him, he would make him a present
+of a hundred bighas [33] of rent-free land. None of the servants of
+the laird accepted the challenge, as they were sure they would be
+throttled by the ghosts. The Brahman, who was sitting there, thought
+within himself thus--"I am almost starved to death now, as I never get
+my bellyful. If I go to the tree at night and succeed in cutting off
+one of its branches I shall get one hundred bighas of rent-free land,
+and become independent for life. If the ghosts kill me, my case will
+not be worse, for to die of hunger is no better than to be killed by
+ghosts." He then offered to go to the tree and cut off a branch that
+night. The laird renewed his promise, and said to the Brahman that if
+he succeeded in bringing one of the branches of that haunted tree at
+night he would certainly give him one hundred bighas of rent-free land.
+
+In the course of the day when the people of the village heard of the
+laird's promise and of the Brahman's offer, they all pitied the poor
+man. They blamed him for his foolhardiness, as they were sure the
+ghosts would kill him, as they had killed so many before. His wife
+tried to dissuade him from the rash undertaking; but in vain. He said
+he would die in any case; but there was some chance of his escaping,
+and of thus becoming independent for life. Accordingly, one hour after
+sundown, the Brahman set out. He went to the outskirts of the village
+without the slightest fear as far as a certain vakula-tree (Mimusops
+Elengi), from which the haunted tree was about one rope distant. But
+under the vakula-tree the Brahman's heart misgave him. He began to
+quake with fear, and the heaving of his heart was like the upward and
+downward motion of the paddy-husking pedal. The vakula-tree was the
+haunt of a Brahmadaitya, who, seeing the Brahman stop under the tree,
+spoke to him, and said, "Are you afraid, Brahman? Tell me what you wish
+to do, and I'll help you. I am a Brahmadaitya." The Brahman replied,
+"O blessed spirit, I wish to go to yonder banyan-tree, and cut off
+one of its branches for the zemindar, who has promised to give me one
+hundred bighas of rent-free land for it. But my courage is failing
+me. I shall thank you very much for helping me." The Brahmadaitya
+answered, "Certainly I'll help you, Brahman. Go on towards the tree,
+and I'll come with you." The Brahman, relying on the supernatural
+strength of his invisible patron, who is the object of the fear and
+reverence of common ghosts, fearlessly walked towards the haunted tree,
+on reaching which he began to cut a branch with the bill which was
+in his hand. But the moment the first stroke was given, a great many
+ghosts rushed towards the Brahman, who would have been torn to pieces
+but for the interference of the Brahmadaitya. The Brahmadaitya said in
+a commanding tone, "Ghosts, listen. This is a poor Brahman. He wishes
+to get a branch of this tree which will be of great use to him. It is
+my will that you let him cut a branch." The ghosts, hearing the voice
+of the Brahmadaitya, replied, "Be it according to thy will, lord. At
+thy bidding we are ready to do anything. Let not the Brahman take
+the trouble of cutting; we ourselves will cut a branch for him." So
+saying, in the twinkling of an eye, the ghosts put into the hands of
+the Brahman a branch of the tree, with which he went as fast as his
+legs could carry him to the house of the zemindar. The zemindar and
+his people were not a little surprised to see the branch; but he said,
+"Well, I must see to-morrow whether this branch is a branch of the
+haunted tree or not; if it be, you will get the promised reward."
+
+Next morning the zemindar himself went along with his servants to the
+haunted tree, and found to their infinite surprise that the branch in
+their hands was really a branch of that tree, as they saw the part
+from which it had been cut off. Being thus satisfied, the zemindar
+ordered a deed to be drawn up, by which he gave to the Brahman for
+ever one hundred bighas of rent-free land. Thus in one night the
+Brahman became a rich man.
+
+It so happened that the fields, of which the Brahman became the owner,
+were covered with ripe paddy, ready for the sickle. But the Brahman
+had not the means to reap the golden harvest. He had not a pice in
+his pocket for paying the wages of the reapers. What was the Brahman
+to do? He went to his spirit-friend the Brahmadaitya, and said,
+"Oh, Brahmadaitya, I am in great distress. Through your kindness I
+got the rent-free land all covered with ripe paddy. But I have not
+the means of cutting the paddy, as I am a poor man. What shall I
+do?" The kind Brahmadaitya answered, "Oh, Brahman, don't be troubled
+in your mind about the matter. I'll see to it that the paddy is not
+only cut, but that the corn is threshed and stored up in granaries,
+and the straw piled up in ricks. Only you do one thing. Borrow from
+men in the village one hundred sickles, and put them all at the foot
+of this tree at night. Prepare also the exact spot on which the grain
+and the straw are to be stored up."
+
+The joy of the Brahman knew no bounds. He easily got a hundred sickles,
+as the husbandmen of the village, knowing that he had become rich,
+readily lent him what he wanted. At sunset he took the hundred sickles
+and put them beneath the vakula-tree. He also selected a spot of ground
+near his hut for his magazine of paddy and for his ricks of straw;
+and washed the spot with a solution of cow-dung and water. After
+making these preparations he went to sleep.
+
+In the meantime, soon after nightfall, when the villagers had all
+retired to their houses, the Brahmadaitya called to him the ghosts
+of the haunted tree, who were one hundred in number, and said to
+them, "You must to-night do some work for the poor Brahman whom I
+am befriending. The hundred bighas of land which he has got from the
+zemindar are all covered with standing ripe corn. He has not the means
+to reap it. This night you all must do the work for him. Here are,
+you see, a hundred sickles; let each of you take a sickle in hand and
+come to the field I shall show him. There are a hundred of you. Let
+each ghost cut the paddy of one bigha, bring the sheaves on his back
+to the Brahman's house, thresh the corn, put the corn in one large
+granary, and pile up the straw in separate ricks. Now, don't lose
+time. You must do it all this very night." The hundred ghosts at once
+said to the Brahmadaitya, "We are ready to do whatever your lordship
+commands us." The Brahmadaitya showed the ghosts the Brahman's house,
+and the spot prepared for receiving the grain and the straw, and
+then took them to the Brahman's fields, all waving with the golden
+harvest. The ghosts at once fell to it. A ghost harvest-reaper is
+different from a human harvest-reaper. What a man cuts in a whole day,
+a ghost cuts in a minute. Mash, mash, mash, the sickles went round,
+and the long stalks of paddy fell to the ground. The reaping over,
+the ghosts took up the sheaves on their huge backs and carried them
+all to the Brahman's house. The ghosts then separated the grain from
+the straw, stored up the grain in one huge store-house, and piled
+up the straw in many a fantastic rick. It was full two hours before
+sunrise when the ghosts finished their work and retired to rest on
+their tree. No words can tell either the joy of the Brahman and his
+wife when early next morning they opened the door of their hut, or
+the surprise of the villagers, when they saw the huge granary and the
+fantastic ricks of straw. The villagers did not understand it. They
+at once ascribed it to the gods.
+
+A few days after this the Brahman went to the vakula-tree and
+said to the Brahmadaitya, "I have one more favour to ask of you,
+Brahmadaitya. As the gods have been very gracious to me, I wish to feed
+one thousand Brahmans; and I shall thank you for providing me with the
+materials of the feast." "With the greatest pleasure," said the polite
+Brahmadaitya; "I'll supply you with the requirements of a feast for
+a thousand Brahmans; only show me the cellars in which the provisions
+are to be stored away." The Brahman improvised a store-room. The day
+before the feast the store-room was overflowing with provisions. There
+were one hundred jars of ghi (clarified butter), one hill of flour, one
+hundred jars of sugar, one hundred jars of milk, curds, and congealed
+milk, and the other thousand and one things required in a great
+Brahmanical feast. The next morning one hundred Brahman pastrycooks
+were employed; the thousand Brahmans ate their fill; but the host,
+the Brahman of the story, did not eat. He thought he would eat with
+the Brahmadaitya. But the Brahmadaitya, who was present there though
+unseen, told him that he could not gratify him on that point, as by
+befriending the Brahman the Brahmadaitya's allotted period had come
+to an end, and the pushpaka [34] chariot had been sent to him from
+heaven. The Brahmadaitya, being released from his ghostly life, was
+taken up into heaven; and the Brahman lived happily for many years,
+begetting sons and grandsons.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+THE STORY OF A HIRAMAN [35]
+
+
+There was a fowler who had a wife. The fowler's wife said to her
+husband one day, "My dear, I'll tell you the reason why we are always
+in want. It is because you sell every bird you catch by your rods,
+whereas if we sometimes eat some of the birds you catch, we are sure
+to have better luck. I propose therefore that whatever bird or birds
+you bag to-day we do not sell, but dress and eat." The fowler agreed
+to his wife's proposal, and went out a-bird-catching. He went about
+from wood to wood with his limed rods, accompanied by his wife, but in
+vain. Somehow or other they did not succeed in catching any bird till
+near sundown. But just as they were returning homewards they caught
+a beautiful hiraman. The fowler's wife, taking the bird in her hand
+and feeling it all over, said, "What a small bird this is! how much
+meat can it have? There is no use in killing it." The hiraman said,
+"Mother, do not kill me, but take me to the king, and you will
+get a large sum of money by selling me." The fowler and his wife
+were greatly taken aback on hearing the bird speak, and they asked
+the bird what price they should set upon it. The hiraman answered,
+"Leave that to me; take me to the king and offer me for sale; and when
+the king asks my price, say, 'The bird will tell its own price,' and
+then I'll mention a large sum." The fowler accordingly went the next
+day to the king's palace, and offered the bird for sale. The king,
+delighted with the beauty of the bird, asked the fowler what he would
+take for it. The fowler said, "O great king, the bird will tell its
+own price." "What! can the bird speak?" asked the king. "Yes, my lord;
+be pleased to ask the bird its price," replied the fowler. The king,
+half in jest and half in seriousness, said, "Well, hiraman, what is
+your price?" The hiraman answered, "Please your majesty, my price is
+ten thousand rupees. Do not think that the price is too high. Count
+out the money for the fowler, for I'll be of the greatest service to
+your majesty." "What service can you be of to me, hiraman?" asked
+the king. "Your majesty will see that in due time," replied the
+hiraman. The king, surprised beyond measure at hearing the hiraman
+talk, and talk so sensibly, took the bird, and ordered his treasurer
+to tell down the sum of ten thousand rupees to the fowler.
+
+The king had six queens, but he was so taken up with the bird that
+he almost forgot that they lived; at any rate, his days and nights
+were spent in the company, not of the queens, but of the bird. The
+hiraman not only replied intelligently to every question the king
+put, but it recited to him the names of the three hundred and thirty
+millions of the gods of the Hindu pantheon, the hearing of which is
+always regarded as an act of piety. The queens felt that they were
+neglected by the king, became jealous of the bird, and determined to
+kill it. It was long before they got an opportunity, as the bird was
+the king's inseparable companion. One day the king went out a-hunting,
+and he was to be away from the palace for two days. The six queens
+determined to avail themselves of the opportunity and put an end to
+the life of the bird. They said to one another, "Let us go and ask
+the bird which of us is the ugliest in his estimation, and she whom
+he pronounces the ugliest shall strangle the bird." Thus resolved,
+they all went into the room where the bird was; but before the queens
+could put any questions the bird so sweetly and so piously recited
+the names of the gods and goddesses, that the hearts of them all
+were melted into tenderness, and they came away without accomplishing
+their purpose. The following day, however, their evil genius returned,
+and they called themselves a thousand fools for having been diverted
+from their purpose. They therefore determined to steel their hearts
+against all pity, and to kill the bird without delay. They all went
+into the room, and said to the bird, "O hiraman, you are a very wise
+bird, we hear, and your judgments are all right; will you please tell
+us which of us is the handsomest and which the ugliest?" The bird,
+knowing the evil design of the queens, said to them, "How can I
+answer your questions remaining in this cage? In order to pronounce
+a correct judgment I must look minutely on every limb of you all,
+both in front and behind. If you wish to know my opinion you must
+set me free." The women were at first afraid of setting the bird
+free lest it should fly away; but on second thoughts they set it
+free after shutting all the doors and windows of the room. The bird,
+on examining the room, saw that it had a water-passage through which
+it was possible to escape. When the question was repeated several
+times by the queens, the bird said, "The beauty of not one of you
+can be compared to the beauty of the little toe of the lady that
+lives beyond the seven oceans and the thirteen rivers." The queens,
+on hearing their beauty spoken of in such slighting terms, became
+exceedingly furious, and rushed towards the bird to tear it in pieces;
+but before they could get at it, it escaped through the water-passage,
+and took shelter in a wood-cutter's hut which was hard by.
+
+The next day the king returned home from hunting, and not finding
+the hiraman on its perch became mad with grief. He asked the queens,
+and they told him that they knew nothing about it. The king wept day
+and night for the bird, as he loved it much. His ministers became
+afraid lest his reason should give way, for he used every hour of
+the day to weep, saying, "O my hiraman! O my hiraman! where art thou
+gone?" Proclamation was made by beat of drum throughout the kingdom
+to the effect that if any person could produce before the king his pet
+hiraman he would be rewarded with ten thousand rupees. The wood-cutter,
+rejoiced at the idea of becoming independent for life, produced the
+precious bird and obtained the reward. The king, on hearing from
+the parrot that the queens had attempted to kill it, became mad with
+rage. He ordered them to be driven away from the palace and put in
+a desert place without food. The king's order was obeyed, and it was
+rumoured after a few days that the poor queens were all devoured by
+wild beasts.
+
+After some time the king said to the parrot, "Hiraman, you said to
+the queens that the beauty of none of them could be compared to the
+beauty of even the little toe of the lady who lives on the other side
+of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers. Do you know of any means by
+which I can get at that lady?"
+
+Hiraman. Of course I do. I can take your majesty to the door of
+the palace in which that lady of peerless beauty lives; and if your
+majesty will abide by my counsel, I will undertake to put that lady
+into your arms.
+
+King. I will do whatever you tell me. What do you wish me to do?
+
+Hiraman. What is required is a pakshiraj. [36] If you can procure a
+horse of that species, you can ride upon it, and in no time we shall
+cross the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, and stand at the door of
+the lady's palace.
+
+King. I have, as you know, a large stud of horses; we can now go and
+see if there are any pakshirajes amongst them.
+
+The king and the hiraman went to the royal stables and examined all
+the horses. The hiraman passed by all the fine-looking horses and
+those of high mettle, and alighted upon a wretched-looking lean pony,
+and said, "Here is the horse I want. It is a horse of the genuine
+pakshiraj breed, but it must be fed full six months with the finest
+grain before it can answer our purpose." The king accordingly put
+that pony in a stable by itself and himself saw every day that it
+was fed with the finest grain that could be got in the kingdom. The
+pony rapidly improved in appearance, and at the end of six months the
+hiraman pronounced it fit for service. The parrot then told the king
+to order the royal silversmith to make some khais [37] of silver. A
+large quantity of silver khais was made in a short time. When about
+to start on their aerial journey the hiraman said to the king,
+"I have one request to make. Please whip the horse only once at
+starting. If you whip him more than once, we shall not be able to
+reach the palace, but stick mid-way. And when we return homewards
+after capturing the lady, you are also to whip the horse only once;
+if you whip him more than once, we shall come only half the way and
+remain there." The king then got upon the pakshiraj with the hiraman
+and the silver khais and gently whipped the animal once. The horse
+shot through the air with the speed of lightning, passed over many
+countries, kingdoms, and empires, crossed the oceans and thirteen
+rivers, and alighted in the evening at the gate of a beautiful palace.
+
+Now, near the palace-gate there stood a lofty tree. The hiraman told
+the king to put the horse in the stable hard by, and then to climb
+into the tree and remain there concealed. The hiraman took the silver
+khais, and with its beak began dropping khai after khai from the foot
+of the tree, all through the corridors and passages, up to the door
+of the bedchamber of the lady of peerless beauty. After doing this,
+the hiraman perched upon the tree where the king was concealed. Some
+hours after midnight, the maid-servant of the lady, who slept in
+the same room with her, wishing to come out, opened the door and
+noticed the silver khais lying there. She took up a few of them,
+and not knowing what they were, showed them to her lady. The lady,
+admiring the little silver bullets, and wondering how they could have
+got there, came out of her room and began picking them up. She saw a
+regular stream of them apparently issuing from near the door of her
+room, and proceeding she knew not how far. She went on picking up
+in a basket the bright, shining khais all through the corridors and
+passages, till she came to the foot of the tree. No sooner did the
+lady of peerless beauty come to the foot of the tree than the king,
+agreeably to instructions previously given to him by the hiraman,
+alighted from the tree and caught hold of the lady. In a moment
+she was put upon the horse along with himself. At that moment the
+hiraman sat upon the shoulder of the king, the king gently whipped
+the horse once, and they all were whirled through the air with the
+speed of lightning. The king, wishing to reach home soon with the
+precious prize, and forgetful of the instructions of the hiraman,
+whipped the horse again; on which the horse at once alighted on
+the outskirts of what seemed a dense forest. "What have you done,
+O king?" shouted out the hiraman. "Did I not tell you not to whip
+the horse more than once? You have whipped him twice, and we are
+done for. We may meet with our death here." But the thing was done,
+and it could not be helped. The pakshiraj became powerless; and the
+party could not proceed homewards. They dismounted; but they could not
+see anywhere the habitations of men. They ate some fruits and roots,
+and slept that night there upon the ground.
+
+Next morning it so chanced that the king of that country came to that
+forest to hunt. As he was pursuing a stag, whom he had pierced with an
+arrow, he came across the king and the lady of peerless beauty. Struck
+with the matchless beauty of the lady, he wished to seize her. He
+whistled, and in a moment his attendants flocked around him. The lady
+was made a captive, and her lover, who had brought her from her house
+on the other side of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, was not
+put to death, but his eyes were put out, and he was left alone in the
+forest--alone, and yet not alone, for the good hiraman was with him.
+
+The lady of peerless beauty was taken into the king's palace,
+as well as the pony of her lover. The lady said to the king that
+he must not come near her for six months, in consequence of a vow
+which she had taken, and which would be completed in that period of
+time. She mentioned six months, as that period would be necessary for
+recruiting the constitution of the pakshiraj. As the lady professed to
+engage every day in religious ceremonies, in consequence of her vow,
+a separate house was assigned to her, where she took the pakshiraj and
+fed him with the choicest grain. But everything would be fruitless
+if the lady did not meet the hiraman. But how is she to get a sight
+of that bird? She adopted the following expedient. She ordered her
+servants to scatter on the roof of her house heaps of paddy, grain,
+and all sorts of pulse for the refreshment of birds. The consequence
+was, that thousands of the feathery race came to the roof to partake
+of the abundant feast. The lady was every day on the look out for
+her hiraman. The hiraman, meanwhile, was in great distress in the
+forest. He had to take care not only of himself, but of the now
+blinded king. He plucked some ripe fruits in the forest, and gave
+them to the king to eat, and he ate of them himself. This was the
+manner of hiraman's life. The other birds of the forest spoke thus
+to the parrot--"O hiraman, you have a miserable life of it in this
+forest. Why don't you come with us to an abundant feast provided for us
+by a pious lady, who scatters many maunds of pulse on the roof of her
+house for the benefit of our race? We go there early in the morning
+and return in the evening, eating our fill along with thousands of
+other birds." The hiraman resolved to accompany them next morning,
+shrewdly suspecting more in the lady's charity to birds than the
+other birds thought there was in it. The hiraman saw the lady,
+and had a long chat with her about the health of the blinded king,
+the means of curing his blindness, and about her escape. The plan
+adopted was as follows: The pony would be ready for aerial flight in
+a short time--for a great part of the six months had already elapsed;
+and the king's blindness could be cured if the hiraman could procure
+from the chicks of the bihangama and bihangami birds, who had their
+nest on the tree at the gate of the lady's palace beyond the seven
+oceans and thirteen rivers, a quantity of their ordure, fresh and hot,
+and apply it to the eyeballs of the blinded king. The following morning
+the hiraman started on his errand of mercy, remained at night on the
+tree at the gate of the palace beyond the seven oceans and thirteen
+rivers, and early the next morning waited below the nest of the
+birds with a leaf on his beak, into which dropped the ordure of the
+chicks. That moment the hiraman flew across the oceans and rivers,
+came to the forest, and applied the precious balm to the sightless
+sockets of the king. The king opened his eyes and saw. In a few days
+the pakshiraj was in proper trim. The lady escaped to the forest
+and took the king up; and the lady, king, and hiraman all reached
+the king's capital safe and sound. The king and the lady were united
+together in wedlock. They lived many years together happily, and begat
+sons and daughters; and the beautiful hiraman was always with them
+reciting the names of the three hundred and thirty millions of gods.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+THE ORIGIN OF RUBIES
+
+
+There was a certain king who died leaving four sons behind him with
+his queen. The queen was passionately fond of the youngest of the
+princes. She gave him the best robes, the best horses, the best food,
+and the best furniture. The other three princes became exceedingly
+jealous of their youngest brother, and conspiring against him and their
+mother, made them live in a separate house, and took possession of
+the estate. Owing to overindulgence, the youngest prince had become
+very wilful. He never listened to any one, not even to his mother,
+but had his own way in everything. One day he went with his mother to
+bathe in the river. A large boat was riding there at anchor. None of
+the boatmen were in it. The prince went into the boat, and told his
+mother to come into it. His mother besought him to get down from the
+boat, as it did not belong to him. But the prince said, "No, mother,
+I am not coming down; I mean to go on a voyage, and if you wish to
+come with me, then delay not but come up at once, or I shall be off
+in a trice." The queen besought the prince to do no such thing, but to
+come down instantly. But the prince gave no heed to what she said, and
+began to take up the anchor. The queen went up into the boat in great
+haste; and the moment she was on board the boat started, and falling
+into the current passed on swiftly like an arrow. The boat went on
+and on till it reached the sea. After it had gone many furlongs into
+the open sea, the boat came near a whirlpool, where the prince saw a
+great many rubies of monstrous size floating on the waters. Such large
+rubies no one had ever seen, each being in value equal to the wealth of
+seven kings. The prince caught hold of half a dozen of those rubies,
+and put them on board. His mother said, "Darling, don't take up those
+red balls; they must belong to somebody who has been shipwrecked,
+and we may be taken up as thieves." At the repeated entreaties of
+his mother the prince threw them into the sea, keeping only one tied
+up in his clothes. The boat then drifted towards the coast, and the
+queen and the prince arrived at a certain port where they landed.
+
+The port where they landed was not a small place; it was a large city,
+the capital of a great king. Not far from the place, the queen and
+her son hired a hut where they lived. As the prince was yet a boy,
+he was fond of playing at marbles. When the children of the king
+came out to play on a lawn before the palace, our young prince joined
+them. He had no marbles, but he played with the ruby which he had in
+his possession. The ruby was so hard that it broke every taw against
+which it struck. The daughter of the king, who used to watch the games
+from a balcony of the palace, was astonished to see a brilliant red
+ball in the hand of the strange lad, and wanted to take possession
+of it. She told her father that a boy of the street had an uncommonly
+bright stone in his possession which she must have, or else she would
+starve herself to death. The king ordered his servants to bring to him
+the lad with the precious stone. When the boy was brought, the king
+wondered at the largeness and brilliancy of the ruby. He had never
+seen anything like it. He doubted whether any king of any country
+in the world possessed so great a treasure. He asked the lad where
+he had got it. The lad replied that he got it from the sea. The king
+offered a thousand rupees for the ruby, and the lad not knowing its
+value readily parted with it for that sum. He went with the money to
+his mother, who was not a little frightened, thinking that her son
+had stolen the money from some rich man's house. She became quiet,
+however, on being assured that the money was given to him by the king
+in exchange for the red ball which he had picked up in the sea.
+
+The king's daughter, on getting the ruby, put it in her hair,
+and, standing before her pet parrot, said to the bird, "Oh, my
+darling parrot, don't I look very beautiful with this ruby in my
+hair?" The parrot replied, "Beautiful! you look quite hideous with
+it! What princess ever puts only one ruby in her hair? It would be
+somewhat feasible if you had two at least." Stung with shame at the
+reproach cast in her teeth by the parrot, the princess went into the
+grief-chamber of the palace, and would neither eat nor drink. The
+king was not a little concerned when he heard that his daughter
+had gone into the grief-chamber. He went to her, and asked her the
+cause of her grief. The princess told the king what her pet parrot
+had said, and added, "Father, if you do not procure for me another
+ruby like this, I'll put an end to my life by mine own hands." The
+king was overwhelmed with grief. Where was he to get another ruby
+like it? He doubted whether another like it could be found in the
+whole world. He ordered the lad who had sold the ruby to be brought
+into his presence. "Have you, young man," asked the king, "another
+ruby like the one you sold me?" The lad replied, "No, I have not got
+one. Why, do you want another? I can give you lots, if you wish to have
+them. They are to be found in a whirlpool in the sea, far, far away. I
+can go and fetch some for you." Amazed at the lad's reply, the king
+offered rich rewards for procuring only another ruby of the same sort.
+
+The lad went home and said to his mother that he must go to sea again
+to fetch some rubies for the king. The woman was quite frightened
+at the idea, and begged him not to go. But the lad was resolved on
+going, and nothing could prevent him from carrying out his purpose. He
+accordingly went alone on board that same vessel which had brought
+him and his mother, and set sail. He reached the whirlpool, from
+near which he had formerly picked up the rubies. This time, however,
+he determined to go to the exact spot whence the rubies were coming
+out. He went to the centre of the whirlpool, where he saw a gap
+reaching to the bottom of the ocean. He dived into it, leaving his
+boat to wheel round the whirlpool. When he reached the bottom of the
+ocean he saw there a beautiful palace. He went inside. In the central
+room of the palace there was the god Siva, with his eyes closed,
+and absorbed apparently in intense meditation. A few feet above
+Siva's head was a platform, on which lay a young lady of exquisite
+beauty. The prince went to the platform and saw that the head of the
+lady was separated from her body. Horrified at the sight, he did not
+know what to make of it. He saw a stream of blood trickling from the
+severed head, falling upon the matted head of Siva, and running into
+the ocean in the form of rubies. After a little two small rods, one of
+silver and one of gold, which were lying near the head of the lady,
+attracted his eyes. As he took up the rods in his hands, the golden
+rod accidentally fell upon the head, on which the head immediately
+joined itself to the body, and the lady got up. Astonished at the
+sight of a human being, the lady asked the prince who he was and how
+he had got there. After hearing the story of the prince's adventures,
+the lady said, "Unhappy young man, depart instantly from this place;
+for when Siva finishes his meditations he will turn you to ashes
+by a single glance of his eyes." The young man, however, would not
+go except in her company, as he was over head and ears in love with
+the beautiful lady. At last they both contrived to run away from the
+palace, and coming up to the surface of the ocean they climbed into
+the boat near the centre of the whirlpool, and sailed away towards
+land, having previously laden the vessel with a cargo of rubies. The
+wonder of the prince's mother at seeing the beautiful damsel may be
+well imagined. Early next morning the prince sent a basin full of big
+rubies, through a servant. The king was astonished beyond measure. His
+daughter, on getting the rubies, resolved on marrying the wonderful lad
+who had made a present of them to her. Though the prince had a wife,
+whom he had brought up from the depths of the ocean, he consented to
+have a second wife. They were accordingly married, and lived happily
+for years, begetting sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+THE MATCH-MAKING JACKAL
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a weaver, whose ancestors were very rich,
+but whose father had wasted the property which he had inherited
+in riotous living. He was born in a palace-like house, but he now
+lived in a miserable hut. He had no one in the world, his parents
+and all his relatives having died. Hard by the hut was the lair of a
+jackal. The jackal, remembering the wealth and grandeur of the weaver's
+forefathers, had compassion on him, and one day coming to him, said,
+"Friend weaver, I see what a wretched life you are leading. I have
+a good mind to improve your condition. I'll try and marry you to
+the daughter of the king of this country." "I become the king's
+son-in-law!" replied the weaver; "that will take place only when the
+sun rises in the west." "You doubt my power?" rejoined the jackal;
+"you will see, I'll bring it about."
+
+The next morning the jackal started for the king's city, which
+was many miles off. On the way he entered a plantation of the
+Piper betel plant, and plucked a large quantity of its leaves. He
+reached the capital, and contrived to get inside the palace. On the
+premises of the palace was a tank in which the ladies of the king's
+household performed their morning and afternoon ablutions. At the
+entrance of that tank the jackal laid himself down. The daughter of
+the king happened to come just at the time to bathe, accompanied
+by her maids. The princess was not a little struck at seeing the
+jackal lying down at the entrance. She told her maids to drive
+the jackal away. The jackal rose as if from sleep, and instead
+of running away, opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into
+his mouth, and began chewing them. The princess and her maids were
+not a little astonished at the sight. They said among themselves,
+"What an uncommon jackal is this! From what country can he have
+come? A jackal chewing betel-leaves! why thousands of men and women
+of this city cannot indulge in that luxury. He must have come from
+a wealthy land." The princess asked the jackal, "Sivalu! [38] from
+what country do you come? It must be a very prosperous country where
+the jackals chew betel-leaves. Do other animals in your country chew
+betel-leaves?" "Dearest princess," replied the jackal, "I come from a
+land flowing with milk and honey. Betel-leaves are as plentiful in my
+country as the grass in your fields. All animals in my country--cows,
+sheep, dogs--chew betel-leaves. We want no good thing." "Happy is the
+country," said the princess, "where there is such plenty, and thrice
+happy the king who rules in it!" "As for our king," said the jackal,
+"he is the richest king in the world. His palace is like the heaven
+of Indra. I have seen your palace here; it is a miserable hut compared
+to the palace of our king." The princess, whose curiosity was excited
+to the utmost pitch, hastily went through her bath, and going to the
+apartments of the queen-mother, told her of the wonderful jackal lying
+at the entrance of the tank. Her curiosity being excited, the jackal
+was sent for. When the jackal stood in the presence of the queen, he
+began munching the betel-leaves. "You come," said the queen, "from
+a very rich country. Is your king married?" "Please your majesty,
+our king is not married. Princesses from distant parts of the world
+tried to get married to him, but he rejected them all. Happy will
+that princess be whom our king condescends to marry!" "Don't you
+think, Sivalu," asked the queen, "that my daughter is as beautiful
+as a Peri, and that she is fit to be the wife of the proudest king
+in the world?" "I quite think," said the jackal, "that the princess
+is exceedingly handsome; indeed, she is the handsomest princess I
+have ever seen; but I don't know whether our king will have a liking
+for her." "Liking for my daughter!" said the queen, "you have only to
+paint her to him as she is, and he is sure to turn mad with love. To be
+serious, Sivalu, I am anxious to get my daughter married. Many princes
+have sought her hand, but I am unwilling to give her to any of them,
+as they are not the sons of great kings. But your king seems to be a
+great king. I can have no objection to making him my son-in-law." The
+queen sent word to the king, requesting him to come and see the
+jackal. The king came and saw the jackal, heard him describe the
+wealth and pomp of the king of his country, and expressed himself
+not unwilling to give away his daughter in marriage to him.
+
+The jackal after this returned to the weaver and said to him, "O lord
+of the loom, you are the luckiest man in the world; it is all settled;
+you are to become the son-in-law of a great king. I have told them that
+you are yourself a great king, and you must behave yourself as one. You
+must do just as I instruct you, otherwise your fortune will not only
+not be made, but both you and I will be put to death." "I'll do just as
+you bid me," said the weaver. The shrewd jackal drew in his own mind a
+plan of the method of procedure he should adopt, and after a few days
+went back to the palace of the king in the same manner in which he had
+gone before, that is to say, chewing betel-leaves and lying down at
+the entrance of the tank on the premises of the palace. The king and
+queen were glad to see him, and eagerly asked him as to the success of
+his mission. The jackal said, "In order to relieve your minds I may
+tell you at once that my mission has been so far successful. If you
+only knew the infinite trouble I have had in persuading his Majesty,
+my sovereign, to make up his mind to marry your daughter, you would
+give me no end of thanks. For a long time he would not hear of it, but
+gradually I brought him round. You have now only to fix an auspicious
+day for the celebration of the solemn rite. There is one bit of advice,
+however, which I, as your friend, would give you. It is this. My master
+is so great a king that if he were to come to you in state, attended
+by all his followers, his horses and his elephants, you would find it
+impossible to accommodate them all in your palace or in your city. I
+would therefore propose that our king should come to your city, not
+in state, but in a private manner; and that you send to the outskirts
+of your city your own elephants, horses, and conveyances, to bring
+him and only a few of his followers to your palace." "Many thanks,
+wise Sivalu, for this advice. I could not possibly make accommodation
+in my city for the followers of so great a king as your master is. I
+should be very glad if he did not come in state; and trust you will
+use your influence to persuade him to come in a private manner; for I
+should be ruined if he came in state." The jackal then gravely said, "I
+will do my best in the matter," and then returned to his own village,
+after the royal astrologer had fixed an auspicious day for the wedding.
+
+On his return the jackal busied himself with making preparations for
+the great ceremony. As the weaver was clad in tatters, he told him
+to go to the washermen of the village and borrow from them a suit
+of clothes. As for himself, he went to the king of his race, and
+told him that on a certain day he would like one thousand jackals to
+accompany him to a certain place. He went to the king of crows, and
+begged that his corvine majesty would be pleased to allow one thousand
+of his black subjects to accompany him on a certain day to a certain
+place. He preferred a similar petition to the king of paddy-birds.
+
+At last the great day arrived. The weaver arrayed himself in the
+clothes which he had borrowed from the village washermen. The jackal
+made his appearance, accompanied by a train of a thousand jackals,
+a thousand crows, and a thousand paddy-birds. The nuptial procession
+started on their journey, and towards sundown arrived within two
+miles of the king's palace. There the jackal told his friends,
+the thousand jackals, to set up a loud howl; at his bidding the
+thousand crows cawed their loudest; while the hoarse screechings of
+the thousand paddy-birds furnished a suitable accompaniment. The
+effect may be imagined. They all together made a noise the like
+of which had never been heard since the world began. While this
+unearthly noise was going on, the jackal himself hastened to the
+palace, and asked the king whether he thought he would be able to
+accommodate the wedding-party, which was about two miles distant, and
+whose noise was at that moment sounding in his ears. The king said
+"Impossible, Sivalu; from the sound of the procession I infer there
+must be at least one hundred thousand souls. How is it possible to
+accommodate so many guests? Please, so arrange that the bridegroom
+only will come to my house." "Very well," said the jackal; "I told
+you at the beginning that you would not be able to accommodate all
+the attendants of my august master. I'll do as you wish. My master
+will alone come in undress. Send a horse for the purpose." The jackal,
+accompanied by a horse and groom, came to the place where his friend
+the weaver was, thanked the thousand jackals, the thousand crows,
+and the thousand paddy-birds, for their valuable services, and told
+them all to go away, while he himself, and the weaver on horseback,
+wended their way to the king's palace. The bridal party, waiting in
+the palace, were greatly disappointed at the personal appearance of
+the weaver; but the jackal told them that his master had purposely
+put on a mean dress, as his would-be father-in-law declared himself
+unable to accommodate the bridegroom and his attendants coming in
+state. The royal priests now began the interesting ceremony, and the
+nuptial knot was tied for ever. The bridegroom seldom opened his lips,
+agreeably to the instructions of the jackal, who was afraid lest
+his speech should betray him. At night when he was lying in bed he
+began to count the beams and rafters of the room, and said audibly,
+"This beam will make a first-rate loom, that other a capital beam,
+and that yonder an excellent sley." The princess, his bride, was not
+a little astonished. She began to think in her mind, "Is the man,
+to whom they have tied me, a king or a weaver? I am afraid he is
+the latter; otherwise why should he be talking of weaver's loom,
+beam, and sley? Ah, me! is this what the fates keep in store for
+me?" In the morning the princess related to the queen-mother the
+weaver's soliloquy. The king and queen, not a little surprised at
+this recital, took the jackal to task about it. The ready-witted
+jackal at once said, "Your Majesty need not be surprised at my august
+master's soliloquy. His palace is surrounded by a population of seven
+hundred families of the best weavers in the world, to whom he has given
+rent-free lands, and whose welfare he continually seeks. It must have
+been in one of his philanthropic moods that he uttered the soliloquy
+which has taken your Majesty by surprise." The jackal, however,
+now felt that it was high time for himself and the weaver to decamp
+with the princess, since the proverbial simplicity of his friend of
+the loom might any moment involve him in danger. The jackal therefore
+represented to the king, that weighty affairs of state would not permit
+his august master to spend another day in the palace; that he should
+start for his kingdom that very day with his bride; and his master was
+resolved to travel incognito on foot, only the princess, now the queen,
+should leave the city in a palki. After a great deal of yea and nay,
+the king and queen at last consented to the proposal. The party came
+to the outskirts of the weaver's village; the palki bearers were sent
+away; and the princess, who asked where her husband's palace was,
+was made to walk on foot. The weaver's hut was soon reached, and the
+jackal, addressing the princess, said, "This, madam, is your husband's
+palace." The princess began to beat her forehead with the palms of her
+hands in sheer despair. "Ah, me! is this the husband whom Prajapati
+[39] intended for me? Death would have been a thousand times better."
+
+As there was nothing for it, the princess soon got reconciled to her
+fate. She, however, determined to make her husband rich, especially as
+she knew the secret of becoming rich. One day she told her husband to
+get for her a pice-worth of flour. She put a little water in the flour,
+and smeared her body with the paste. When the paste dried on her body,
+she began wiping the paste with her fingers; and as the paste fell in
+small balls from her body, it got turned into gold. She repeated this
+process every day for some time, and thus got an immense quantity of
+gold. She soon became mistress of more gold than is to be found in
+the coffers of any king. With this gold she employed a whole army of
+masons, carpenters and architects, who in no time built one of the
+finest palaces in the world. Seven hundred families of weavers were
+sought for and settled round about the palace. After this she wrote
+a letter to her father to say that she was sorry he had not favoured
+her with a visit since the day of her marriage, and that she would be
+delighted if he now came to see her and her husband. The king agreed
+to come, and a day was fixed. The princess made great preparations
+against the day of her father's arrival. Hospitals were established in
+several parts of the town for diseased, sick, and infirm animals. The
+beasts in thousands were made to chew betel-leaves on the wayside. The
+streets were covered with Cashmere shawls for her father and his
+attendants to walk on. There was no end of the display of wealth and
+grandeur. The king and queen arrived in state, and were infinitely
+delighted at the apparently boundless riches of their son-in-law. The
+jackal now appeared on the scene, and saluting the king and queen,
+said--"Did I not tell you?"
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+THE BOY WITH THE MOON ON HIS FOREHEAD
+
+
+There was a certain king who had six queens, none of whom bore
+children. Physicians, holy sages, mendicants, were consulted,
+countless drugs were had recourse to, but all to no purpose. The king
+was disconsolate. His ministers told him to marry a seventh wife;
+and he was accordingly on the look out.
+
+In the royal city there lived a poor old woman who used to pick up
+cow-dung from the fields, make it into cakes, dry them in the sun,
+and sell them in the market for fuel. This was her only means of
+subsistence. This old woman had a daughter exquisitely beautiful. Her
+beauty excited the admiration of every one that saw her; and it was
+solely in consequence of her surpassing beauty that three young
+ladies, far above her in rank and station, contracted friendship
+with her. Those three young ladies were the daughter of the king's
+minister, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and the daughter of the
+royal priest. These three young ladies, together with the daughter of
+the poor old woman, were one day bathing in a tank not far from the
+palace. As they were performing their ablutions, each dwelt on her
+own good qualities. "Look here, sister," said the minister's daughter,
+addressing the merchant's daughter, "the man that marries me will be a
+happy man, for he will not have to buy clothes for me. The cloth which
+I once put on never gets soiled, never gets old, never tears." The
+merchant's daughter said, "And my husband too will be a happy man, for
+the fuel which I use in cooking never gets turned into ashes. The same
+fuel serves from day to day, from year to year." "And my husband will
+also become a happy man," said the daughter of the royal chaplain,
+"for the rice which I cook one day never gets finished, and when
+we have all eaten, the same quantity which was first cooked remains
+always in the pot." The daughter of the poor old woman said in her
+turn, "And the man that marries me will also be happy, for I shall
+give birth to twin children, a son and a daughter. The daughter will
+be divinely fair, and the son will have the moon on his forehead and
+stars on the palms of his hands."
+
+The above conversation was overheard by the king, who, as he was on
+the look out for a seventh queen, used to skulk about in places where
+women met together. The king thus thought in his mind--"I don't care
+a straw for the girl whose clothes never tear and never get old;
+neither do I care for the other girl whose fuel is never consumed;
+nor for the third girl whose rice never fails in the pot. But the
+fourth girl is quite charming! She will give birth to twin children,
+a son and a daughter; the daughter will be divinely fair, and the
+son will have the moon on his forehead and stars on the palms of his
+hands. That is the girl I want. I'll make her my wife."
+
+On making inquiries on the same day, the king found that the fourth
+girl was the daughter of a poor old woman who picked up cow-dung from
+the fields; but though there was thus an infinite disparity in rank,
+he determined to marry her. On the very same day he sent for the
+poor old woman. She, poor thing, was quite frightened when she saw
+a messenger of the king standing at the door of her hut. She thought
+that the king had sent for her to punish her, because, perhaps, she had
+some day unwittingly picked up the dung of the king's cattle. She went
+to the palace, and was admitted into the king's private chamber. The
+king asked her whether she had a very fair daughter, and whether
+that daughter was the friend of his own minister's and priest's
+daughters. When the woman answered in the affirmative, he said to
+her, "I will marry your daughter, and make her my queen." The woman
+hardly believed her own ears--the thing was so strange. He, however,
+solemnly declared to her that he had made up his mind, and was
+determined to marry her daughter. It was soon known in the capital
+that the king was going to marry the daughter of the old woman who
+picked up cow-dung in the fields. When the six queens heard the news,
+they would not believe it, till the king himself told them that the
+news was true. They thought that the king had somehow got mad. They
+reasoned with him thus--"What folly, what madness, to marry a girl
+who is not fit to be our maid-servant! And you expect us to treat
+her as our equal--a girl whose mother goes about picking up cow-dung
+in the fields! Surely, my lord, you are beside yourself!" The king's
+purpose, however, remained unshaken. The royal astrologer was called,
+and an auspicious day was fixed for the celebration of the king's
+marriage. On the appointed day the royal priest tied the marital knot,
+and the daughter of the poor old picker-up of cow-dung in the fields
+became the seventh and best beloved queen.
+
+Some time after the celebration of the marriage, the king went for six
+months to another part of his dominions. Before setting out he called
+to him the seventh queen, and said to her, "I am going away to another
+part of my dominions for six months. Before the expiration of that
+period I expect you to be confined. But I should like to be present
+with you at the time, as your enemies may do mischief. Take this golden
+bell and hang it in your room. When the pains of childbirth come upon
+you, ring this bell, and I will be with you in a moment in whatever
+part of my dominions I may be at the time. Remember, you are to ring
+the bell only when you feel the pains of childbirth." After saying this
+the king started on his journey. The six queens, who had overheard the
+king, went on the next day to the apartments of the seventh queen,
+and said, "What a nice bell of gold you have got, sister! Where did
+you get it, and why have you hung it up?" The seventh queen, in her
+simplicity, said, "The king has given it to me, and if I were to ring
+it, the king would immediately come to me wherever he might be at the
+time." "Impossible!" said the six queens, "you must have misunderstood
+the king. Who can believe that this bell can be heard at the distance
+of hundreds of miles? Besides, if it could be heard, how would the king
+be able to travel a great distance in the twinkling of an eye? This
+must be a hoax. If you ring the bell, you will find that what the
+king said was pure nonsense." The six queens then told her to make a
+trial. At first she was unwilling, remembering what the king had told
+her; but at last she was prevailed upon to ring the bell. The king was
+at the moment half-way to the capital of his other dominions, but at
+the ringing of the bell he stopped short in his journey, turned back,
+and in no time stood in the queen's apartments. Finding the queen
+going about in her rooms, he asked why she had rung the bell though
+her hour had not come. She, without informing the king of the entreaty
+of the six queens, replied that she rang the bell only to see whether
+what he had said was true. The king was somewhat indignant, told her
+distinctly not to ring the bell again till the moment of the coming
+upon her of the pains of childbirth, and then went away. After the
+lapse of some weeks the six queens again begged of the seventh queen
+to make a second trial of the bell. They said to her, "The first time
+when you rang the bell, the king was only at a short distance from you,
+it was therefore easy for him to hear the bell and to come to you;
+but now he has long ago settled in his other capital, let us see if
+he will now hear the bell and come to you." She resisted for a long
+time, but was at last prevailed upon by them to ring the bell. When
+the sound of the bell reached the king he was in court dispensing
+justice, but when he heard the sound of the bell (and no one else
+heard it) he closed the court and in no time stood in the queen's
+apartments. Finding that the queen was not about to be confined,
+he asked her why she had again rung the bell before her hour. She,
+without saying anything of the importunities of the six queens, replied
+that she merely made a second trial of the bell. The king became very
+angry, and said to her, "Now listen, since you have called me twice for
+nothing, let it be known to you that when the throes of childbirth do
+really come upon you, and you ring the bell ever so lustily, I will not
+come to you. You must be left to your fate." The king then went away.
+
+At last the day of the seventh queen's deliverance arrived. On first
+feeling the pains she rang the golden bell. She waited, but the
+king did not make his appearance. She rang again with all her might,
+still the king did not make his appearance. The king certainly did
+hear the sound of the bell; but he did not come as he was displeased
+with the queen. When the six queens saw that the king did not come,
+they went to the seventh queen and told her that it was not customary
+with the ladies of the palace to be confined in the king's apartments;
+she must go to a hut near the stables. They then sent for the midwife
+of the palace, and heavily bribed her to make away with the infant
+the moment it should be born into the world. The seventh queen gave
+birth to a son who had the moon on his forehead and stars on the
+palms of his hands, and also to an uncommonly beautiful girl. The
+midwife had come provided with a couple of newly born pups. She put
+the pups before the mother, saying--"You have given birth to these,"
+and took away the twin-children in an earthen vessel. The queen was
+quite insensible at the time, and did not notice the twins at the
+time they were carried away. The king, though he was angry with the
+seventh queen, yet remembering that she was destined to give birth to
+the heir of his throne, changed his mind, and came to see her the next
+morning. The pups were produced before the king as the offspring of
+the queen. The king's anger and vexation knew no bounds. He ordered
+that the seventh queen should be expelled from the palace, that she
+should be clothed in leather, and that she should be employed in
+the market-place to drive away crows and to keep off dogs. Though
+scarcely able to move she was driven away from the palace, stripped
+of her fine robes, clothed in leather, and set to drive away the
+crows of the market-place.
+
+The midwife, when she put the twins in the earthen vessel, bethought
+herself of the best way to destroy them. She did not think it proper
+to throw them into a tank, lest they should be discovered the next
+day. Neither did she think of burying them in the ground, lest they
+should be dug up by a jackal and exposed to the gaze of people. The
+best way to make an end of them, she thought, would be to burn them,
+and reduce them to ashes, that no trace might be left of them. But
+how could she, at that dead hour of night, burn them without some
+other person helping her? A happy thought struck her. There was a
+potter on the outskirts of the city, who used during the day to mould
+vessels of clay on his wheel, and burn them during the latter part
+of the night. The midwife thought that the best plan would be to put
+the vessel with the twins along with the unburnt clay vessels which
+the potter had arranged in order and gone to sleep expecting to get up
+late at night and set them on fire; in this way, she thought, the twins
+would be reduced to ashes. She, accordingly, put the vessel with the
+twins along with the unburnt clay vessels of the potter, and went away.
+
+Somehow or other, that night the potter and his wife overslept
+themselves. It was near the break of day when the potter's wife,
+awaking out of sleep, roused her husband, and said, "Oh, my good man,
+we have overslept ourselves; it is now near morning and I much fear it
+is now too late to set the pots on fire." Hastily unbolting the door
+of her cottage, she rushed out to the place where the pots were ranged
+in rows. She could scarcely believe her eyes when she saw that all the
+pots had been baked and were looking bright red, though neither she nor
+her husband had applied any fire to them. Wondering at her good luck,
+and not knowing what to make of it, she ran to her husband and said,
+"Just come and see!" The potter came, saw, and wondered. The pots had
+never before been so well baked. Who could have done this? This could
+have proceeded only from some god or goddess. Fumbling about the pots,
+he accidentally upturned one in which, lo and behold, were seen huddled
+up together two newly born infants of unearthly beauty. The potter
+said to his wife, "My dear, you must pretend to have given birth to
+these beautiful children." Accordingly all arrangements were made,
+and in due time it was given out that the twins had been born to
+her. And such lovely twins they were! On the same day many women
+of the neighbourhood came to see the potter's wife and the twins to
+which she had given birth, and to offer their congratulations on this
+unexpected good fortune. As for the potter's wife, she could not be
+too proud of her pretended children, and said to her admiring friends,
+"I had hardly hoped to have children at all. But now that the gods
+have given me these twins, may they receive the blessings of you all,
+and live for ever!"
+
+The twins grew and were strengthened. The brother and sister, when
+they played about in the fields and lanes, were the admiration of
+every one who saw them; and all wondered at the uncommonly good luck
+of the potter in being blessed with such angelic children. They were
+about twelve years old when the potter, their reputed father, became
+dangerously ill. It was evident to all that his sickness would end
+in death. The potter, perceiving his last end approaching, said to
+his wife, "My dear, I am going the way of all the earth; but I am
+leaving to you enough to live upon; live on and take care of these
+children." The woman said to her husband, "I am not going to survive
+you. Like all good and faithful wives, I am determined to die along
+with you. You and I will burn together on the same funeral pyre. As
+for the children, they are old enough to take care of themselves,
+and you are leaving them enough money." Her friends tried to dissuade
+her from her purpose, but in vain. The potter died; and as his remains
+were being burnt, his wife, now a widow, threw herself on the pyre,
+and burnt herself to death.
+
+The boy with the moon on his forehead--by the way, he always kept his
+head covered with a turban lest the halo should attract notice--and
+his sister, now broke up the potter's establishment, sold the wheel
+and the pots and pans, and went to the bazaar in the king's city. The
+moment they entered, the bazaar was lit up on a sudden. The shopkeepers
+of the bazaar were greatly surprised. They thought some divine beings
+must have entered the place. They looked upon the beautiful boy and his
+sister with wonder. They begged of them to stay in the bazaar. They
+built a house for them. When they used to ramble about, they were
+always followed at a distance by the woman clothed in leather, who
+was appointed by the king to drive away the crows of the bazaar. By
+some unaccountable impulse she used also to hang about the house in
+which they lived. The boy in a short time bought a horse, and went
+a-hunting in the neighbouring forests. One day while he was hunting,
+the king was also hunting in the same forest, and seeing a brother
+huntsman the king drew near to him. The king was struck with the beauty
+of the lad and a yearning for him the moment he saw him. As a deer
+went past, the youth shot an arrow, and the reaction of the force
+necessary to shoot the arrow made the turban of his head fall off,
+on which a bright light, like that of the moon, was seen shining on
+his forehead. The king saw, and immediately thought of the son with
+the moon on his forehead and stars on the palms of his hands who was
+to have been born of his seventh queen. The youth on letting fly the
+arrow galloped off, in spite of the earnest entreaty of the king to
+wait and speak to him. The king went home a sadder man than he came
+out of it. He became very moody and melancholy. The six queens asked
+him why he was looking so sad. He told them that he had seen in the
+woods a lad with the moon on his forehead, which reminded him of the
+son who was to be born of the seventh queen. The six queens tried
+to comfort him in the best way they could; but they wondered who the
+youth could be. Was it possible that the twins were living? Did not
+the midwife say that she had burnt both the son and the daughter to
+ashes? Who, then, could this lad be? The midwife was sent for by the
+six queens and questioned. She swore that she had seen the twins
+burnt. As for the lad whom the king had met with, she would soon
+find out who he was. On making inquiries, the midwife soon found out
+that two strangers were living in the bazaar in a house which the
+shopkeepers had built for them. She entered the house and saw the
+girl only, as the lad had again gone out a-shooting. She pretended
+to be their aunt, who had gone away to another part of the country
+shortly after their birth; she had been searching after them for a
+long time, and was now glad to find them in the king's city near the
+palace. She greatly admired the beauty of the girl, and said to her,
+"My dear child, you are so beautiful, you require the kataki [40]
+flower properly to set off your beauty. You should tell your brother to
+plant a row of that flower in this courtyard." "What flower is that,
+auntie? I never saw it." "How could you have seen it, my child? It
+is not found here; it grows on the other side of the ocean, guarded
+by seven hundred Rakshasas." "How, then," said the girl, "will my
+brother get it?" "He may try to get it, if you speak to him," replied
+the woman. The woman made this proposal in the hope that the boy with
+the moon on his forehead would perish in the attempt to get the flower.
+
+When the youth with the moon on his forehead returned from hunting,
+his sister told him of the visit paid to her by their aunt, and
+requested him, if possible, to get for her the kataki flower. He was
+sceptical about the existence of any aunt of theirs in the world,
+but he was resolved that, to please his beloved sister, he would get
+the flower on which she had set her heart. Next morning, accordingly,
+he started on his journey, after bidding his sister not to stir
+out of the house till his return. He rode on his fleet steed, which
+was of the pakshiraj [41] tribe, and soon reached the outskirts of
+what seemed to him dense forests of interminable length. He descried
+some Rakshasas prowling about. He went to some distance, shot with
+his arrows some deer and rhinoceroses in the neighbouring thickets,
+and, approaching the place where the Rakshasas were prowling about,
+called out, "O auntie dear, O auntie dear, your nephew is here." A
+huge Rakshasi came towards him and said, "O, you are the youth with
+the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of your hands. We
+were all expecting you, but as you have called me aunt, I will
+not eat you up. What is it you want? Have you brought any eatables
+for me?" The youth gave her the deer and rhinoceroses which he had
+killed. Her mouth watered at the sight of the dead animals, and she
+began eating them. After swallowing down all the carcases, she said,
+"Well, what do you want?" The youth said, "I want some kataki flowers
+for my sister." She then told him that it would be difficult for
+him to get the flower, as it was guarded by seven hundred Rakshasas;
+however, he might make the attempt, but in the first instance he must
+go to his uncle on the north side of that forest. While the youth
+was going to his uncle of the north, on the way he killed some deer
+and rhinoceroses, and seeing a gigantic Rakshasa at some distance,
+cried out, "Uncle dear, uncle dear, your nephew is here. Auntie has
+sent me to you." The Rakshasa came near and said, "You are the youth
+with the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of your hands;
+I would have swallowed you outright, had you not called me uncle, and
+had you not said that your aunt had sent you to me. Now, what is it you
+want?" The savoury deer and rhinoceroses were then presented to him;
+he ate them all, and then listened to the petition of the youth. The
+youth wanted the kataki flower. The Rakshasa said, "You want the kataki
+flower! Very well, try and get it if you can. After passing through
+this forest, you will come to an impenetrable forest of kachiri. [42]
+You will say to that forest, 'O mother kachiri! please make way for
+me, or else I die.' On that the forest will open up a passage for
+you. You will next come to the ocean. You will say to the ocean,
+'O mother ocean! please make way for me, or else I die,' and the
+ocean will make way for you. After crossing the ocean, you enter the
+gardens where the kataki blooms. Good-bye; do as I have told you." The
+youth thanked his Rakshasa-uncle, and went on his way. After he had
+passed through the forest, he saw before him an impenetrable forest
+of kachiri. It was so close and thick, and withal so bristling with
+thorns, that not a mouse could go through it. Remembering the advice
+of his uncle, he stood before the forest with folded hands, and said,
+"O mother kachiri! please make way for me, or else I die." On a sudden
+a clean path was opened up in the forest, and the youth gladly passed
+through it. The ocean now lay before him. He said to the ocean, "O
+mother ocean! make way for me, or else I die." Forthwith the waters
+of the ocean stood up on two sides like two walls, leaving an open
+passage between them, and the youth passed through dryshod.
+
+Now, right before him were the gardens of the kataki flower. He entered
+the inclosure, and found himself in a spacious palace which seemed to
+be unoccupied. On going from apartment to apartment he found a young
+lady of more than earthly beauty sleeping on a bedstead of gold. He
+went near, and noticed two little sticks, one of gold and the other of
+silver, lying in the bedstead. The silver stick lay near the feet of
+the sleeping beauty, and the golden one near the head. He took up the
+sticks in his hands, and as he was examining them, the golden stick
+accidentally fell upon the feet of the lady. In a moment the lady
+woke and sat up, and said to the youth, "Stranger, how have you come
+to this dismal place? I know who you are, and I know your history. You
+are the youth with the moon on your forehead and stars on the palms of
+your hands. Flee, flee from this place! This is the residence of seven
+hundred Rakshasas who guard the gardens of the kataki flower. They
+have all gone a-hunting; they will return by sundown; and if they
+find you here you will be eaten up. One Rakshasi brought me from the
+earth where my father is king. She loves me very dearly, and will not
+let me go away. By means of these gold and silver sticks she kills
+me when she goes away in the morning, and by means of those sticks
+she revives me when she returns in the evening. Flee, flee hence, or
+you die!" The youth told the young lady how his sister wished very
+much to have the kataki flower, how he passed through the forest
+of kachiri, and how he crossed the ocean. He said also that he was
+determined not to go alone, he must take the young lady along with
+him. The remaining part of the day they spent together in rambling
+about the gardens. As the time was drawing near when the Rakshasas
+should return, the youth buried himself amid an enormous heap of
+kataki flower which lay in an adjoining apartment, after killing the
+young lady by touching her head with the golden stick. Just after
+sunset the youth heard the sound as of a mighty tempest: it was the
+return of the seven hundred Rakshasas into the gardens. One of them
+entered the apartment of the young lady, revived her, and said, "I
+smell a human being, I smell a human being." The young lady replied,
+"How can a human being come to this place? I am the only human being
+here." The Rakshasi then stretched herself on the floor, and told the
+young lady to shampoo her legs. As she was going on shampooing, she
+let fall a tear-drop on the Rakshasi's leg. "Why are you weeping,
+my dear child?" asked the raw-eater; "why are you weeping? Is
+anything troubling you?" "No, mamma," answered the young lady,
+"nothing is troubling me. What can trouble me, when you have made
+me so comfortable? I was only thinking what will become of me when
+you die." "When I die, child?" said the Rakshasi; "shall I die? Yes,
+of course all creatures die; but the death of a Rakshasa or Rakshasi
+will never happen. You know, child, that deep tank in the middle part
+of these gardens. Well, at the bottom of that tank there is a wooden
+box, in which there are a male and a female bee. It is ordained by
+fate that if a human being who has the moon on his forehead and stars
+on the palms of his hands were to come here and dive into that tank,
+and get hold of the same wooden box, and crush to death the male and
+female bees without letting a drop of their blood fall to the ground,
+then we should die. But the accomplishment of this decree of fate is,
+I think, impossible. For, in the first place, there can be no such
+human being who will have the moon on his forehead and stars on the
+palms of his hands; and, in the second place, if there be such a man,
+he will find it impossible to come to this place, guarded as it is
+by seven hundred of us, encompassed by a deep ocean, and barricaded
+by an impervious forest of kachiri--not to speak of the outposts and
+sentinels that are stationed on the other side of the forest. And then,
+even if he succeeds in coming here, he will perhaps not know the secret
+of the wooden box; and even if he knows of the secret of the wooden
+box, he may not succeed in killing the bees without letting a drop of
+their blood fall on the ground. And woe be to him if a drop does fall
+on the ground, for in that case he will be torn up into seven hundred
+pieces by us. You see then, child, that we are almost immortal--not
+actually, but virtually so. You may, therefore, dismiss your fears."
+
+On the next morning the Rakshasi got up, killed the young lady by
+means of the sticks, and went away in search of food along with other
+Rakshasas and Rakshasis. The lad, who had the moon on his forehead
+and stars on the palms of his hands, came out of the heap of flowers
+and revived the young lady. The young lady recited to the young man
+the whole of the conversation she had had with the Rakshasi. It was a
+perfect revelation to him. He, however, lost no time in beginning to
+act. He shut the heavy gates of the gardens. He dived into the tank
+and brought up the wooden box. He opened the wooden box, and caught
+hold of the male and female bees as they were about to escape. He
+crushed them on the palms of his hands, besmearing his body with every
+drop of their blood. The moment this was done, loud cries and groans
+were heard around about the inclosure of the gardens. Agreeably to
+the decree of fate all the Rakshasas approached the gardens and fell
+down dead. The youth with the moon on his forehead took as many kataki
+flowers as he could, together with their seeds, and left the palace,
+around which were lying in mountain heaps the carcases of the mighty
+dead, in company with the young and beautiful lady. The waters of
+the ocean retreated before the youth as before, and the forest of
+kachiri also opened up a passage through it; and the happy couple
+reached the house in the bazaar, where they were welcomed by the
+sister of the youth who had the moon on his forehead.
+
+On the following morning the youth, as usual, went to hunt. The king
+was also there. A deer passed by, and the youth shot an arrow. As
+he shot, the turban as usual fell off his head, and a bright light
+issued from it. The king saw and wondered. He told the youth to stop,
+as he wished to contract friendship with him. The youth told him to
+come to his house, and gave him his address. The king went to the
+house of the youth in the middle of the day. Pushpavati--for that
+was the name of the young lady that had been brought from beyond the
+ocean--told the king--for she knew the whole history--how his seventh
+queen had been persuaded by the other six queens to ring the bell
+twice before her time, how she was delivered of a beautiful boy and
+girl, how pups were substituted in their room, how the twins were
+saved in a miraculous manner in the house of the potter, how they
+were well treated in the bazaar, and how the youth with the moon on
+his forehead rescued her from the clutches of the Rakshasas. The king,
+mightily incensed with the six queens, had them, on the following day,
+buried alive in the ground. The seventh queen was then brought from
+the market-place and reinstated in her position; and the youth with
+the moon on his forehead, and the lovely Pushpavati and their sister,
+lived happily together.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE GHOST WHO WAS AFRAID OF BEING BAGGED
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a barber who had a wife. They did not live
+happily together, as the wife always complained that she had not enough
+to eat. Many were the curtain lectures which were inflicted upon the
+poor barber. The wife used often to say to her mate, "If you had not
+the means to support a wife, why did you marry me? People who have not
+means ought not to indulge in the luxury of a wife. When I was in my
+father's house I had plenty to eat, but it seems that I have come to
+your house to fast. Widows only fast; I have become a widow in your
+life-time." She was not content with mere words; she got very angry
+one day and struck her husband with the broomstick of the house. Stung
+with shame, and abhorring himself on account of his wife's reproach
+and beating, he left his house, with the implements of his craft,
+and vowed never to return and see his wife's face again till he had
+become rich. He went from village to village, and towards nightfall
+came to the outskirts of a forest. He laid himself down at the foot
+of a tree, and spent many a sad hour in bemoaning his hard lot.
+
+It so chanced that the tree, at the foot of which the barber was
+lying down, was dwelt in by a ghost. The ghost seeing a human being
+at the foot of the tree naturally thought of destroying him. With
+this intention the ghost alighted from the tree, and, with outspread
+arms and a gaping mouth, stood like a tall palmyra tree before the
+barber, and said, "Now, barber, I am going to destroy you. Who will
+protect you?" The barber, though quaking in every limb through fear,
+and his hair standing erect, did not lose his presence of mind, but,
+with that promptitude and shrewdness which are characteristic of his
+fraternity, replied, "O spirit, you will destroy me! wait a bit and
+I'll show you how many ghosts I have captured this very night and
+put into my bag; and right glad am I to find you here, as I shall
+have one more ghost in my bag." So saying the barber produced from
+his bag a small looking-glass, which he always carried about with him
+along with his razors, his whet-stone, his strop and other utensils,
+to enable his customers to see whether their beards had been well
+shaved or not. He stood up, placed the looking-glass right against
+the face of the ghost, and said, "Here you see one ghost which I have
+seized and bagged; I am going to put you also in the bag to keep this
+ghost company." The ghost, seeing his own face in the looking-glass,
+was convinced of the truth of what the barber had said, and was filled
+with fear. He said to the barber, "O, sir barber, I'll do whatever
+you bid me, only do not put me into your bag. I'll give you whatever
+you want." The barber said, "You ghosts are a faithless set, there is
+no trusting you. You will promise, and not give what you promise." "O,
+sir," replied the ghost, "be merciful to me; I'll bring to you whatever
+you order; and if I do not bring it, then put me into your bag." "Very
+well," said the barber, "bring me just now one thousand gold mohurs;
+and by to-morrow night you must raise a granary in my house, and fill
+it with paddy. Go and get the gold mohurs immediately: and if you
+fail to do my bidding you will certainly be put into my bag." The
+ghost gladly consented to the conditions. He went away, and in the
+course of a short time returned with a bag containing a thousand gold
+mohurs. The barber was delighted beyond measure at the sight of the
+gold mohurs. He then told the ghost to see to it that by the following
+night a granary was erected in his house and filled with paddy.
+
+It was during the small hours of the morning that the barber, loaded
+with the heavy treasure, knocked at the door of his house. His wife,
+who reproached herself for having in a fit of rage struck her husband
+with a broomstick, got out of bed and unbolted the door. Her surprise
+was great when she saw her husband pour out of the bag a glittering
+heap of gold mohurs.
+
+The next night the poor devil, through fear of being bagged, raised
+a large granary in the barber's house, and spent the live-long night
+in carrying on his back large packages of paddy till the granary was
+filled up to the brim. The uncle of this terrified ghost, seeing his
+worthy nephew carrying on his back loads of paddy, asked what the
+matter was. The ghost related what had happened. The uncle-ghost then
+said, "You fool, you think the barber can bag you! The barber is a
+cunning fellow; he has cheated you, like a simpleton as you are." "You
+doubt," said the nephew-ghost, "the power of the barber! come and
+see." The uncle-ghost then went to the barber's house, and peeped
+into it through a window. The barber, perceiving from the blast of
+wind which the arrival of the ghost had produced that a ghost was at
+the window, placed full before it the self-same looking-glass, saying,
+"Come now, I'll put you also into the bag." The uncle-ghost, seeing his
+own face in the looking-glass, got quite frightened, and promised that
+very night to raise another granary and to fill it, not this time with
+paddy, but with rice. So in two nights the barber became a rich man,
+and lived happily with his wife begetting sons and daughters.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+THE FIELD OF BONES
+
+
+Once on a time there lived a king who had a son. The young prince had
+three friends, the son of the prime minister, the son of the prefect
+of the police, and the son of the richest merchant of the city. These
+four friends had great love for one another. Once on a time they
+bethought themselves of seeing distant lands. They accordingly set
+out one day, each one riding on a horse. They rode on and on, till
+about noon they came to the outskirts of what seemed to be a dense
+forest. There they rested a while, tying to the trees their horses,
+which began to browse. When they had refreshed themselves, they again
+mounted their horses and resumed their journey. At sunset they saw in
+the depths of the forest a temple, near which they dismounted, wishing
+to lodge there that night. Inside the temple there was a sannyasi,
+[43] apparently absorbed in meditation, as he did not notice the four
+friends. When darkness covered the forest, a light was seen inside
+the temple. The four friends resolved to pass the night on the balcony
+of the temple; and as the forest was infested with many wild beasts,
+they deemed it safe that each of them should watch one prahara [44]
+of the night, while the rest should sleep. It fell to the lot of the
+merchant's son to watch during the first prahara, that is to say,
+from six in the evening to nine o'clock at night. Towards the end of
+his watch the merchant's son saw a wonderful sight. The hermit took
+up a bone with his hand, and repeated over it some words which the
+merchant's son distinctly heard. The moment the words were uttered,
+a clattering sound was heard in the precincts of the temple, and
+the merchant's son saw many bones moving from different parts of the
+forest. The bones collected themselves inside the temple, at the foot
+of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. As soon as this took place,
+the watch of the merchant's son came to an end; and, rousing the son
+of the prefect of the police, he laid himself down to sleep.
+
+The prefect's son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit sitting
+cross-legged, wrapped in meditation, near a heap of bones, the
+history of which he, of course, did not know. For a long time nothing
+happened. The dead stillness of the night was broken only by the howl
+of the hyaena and the wolf, and the growl of the tiger. When his time
+was nearly up he saw a wonderful sight. The hermit looked at the heap
+of bones lying before him, and uttered some words which the prefect's
+son distinctly heard. No sooner had the words been uttered than a
+noise was heard among the bones, "and behold a shaking, and the bones
+came together, bone to its bone"; and the bones which were erewhile
+lying together in a heap now took the form of a skeleton. Struck with
+wonder, the prefect's son would have watched longer, but his time
+was over. He therefore laid himself down to sleep, after rousing the
+minister's son, to whom, however, he told nothing of what he had seen,
+as the merchant's son had not told him anything of what he had seen.
+
+The minister's son got up, rubbed his eyes, and began watching. It
+was the dead hour of midnight, when ghosts, hobgoblins, and spirits of
+every name and description, go roaming over the wide world, and when
+all creation, both animate and inanimate, is in deep repose. Even
+the howl of the wolf and the hyaena and the growl of the tiger had
+ceased. The minister's son looked towards the temple, and saw the
+hermit sitting wrapt up in meditation; and near him lying something
+which seemed to be the skeleton of some animal. He looked towards
+the dense forest and the darkness all around, and his hair stood
+on end through terror. In this state of fear and trembling he spent
+nearly three hours, when an uncommon sight in the temple attracted
+his notice. The hermit, looking at the skeleton before him, uttered
+some words which the minister's son distinctly heard. As soon as
+the words were uttered, "lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon
+the bones, and the skin covered them above"; but there was no breath
+in the skeleton. Astonished at the sight, the minister's son would
+have sat up longer, but his time was up. He therefore laid himself
+down to sleep, after having roused the king's son, to whom, however,
+he said nothing of what he had seen and heard.
+
+The king's son, when he began his watch, saw the hermit sitting,
+completely absorbed in devotion, near a figure which looked like
+some animal, but he was not a little surprised to see the animal
+lying apparently lifeless, without showing any of the symptoms of
+life. The prince spent his hours agreeably enough, especially as he
+had had a long sleep, and as he felt none of that depression which
+the dead hour of midnight sheds on the spirits; and he amused himself
+with marking how the shades of darkness were becoming thinner and
+paler every moment. But just as he noticed a red streak in the east,
+he heard a sound from inside the temple. He turned his eyes towards
+the hermit. The hermit, looking towards the inanimate figure of the
+animal lying before him, uttered some words which the prince distinctly
+heard. The moment the words were spoken, "breath came into the animal;
+it lived, it stood up upon its feet"; and quickly rushed out of the
+temple into the forest. That moment the crows cawed; the watch of the
+prince came to an end; his three companions were roused; and after
+a short time they mounted their horses, and resumed their journey,
+each one thinking of the strange sight seen in the temple.
+
+They rode on and on through the dense and interminable forest, and
+hardly spoke to one another, till about mid-day they halted under a
+tree near a pool for refreshment. After they had refreshed themselves
+with eating some fruits of the forest and drinking water from the
+pool, the prince said to his three companions, "Friends, did you not
+see something in the temple of the devotee? I'll tell you what I saw,
+but first let me hear what you all saw. Let the merchant's son first
+tell us what he saw as he had the first watch; and the others will
+follow in order."
+
+Merchant's son. I'll tell you what I saw. I saw the hermit take up
+a bone in his hand, and repeat some words which I well remember. The
+moment those words were uttered, a clattering sound was heard in the
+precincts of the temple, and I saw many bones running into the temple
+from different directions. The bones collected themselves together
+inside the temple at the feet of the hermit, and lay there in a heap. I
+would have gladly remained longer to see the end, but my time was up,
+and I had to rouse my friend, the son of the prefect of the police.
+
+Prefect's son. Friends, this is what I saw. The hermit looked at
+the heap of bones lying before him, and uttered some words which
+I well remember. No sooner had the words been uttered than I heard
+a noise among the bones, and, strange to say, the bones jumped up,
+each bone joined itself to its fellow, and the heap became a perfect
+skeleton. At that moment my watch came to an end, and I had to rouse
+my respected friend the minister's son.
+
+Minister's son. Well, when I began my watch I saw the said skeleton
+lying near the hermit. After three mortal hours, during which I was
+in great fear, I saw the hermit lift his eyes towards the skeleton
+and utter some words which I well remember. As soon as the words were
+uttered the skeleton was covered with flesh and hair, but it did not
+show any symptom of life, as it lay motionless. Just then my watch
+ended, and I had to rouse my royal friend the prince.
+
+King's son. Friends, from what you yourselves saw, you can guess what
+I saw. I saw the hermit turn towards the skeleton covered with skin and
+hair, and repeat some words which I well remember. The moment the words
+were uttered, the skeleton stood up on its feet, and it looked a fine
+and lusty deer, and while I was admiring its beauty, it skipped out
+of the temple, and ran into the forest. That moment the crows cawed.
+
+The four friends, after hearing one another's story, congratulated
+themselves on the possession of supernatural power, and they did not
+doubt but that if they pronounced the words which they had heard the
+hermit utter, the utterance would be followed by the same results. But
+they resolved to verify their power by an actual experiment. Near
+the foot of the tree they found a bone lying on the ground, and they
+accordingly resolved to experiment upon it. The merchant's son took
+up the bone, and repeated over it the formula he had heard from
+the hermit. Wonderful to relate, a hundred bones immediately came
+rushing from different directions, and lay in a heap at the foot of
+the tree. The son of the prefect of the police then looking upon the
+heap of bones, repeated the formula which he had heard from the hermit,
+and forthwith there was a shaking among the bones; the several bones
+joined themselves together, and formed themselves into a skeleton, and
+it was the skeleton of a quadruped. The minister's son then drew near
+the skeleton, and, looking intently upon it, pronounced over it the
+formula which he had heard from the hermit. The skeleton immediately
+was covered with flesh, skin, and hair, and, horrible to relate,
+the animal proved itself to be a royal tiger of the largest size. The
+four friends were filled with consternation. If the king's son were,
+by the repetition of the formula he had heard from the hermit, to make
+the beast alive, it might prove fatal to them all. The three friends,
+therefore, tried to dissuade the prince from giving life to the
+tiger. But the prince would not comply with the request. He naturally
+said, "The mantras [45] which you have learned have been proved true
+and efficacious. But how shall I know that the mantra which I have
+learned is equally efficacious? I must have my mantra verified. Nor
+is it certain that we shall lose our lives by the experiment. Here
+is this high tree. You can climb into its topmost branches, and
+I shall also follow you thither after pronouncing the mantra." In
+vain did the three friends dwell upon the extreme danger attending
+the experiment: the prince remained inexorable. The minister's son,
+the prefect's son, and the merchant's son climbed up into the topmost
+branches of the tree, while the king's son went up to the middle of
+the tree. From there, looking intently upon the lifeless tiger, he
+pronounced the words which he had learned from the hermit, and quickly
+ran up the tree. In the twinkling of an eye the tiger stood upright,
+gave out a terrible growl, with a tremendous spring killed all the
+four horses which were browsing at a little distance, and, dragging
+one of them, rushed towards the densest part of the forest. The four
+friends ensconced on the branches of the tree were almost petrified
+with fear at the sight of the terrible tiger; but the danger was now
+over. The tiger went off at a great distance from them, and from its
+growl they judged that it must be at least two miles distance from
+them. After a little they came down from the tree; and as they now had
+no horses on which to ride, they walked on foot through the forest,
+till, coming to its end, they reached the shore of the sea. They sat
+on the sea-shore hoping to see some ship sailing by. They had not sat
+long, when fortunately they descried a vessel in the offing. They
+waved their handkerchiefs, and made all sorts of signs to attract
+the notice of the people on board the ship. The captain and the crew
+noticed the men on the shore. They came towards the shore, took the
+men upon board, but added that as they were short of provisions they
+could not have them a long time on board, but would put them ashore
+at the first port they came to. After four or five days' voyage, they
+saw not far from the shore high buildings and turrets, and supposing
+the place to be a large city, the four friends landed there.
+
+The four friends, immediately after landing, walked along a long avenue
+of stately trees, at the end of which was a bazaar. There were hundreds
+of shops in the bazaar, but not a single human being in them. There
+were sweetmeat shops in which there were heaps of confectioneries
+ranged in regular rows, but no human beings to sell them. There was
+the blacksmith's shop, there was the anvil, there were the bellows
+and the other tools of the smithy, but there was no smith there. There
+were stalls in which there were heaps of faded and dried vegetables,
+but no men or women to sell them. The streets were all deserted, no
+human beings, no cattle were to be seen there. There were carts, but no
+bullocks; there were carriages, but no horses. The doors and windows
+of the houses of the city on both sides of the streets were all open,
+but no human being was visible in them. It seemed to be a deserted
+city. It seemed to be a city of the dead--and all the dead taken out
+and buried. The four friends were astonished--they were frightened
+at the sight. As they went on, they approached a magnificent pile of
+buildings, which seemed to be the palace of a king. They went to the
+gate and to the porter's lodge. They saw shields, swords, spears, and
+other weapons suspended in the lodge, but no porters. They entered the
+premises, but saw no guards, no human beings. They went to the stables,
+saw the troughs, grain, and grass lying about in profusion, but no
+horses. They went inside the palace, passed the long corridors--still
+no human being was visible. They went through six long courts--still
+no human being. They entered the seventh court, and there and then,
+for the first time, did they see living human beings. They saw
+coming towards them four princesses of matchless beauty. Each of
+these four princesses caught hold of the arm of each of the four
+friends; and each princess called each man whom she had caught hold
+of her husband. The princesses said that they had been long waiting
+for the four friends, and expressed great joy at their arrival. The
+princesses took the four friends into the innermost apartments, and
+gave them a sumptuous feast. There were no servants attending them,
+the princesses themselves bringing in the provisions and setting
+them before the four friends. At the outset the four princesses
+told the four friends that no questions were to be asked about the
+depopulation of the city. After this, each princess went into her
+private apartment along with her newly-found husband. Shortly after
+the prince and princess had retired into their private apartment,
+the princess began to shed tears. On the prince inquiring into the
+cause, the princess said, "O prince! I pity you very much. You seem,
+by your bearing, to be the son of a king, and you have, no doubt,
+the heart of a king's son; I will therefore tell you my whole story,
+and the story of my three companions who look like princesses. I am the
+daughter of a king, whose palace this is, and those three creatures,
+who are dressed like princesses, and who have called your three friends
+their husbands, are Rakshasis. They came to this city some time ago;
+they ate up my father, the king, my mother, the queen, my brothers,
+my sisters, of whom I had a large number. They ate up the king's
+ministers and servants. They ate up gradually all the people of the
+city, all my father's horses and elephants, and all the cattle of the
+city. You must have noticed, as you came to the palace, that there
+are no human beings, no cattle, no living thing in this city. They
+have all been eaten up by those three Rakshasis. They have spared me
+alone--and that, I suppose, only for a time. When the Rakshasis saw
+you and your friends from a distance, they were very glad, as they
+mean to eat you all up after a short time."
+
+King's son. But if this is the case, how do I know that you are not
+a Rakshasi yourself? Perhaps you mean to swallow me up by throwing
+me off my guard.
+
+Princess. I'll mention one fact which proves that those three creatures
+are Rakshasis, while I am not. Rakshasis, you know, eat food a hundred
+times larger in quantity than men or women. What the Rakshasis eat at
+table along with us is not sufficient to appease their hunger. They
+therefore go out at night to distant lands in search of men or cattle,
+as there are none in this city. If you ask your friends to watch and
+see whether their wives remain all night in their beds, they will find
+they go out and stay away a good part of the night, whereas you will
+find me the whole night with you. But please see that the Rakshasis do
+not get the slightest inkling of all this; for if they hear of it, they
+will kill me in the first instance, and afterwards swallow you all up.
+
+The next day the king's son called together the minister's son,
+the prefect's son, and the merchant's son, and held a consultation,
+enjoining the strictest secrecy on all. He told them what he had heard
+from the princess, and requested them to lie awake in their beds to
+watch whether their pretended princesses went out at night or not. One
+presumptive argument in favour of the assertion of the princess was
+that all the pretended princesses were fast asleep during the whole of
+the day in consequence of their nightly wanderings, whereas the female
+friend of the king's son did not sleep at all during the day. The
+three friends accordingly lay in their beds at night pretending to
+be asleep and manifesting all the symptoms of deep sleep. Each one
+observed that his female friend at a certain hour, thinking her mate
+to be in deep sleep, left the room, stayed away the whole night,
+and returned to her bed only at dawn. During the following day each
+female friend slept out nearly the whole day, and woke up only in the
+afternoon. For two nights and days the three friends observed this. The
+king's son also remained awake at night pretending to be asleep, but
+the princess was not observed for a single moment to leave the room,
+nor was she observed to sleep in the day. From these circumstances
+the friends of the king's son began to suspect that their partners
+were really Rakshasis as the princess said they were.
+
+By way of confirmation the princess also told the king's son, that the
+Rakshasis, after eating the flesh of men and animals, threw the bones
+towards the north of the city, where there was an immense collection
+of them. The king's son and his three friends went one day towards
+that part of the city, and sure enough they saw there immense heaps
+of the bones of men and animals piled up into hills. From this they
+became more and more convinced that the three women were Rakshasis
+in deed and truth.
+
+The question now was how to run away from these devourers of men
+and animals? There was one circumstance greatly in favour of the
+four friends, and that was, that the three Rakshasis slept during
+nearly the whole day; they had therefore the greater part of the
+day for the maturing of their plans. The princess advised them to go
+towards the sea-shore, and watch if any ships sailed that way. The
+four friends accordingly used to go to the sea-shore looking for
+ships. They were always accompanied by the princess, who took the
+precaution of carrying with her in a bundle her most valuable jewels,
+pearls and precious stones. It happened one day that they saw a ship
+passing at a great distance from the shore. They made signs which
+attracted the notice of the captain and crew. The ship came towards
+the land, and the four friends and princess were, after much entreaty,
+taken up. The princess exhorted the crew to row with all their might,
+for which she promised them a handsome reward; for she knew that the
+Rakshasis would awake in the afternoon, and immediately come after the
+ship; and they would assuredly catch hold of the vessel and destroy
+all the crew and passengers if it stood short of eighty miles from
+land, for the Rakshasis had the power of distending their bodies to
+the length of ten Yojanas. [46] The four friends and the princess
+cheered on the crew, and the oarsmen rowed with all their might; and
+the ship, favoured by the wind, shot over the deep like lightning. It
+was near sun-down when a terrible yell was heard on the shore. The
+Rakshasis had wakened from their sleep, and not finding either the
+four friends or the princess, naturally thought they had got hold
+of a ship and were escaping. They therefore ran along the shore with
+lightning rapidity, and seeing the ship afar off they distended their
+bodies. But fortunately the vessel was more than eighty miles off
+land, though only a trifle more: indeed, the ship was so dangerously
+near that the heads of the Rakshasis with their widely-distended
+jaws almost touched its stern. The words which the Rakshasis uttered
+in the hearing of the crew and passengers were--"O sister, so you
+are going to eat them all yourself alone." The minister's son, the
+prefect's son, and the merchant's son had all along a suspicion that
+the pretended princess, the prince's partner, might after all also
+be a Rakshasi; that suspicion was now confirmed by what they heard
+the three Rakshasis say. Those words, however, produced no effect in
+the mind of the king's son, as from his intimate acquaintance with
+the princess he could not possibly take her to be a Rakshasi.
+
+The captain told the four friends and princess that as he was bound
+for distant regions in search of gold mines, he could not take
+them along with him; he, therefore, proposed that on the next day
+he should put them ashore near some port, especially as they were
+now safe from the clutches of the Rakshasis. On the following day
+no port was visible for a long time; towards the evening, however,
+they came near a port where the four friends and the princess were
+landed. After walking some distance, the princess, who had never been
+accustomed to take long walks, complained of fatigue and hunger; they
+all therefore sat under a tree, and the king's son sent the merchant's
+son to buy some sweetmeats in the bazaar which they heard was not far
+off. The merchant's son did not return, as he was fully persuaded in
+his mind that the king's son's partner was as real a Rakshasi as the
+three others from whose clutches he had escaped. Seeing the delay of
+the merchant's son, the king's son sent the prefect's son after him;
+but neither did he return, he being also convinced that the pretended
+princess was a Rakshasi. The minister's son was next sent; but he also
+joined the other two. The king's son then himself went to the shop
+of the sweetmeat seller where he met his three friends, who made him
+remain with them by main force, earnestly declaring that the woman
+was no princess, but a real Rakshasi like the other three. Thus the
+princess was deserted by the four friends who returned to their own
+country, full of the adventures they had met with.
+
+In the meantime the princess walked to the bazaar and found shelter
+for a few days in the house of a poor woman, after which she set
+out for the city of the four friends, the name and whereabouts of
+which city she had learnt from the king's son. On arriving at the
+city, she sold some of her costly ornaments, pearls and precious
+stones, and hired a stately house for her residence with a suitable
+establishment. She caused herself to be proclaimed as a heaven-born
+dice-player, and challenged all the players in the city to play, the
+conditions of the game being that if she lost it she would give the
+winner a lakh [47] of rupees, and if she won it she should get a lakh
+from him who lost the game. She also got authority from the king of
+the country to imprison in her own house any one who could not pay her
+the stipulated sum of money. The merchant's son, the prefect's son,
+and the minister's son, who all looked upon themselves as miraculous
+players, played with the princess, paid her many lakhs, but being
+unable to pay her all the sums they owed her, were imprisoned in her
+house. At last the king's son offered to play with her. The princess
+purposely allowed him to win the first game, which emboldened him to
+play many times, in all of which he was the loser; and being unable to
+pay the many lakhs owing her, the prince was about to be dragged into
+the dungeon, when the princess told him who she was. The merchant's
+son, the prefect's son, and the minister's son were brought out of
+their cells; and the joy of the four friends knew no bounds. The
+king and the queen received their daughter-in-law with open arms,
+and with demonstrations of great festivity.
+
+Every one in the palace was glad except the princess. She could not
+forget that her parents, her brothers and sisters had been devoured
+by the Rakshasis, and that their bones, along with the bones of her
+father's subjects, stood in mountain heaps on the north side of the
+capital. The prince had told her that he and his three friends had
+the power of giving life to bones. They could then reconstruct the
+frames of her parents and other relatives; but the difficulty lay
+in this--how to kill the three Rakshasis. Could not the hermit, who
+taught them to give life, not teach also how to take away life? In all
+likelihood he could. Reasoning in this manner, the four friends and
+the princess went to the temple of the hermit in the forest, prayed
+to him to give them the secret of destroying life from a distance by a
+charm. The hermit became propitious, and granted the boon. A deer was
+passing by at the moment. The hermit took a handful of water, repeated
+over it some words which the king's son distinctly heard, and threw
+it upon the deer. The deer died in a moment. He repeated other words
+over the dead animal, the deer jumped up and ran away into the forest.
+
+Armed with this killing charm, the king's son, together with
+the princess and the three friends, went to his father-in-law's
+capital. As they approached the city of death, the three Rakshasis
+ran furiously towards them with open jaws. The king's son spilled
+charmed water upon them, and they died in an instant. They all then
+went to the heaps of bones. The merchant's son brought together the
+proper bones of the bodies, the prefect's son constructed them into
+skeletons, the minister's son clothed them with sinews, flesh, and
+skin, and the king's son gave them life. The princess was entranced
+at the sight of the re-animation of her parents and other relatives,
+and her eyes were filled with tears of joy. After a few days which
+they spent in great festivity, they left the revivified city, went
+to their own country, and lived many years in great happiness.
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+THE BALD WIFE
+
+
+A certain man had two wives, the younger of whom he loved more than
+the elder. The younger wife had two tufts of hair on her head, and
+the elder only one. The man went to a distant town for merchandise;
+so the two wives lived together in the house. But they hated each
+other: the younger one, who was her husband's favourite, ill-treated
+the other. She made her do all the menial work in the house; rebuked
+her all day and night; and did not give her enough to eat. One day
+the younger wife said to the elder, "Come and take away all the lice
+from the hair of my head." While the elder wife was searching among the
+younger one's hair for the vermin, one lock of hair by chance gave way;
+on which the younger one, mightily incensed, tore off the single tuft
+that was on the head of the elder wife, and drove her away from the
+house. The elder wife, now become completely bald, determined to go
+into the forest, and there either die of starvation or be devoured by
+some wild beast. On her way she passed by a cotton plant. She stopped
+near it, made for herself a broom with some sticks which lay about,
+and swept clean the ground round about the plant. The plant was much
+pleased, and gave her a blessing. She wended on her way, and now saw
+a plantain tree. She swept the ground round about the plantain tree
+which, being pleased with her, gave her a blessing. As she went on
+she saw the shed of a Brahmani bull. As the shed was very dirty,
+she swept the place clean, on which the bull, being much pleased,
+blessed her. She next saw a tulasi plant, bowed herself down before
+it, and cleaned the place round about, on which the plant gave her
+a blessing. As she was going on in her journey she saw a hut made of
+branches of trees and leaves, and near it a man sitting cross-legged,
+apparently absorbed in meditation. She stood for a moment behind
+the venerable muni. "Whoever you may be," he said, "come before me;
+do not stand behind me; if you do, I will reduce you to ashes." The
+woman, trembling with fear, stood before the muni. "What is your
+petition?" asked the muni. "Father Muni," answered the woman, "thou
+knowest how miserable I am, since thou art all-knowing. My husband
+does not love me, and his other wife, having torn off the only tuft
+of hair on my head, has driven me away from the house. Have pity
+upon me, Father Muni!" The muni, continuing sitting, said, "Go into
+the tank which you see yonder. Plunge into the water only once, and
+then come to me again." The woman went to the tank, washed in it,
+and plunged into the water only once, according to the bidding of
+the muni. When she got out of the water, what a change was seen in
+her! Her head was full of jet black hair, which was so long that it
+touched her heels; her complexion had become perfectly fair; and she
+looked young and beautiful. Filled with joy and gratitude, she went
+to the muni, and bowed herself to the ground. The muni said to her,
+"Rise, woman. Go inside the hut, and you will find a number of wicker
+baskets, and bring out any you like." The woman went into the hut,
+and selected a modest-looking basket. The muni said, "Open the
+basket." She opened it, and found it filled with ingots of gold,
+pearls and all sorts of precious stones. The muni said, "Woman,
+take that basket with you. It will never get empty. When you take
+away the present contents their room will be supplied by another set,
+and that by another, and that by another, and the basket will never
+become empty. Daughter, go in peace." The woman bowed herself down
+to the ground in profound but silent gratitude, and went away.
+
+As she was returning homewards with the basket in her hand, she passed
+by the tulasi plant whose bottom she had swept. The tulasi plant said
+to her, "Go in peace, child! thy husband will love thee warmly." She
+next came to the shed of the Brahmani bull, who gave her two shell
+ornaments which were twined round its horns, saying, "Daughter, take
+these shells, put them on your wrists, and whenever you shake either
+of them you will get whatever ornaments you wish to obtain." She then
+came to the plantain tree, which gave her one of its broad leaves,
+saying, "Take, child, this leaf; and when you move it you will get
+not only all sorts of delicious plantains, but all kinds of agreeable
+food." She came last of all to the cotton plant, which gave her one
+of its own branches, saying, "Daughter, take this branch; and when
+you shake it you will get not only all sorts of cotton clothes, but
+also of silk and purple. Shake it now in my presence." She shook the
+branch, and a fabric of the finest glossy silk fell on her lap. She
+put on that silk cloth, and wended on her way with the shells on her
+wrists, and the basket and the branch and the leaf in her hands.
+
+The younger wife was standing at the door of her house, when she
+saw a beautiful woman approach her. She could scarcely believe her
+eyes. What a change! The old, bald hag turned into the very Queen
+of Beauty herself! The elder wife, now grown rich and beautiful,
+treated the younger wife with kindness. She gave her fine clothes,
+costly ornaments, and the richest viands. But all to no purpose. The
+younger wife envied the beauty and hair of her associate. Having heard
+that she got it all from Father Muni in the forest, she determined to
+go there. Accordingly she started on her journey. She saw the cotton
+plant, but did nothing to it; she passed by the plantain tree, the
+shed of the Brahmani bull, and the tulasi plant, without taking any
+notice of them. She approached the muni. The muni told her to bathe in
+the tank, and plunge only once into the water. She gave one plunge,
+at which she got a glorious head of hair and a beautifully fair
+complexion. She thought a second plunge would make her still more
+beautiful. Accordingly she plunged into the water again, and came
+out as bald and ugly as before. She came to the muni, and wept. The
+sage drove her away, saying, "Be off, you disobedient woman. You will
+get no boon from me." She went back to her house mad with grief. The
+lord of the two women returned from his travels and was struck with
+the long locks and beauty of his first wife. He loved her dearly;
+and when he saw her secret and untold resources and her incredible
+wealth, he almost adored her. They lived together happily for many
+years, and had for their maid-servant the younger woman, who had been
+formerly his best beloved.
+
+
+
+            Here my story endeth,
+            The Natiya-thorn withereth;
+           "Why, O Natiya-thorn, dost wither?"
+           "Why does thy cow on me browse?"
+           "Why, O cow, dost thou browse?"
+           "Why does thy neat-herd not tend me?"
+           "Why, O neat-herd, dost not tend the cow?"
+           "Why does thy daughter-in-law not give me rice?"
+           "Why, O daughter-in-law, dost not give rice?"
+           "Why does my child cry?"
+           "Why, O child, dost thou cry?"
+           "Why does the ant bite me?"
+           "Why, O ant, dost thou bite?"
+            Koot! koot! koot!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+NOTES
+
+
+[1] Kings, in Bengali folk-tales, have invariably two queens--the
+elder is called duo, that is, not loved; and the younger is called suo,
+that is, loved.
+
+[2] Dalim or dadimba means a pomegranate, and kumara son.
+
+[3] Bidhata-Purusha is the deity that predetermines all the events
+of the life of man or woman, and writes on the forehead of the child,
+on the sixth day of its birth, a brief precis of them.
+
+[4] There are eight forms of marriage spoken of in the Hindu Sastras,
+of which the Gandharva is one, consisting in the exchange of garlands.
+
+[5] Alakta is leaves or flimsy paper saturated with lac.
+
+[6] A sort of open Palki, used generally for carrying the bridegroom
+and bride in marriage processions.
+
+[7] Handi is an earthen pot, generally used in cooking food.
+
+[8] Mudki, fried paddy boiled dry in treacle or sugar.
+
+[9] A sort of sweetmeat made of curds and sugar.
+
+[10] Rakshasas and Rakshasis (male and female) are in Hindu mythology
+huge giants and giantesses, or rather demons. The word means literally
+raw-eaters; they were probably the chiefs of the aborigines whom the
+Aryans overthrew on their first settlement in the country.
+
+[11] Dasi is a general name for all maid-servants.
+
+[12] Sphatika is crystal, and sthambha pillar.
+
+[13] Bathing-place, either in a tank or on the bank of a river,
+generally furnished with flights of steps.
+
+[14] Professional match-makers.
+
+[15] Manik, or rather manikya, is a fabulous precious stone of
+incredible value. It is found on the head of some species of snakes,
+and is equal in value to the wealth of seven kings.
+
+[16] Venus, the Morning Star.
+
+[17] The seat on the back of an elephant.
+
+[18] Sri is another name of Lakshmi, and batsa means child; so that
+Sribatsa is literally the "child of fortune."
+
+[19] Shells used as money, one hundred and sixty of which could have
+been got a few years ago for one pice.
+
+[20] Fried paddy.
+
+[21] This story is not my own. It was recited to me by a story-teller
+of the other sex who rejoices in the nom de plume "An Inmate of the
+Calcutta Lunatic Asylum."
+
+[22] A holy sage.
+
+[23] The tutelary goddess of a king's household.
+
+[24] A vessel, made generally of brass, for keeping the pan leaf
+together with betel-nut and other spices.
+
+[25] A towel used in bathing.
+
+[26] A sort of bed made of rope, supported by posts of wood.
+
+[27] The sacred basil.
+
+[28] Zenana is not the name of a province in India, as the good people
+of Scotland the other day took it to be, but the innermost department
+of a Hindu or Mohammedan house which the women occupy.
+
+[29] A religious mendicant.
+
+[30] Sankchinnis or Sankhachurnis are female ghosts of white
+complexion. They usually stand at the dead of night at the foot of
+trees, and look like sheets of white cloth.
+
+[31] An exorcist, one who drives away ghosts from possessed persons.
+
+[32] The ghost of a Brahman who dies unmarried.
+
+[33] A bigha is about the third part of an acre.
+
+[34] The chariot of Kuvera, the Hindu god of riches.
+
+[35] "Hiraman (from harit, green, and mani, a gem), the name of
+a beautiful species of parrot, a native of the Molucca Islands
+(Psittacus sinensis)."--Carey's Dictionary of the Bengalee Language,
+vol. ii. part iii. p. 1537.
+
+[36] Winged horse, literally, the king of birds.
+
+[37] Khai is fried paddy.
+
+[38] A name for a jackal, not unlike Reynard in Europe.
+
+[39] The god who presides over marriages.
+
+[40] Calotropis gigantea.
+
+[41] Literally the king of birds, a fabulous species of horse
+remarkable for their swiftness.
+
+[42] Arum fornicatum.
+
+[43] Religious devotee.
+
+[44] Eighth part of twenty-four hours, that is, three hours.
+
+[45] Charm or incantation.
+
+[46] A yojana is nearly eight miles.
+
+[47] Ten thousand pounds sterling.
+
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Folk-Tales of Bengal, by Lal Behari Day
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