INDIAN FAIRY TALES

_Selected and edited by_JOSEPH JACOBS

_Illustrated by_JOHN D. BATTEN

TO MY DEAR LITTLE PHIL

PREFACE

From the extreme West of the Indo-European world, we go this year tothe extreme East. From the soft rain and green turf of Gaeldom, we seekthe garish sun and arid soil of the Hindoo. In the Land of Ire, thebelief in fairies, gnomes, ogres and monsters is all but dead; in theLand of Ind it still flourishes in all the vigour of animism. 

Soils and national characters differ; but fairy tales are the same inplot and incidents, if not in treatment. The majority of the tales inthis volume have been known in the West in some form or other, and theproblem arises how to account for their simultaneous existence infarthest West and East. Some--as Benfey in Germany, M. Cosquin inFrance, and Mr. Clouston in England--have declared that India is theHome of the Fairy Tale, and that all European fairy tales have beenbrought from thence by Crusaders, by Mongol missionaries, by Gipsies, by Jews, by traders, by travellers. The question is still before thecourts, and one can only deal with it as an advocate. So far as myinstructions go, I should be prepared, within certain limits, to hold abrief for India. So far as the children of Europe have their fairystories in common, these--and they form more than a third of the whole--are derived from India. In particular, the majority of the Drolls orcomic tales and jingles can be traced, without much difficulty, back tothe Indian peninsula. 

Certainly there is abundant evidence of the early transmission byliterary means of a considerable number of drolls and folk-tales fromIndia about the time of the Crusaders. The collections known in Europeby the titles of _The Fables of Bidpai, The Seven Wise Masters, GesiaRomanorum_, and _Barlaam and Josaphat_, were extremely popularduring the Middle Ages, and their contents passed on the one hand intothe _Exempla_ of the monkish preachers, and on the other into the_Novelle_ of Italy, thence, after many days, to contribute theirquota to the Elizabethan Drama. Perhaps nearly one-tenth of the mainincidents of European folktales can be traced to this source. 

There are even indications of an earlier literary contact betweenEurope and India, in the case of one branch of the folk-tale, the Fableor Beast Droll. In a somewhat elaborate discussion [Footnote: "Historyof the Aesopic Fable, " the introductory volume to my edition of Caxton's_Fables of Esope_ (London, Nutt, 1889). ] I have come to theconclusion that a goodly number of the fables that pass under the nameof the Samian slave, Aesop, were derived from India, probably from thesame source whence the same tales were utilised in the Jatakas, orBirth-stories of Buddha. These Jatakas contain a large quantity ofgenuine early Indian folk-tales, and form the earliest collection offolk-tales in the world, a sort of Indian Grimm, collected more thantwo thousand years before the good German brothers went on their questamong the folk with such delightful results. For this reason I haveincluded a considerable number of them in this volume; and shall besurprised if tales that have roused the laughter and wonder of piousBuddhists for the last two thousand years, cannot produce the sameeffect on English children. The Jatakas have been fortunate in theirEnglish translators, who render with vigour and point; and I rejoicein being able to publish the translation of two new Jatakas, kindlydone into English for this volume by Mr. W. H. D. Rouse, of Christ'sCollege, Cambridge. In one of these I think I have traced the sourceof the Tar Baby incident in "Uncle Remus. "

Though Indian fairy tales are the earliest in existence, yet they arealso from another point of view the youngest. For it is only abouttwenty-five years ago that Miss Frere began the modern collection ofIndian folk-tales with her charming "Old Deccan Days" (London, JohnMurray, 1868; fourth edition, 1889). Her example has been followed byMiss Stokes, by Mrs. Steel, and Captain (now Major) Temple, by thePandit Natesa Sastri, by Mr. Knowles and Mr. Campbell, as well asothers who have published folk-tales in such periodicals as the_Indian Antiquary_ and _The Orientalist_. The story-store ofmodern India has been well dipped into during the last quarter of acentury, though the immense range of the country leaves room for anynumber of additional workers and collections. Even so far as thematerials already collected go, a large number of the commonestincidents in European folk-tales have been found in India. Whetherbrought there or born there, we have scarcely any criterion forjudging; but as some of those still current among the folk in India canbe traced back more than a millennium, the presumption is in favour ofan Indian origin. 

From all these sources--from the Jatakas, from the Bidpai, and from themore recent collections--I have selected those stories which throw mostlight on the origin of Fable and Folk-tales, and at the same time aremost likely to attract English children. I have not, however, includedtoo many stories of the Grimm types, lest I should repeat the contentsof the two preceding volumes of this series. This has to some degreeweakened the case for India as represented by this book. The need ofcatering for the young ones has restricted my selection from the well-named "Ocean of the Streams of Story, " _Katha-Sarit Sagara_ ofSomadeva. The stories existing in Pali and Sanskrit I have taken fromtranslations, mostly from the German of Benfey or the vigorous Englishof Professor Rhys-Davids, whom I have to thank for permission to usehis versions of the Jatakas. 

I have been enabled to make this book a representative collection ofthe Fairy Tales of Ind by the kindness of the original collectors ortheir publishers. I have especially to thank Miss Frere, who kindlymade an exception in my favour, and granted me the use of that finestory, "Punchkin, " and that quaint myth, "How Sun, Moon, and Wind wentout to Dinner. " Miss Stokes has been equally gracious in granting methe use of characteristic specimens from her "Indian Fairy Tales. " ToMajor Temple I owe the advantage of selecting from his admirable_Wideawake Stories_, and Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. Haveallowed me to use Mr. Knowles' "Folk-tales of Kashmir, " in theirOriental Library; and Messrs. W. H. Allen have been equally obligingwith regard to Mrs. Kingscote's "Tales of the Sun. " Mr. M. L. Dames hasenabled me add to the published story-store of India by granting me theuse of one from his inedited collection of Baluchi folk-tales. 

I have again to congratulate myself an the co-operation of my friendMr. J. D. Batten in giving beautiful or amusing form to the creationsof the folk fancy of the Hindoos. It is no slight thing to embody, ashe has done, the glamour and the humour both of the Celt and of theHindoo. It is only a further proof that Fairy Tales are something morethan Celtic or Hindoo. They are human. 

JOSEPH JACOBS. 

CONTENTS

I. THE LION AND THE CRANEII. HOW THE RAJA'S SON WON THE PRINCESS LABAMIII. THE LAMBIKINIV. PUNCHKINV. THE BROKEN POTVI. THE MAGIC FIDDLEVII. THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTEDVIII. LOVING LAILIIX. THE TIGER, THE BRAHMAN AND THE JACKALX. THE SOOTHSAYER'S SONXI. HARISARMANXII. THE CHARMED RINGXIII. THE TALKATIVE TORTOISEXIV. A LAC OF RUPEES FOR A PIECE OF ADVICEXV. THE GOLD-GIVING SERPENTXVI. THE SON OF SEVEN QUEENSXVII. A LESSON FOR KINGSXVIII. PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALLXIX. RAJA RASALUXX. THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKINXXI. THE FARMER AND THE MONEY-LENDERXXII. THE BOY WHO HAD A MOON ON HIS FOREHEAD AND A STAR ON HIS CHINXXIII. THE PRINCE AND THE FAKIRXXIV. WHY THE FISH LAUGHEDXXV. THE DEMON WITH THE MATTED HAIRXXVI. THE IVORY CITY AND ITS FAIRY PRINCESSXXVII. SUN, MOON, AND WIND GO OUT TO DINNERXXVIII. HOW THE WICKED SONS WERE DUPEDXXIX. THE PIGEON AND THE CROW

NOTES AND REFERENCES

THE LION AND THE CRANE

The Bodhisatta was at one time born in the region of Himavanta as awhite crane; now Brahmadatta was at that time reigning in Benares. Nowit chanced that as a lion was eating meat a bone stuck in his throat. The throat became swollen, he could not take food, his suffering wasterrible. The crane seeing him, as he was perched an a tree looking forfood, asked, "What ails thee, friend?" He told him why. "I could freethee from that bone, friend, but dare not enter thy mouth for fear thoumightest eat me. " "Don't be afraid, friend, I'll not eat thee; onlysave my life. " "Very well, " says he, and caused him to lie down on hisleft side. But thinking to himself, "Who knows what this fellow willdo, " he placed a small stick upright between his two jaws that he couldnot close his mouth, and inserting his head inside his mouth struck oneend of the bone with his beak. Whereupon the bone dropped and fell out. As soon as he had caused the bone to fall, he got out of the lion'smouth, striking the stick with his beak so that it fell out, and thensettled on a branch. The lion gets well, and one day was eating abuffalo he had killed. The crane, thinking "I will sound him, " settledan a branch just over him, and in conversation spoke this first verse:

 "A service have we done thee To the best of our ability, King of the Beasts! Your Majesty! What return shall we get from thee?"

In reply the Lion spoke the second verse:

 "As I feed on blood, And always hunt for prey, 'Tis much that thou art still alive Having once been between my teeth. "

Then in reply the crane said the two other verses:

 "Ungrateful, doing no good, Not doing as he would be done by, In him there is no gratitude, To serve him is useless. 

 "His friendship is not won By the clearest good deed. Better softly withdraw from him, Neither envying nor abusing. "

And having thus spoken the crane flew away. 

_And when the great Teacher, Gautama the Buddha, told this tale, heused to add: "Now at that time the lion was Devadatta the Traitor, butthe white crane was I myself_. "

HOW THE RAJA'S SON WON THE PRINCESS LABAM

In a country there was a Raja who had an only son who every day wentout to hunt. One day the Rani, his mother, said to him, "You can huntwherever you like on these three sides; but you must never go to thefourth side. " This she said because she knew if he went on the fourthside he would hear of the beautiful Princess Labam, and that then hewould leave his father and mother and seek for the princess. 

The young prince listened to his mother, and obeyed her for some time;but one day, when he was hunting on the three sides where he wasallowed to go, he remembered what she had said to him about the fourthside, and he determined to go and see why she had forbidden him to hunton that side. When he got there, he found himself in a jungle, andnothing in the jungle but a quantity of parrots, who lived in it. Theyoung Raja shot at some of them, and at once they all flew away up tothe sky. All, that is, but one, and this was their Raja, who was calledHiraman parrot. 

When Hiraman parrot found himself left alone, he called out to theother parrots, "Don't fly away and leave me alone when the Raja's sonshoots. If you desert me like this, I will tell the Princess Labam. "

Then the parrots all flew back to their Raja, chattering. The princewas greatly surprised, and said, "Why, these birds can talk!" Then hesaid to the parrots, "Who is the Princess Labam? Where does she live?"But the parrots would not tell him where she lived. "You can never getto the Princess Labam's country. " That is all they would say. 

The prince grew very sad when they would not tell him anything more;and he threw his gun away, and went home. When he got home, he wouldnot speak or eat, but lay on his bed for four or five days, and seemedvery ill. 

At last he told his father and mother that he wanted to go and see thePrincess Labam. "I must go, " he said; "I must see what she is like. Tell me where her country is. "

"We do not know where it is, " answered his father and mother. 

"Then I must go and look for it, " said the prince. 

"No, no, " they said, "you must not leave us. You are our only son. Staywith us. You will never find the Princess Labam. "

"I must try and find her, " said the prince. "Perhaps God will show methe way. If I live and I find her, I will come back to you; but perhapsI shall die, and then I shall never see you again. Still I must go. "

So they had to let him go, though they cried very much at parting withhim. His father gave him fine clothes to wear, and a fine horse. And hetook his gun, and his bow and arrows, and a great many other weapons, "for, " he said, "I may want them. " His father, too, gave him plenty ofrupees. 

Then he himself got his horse all ready for the journey, and he saidgood-bye to his father and mother; and his mother took her handkerchiefand wrapped some sweetmeats in it, and gave it to her son. "My child, "she said to him, "When you are hungry eat some of these sweetmeats. "

He then set out on his journey, and rode on and on till he came to ajungle in which were a tank and shady trees. He bathed himself and hishorse in the tank, and then sat down under a tree. "Now, " he said tohimself, "I will eat some of the sweetmeats my mother gave me, and Iwill drink some water, and then I will continue my journey. " He openedhis handkerchief, and took out a sweetmeat. He found an ant in it. Hetook out another. There was an ant in that one too. So he laid the twosweetmeats on the ground, and he took out another, and another, andanother, until he had taken them all out; but in each he found an ant. "Never mind, " he said, "I won't eat the sweetmeats; the ants shall eatthem. " Then the Ant-Raja came and stood before him and said, "You havebeen good to us. If ever you are in trouble, think of me and we willcome to you. "

The Raja's son thanked him, mounted his horse and continued hisjourney. He rode on and on until he came to another jungle, and therehe saw a tiger who had a thorn in his foot, and was roaring loudly fromthe pain. 

"Why do you roar like that?" said the young Raja. "What is the matterwith you?"

"I have had a thorn in my foot for twelve years, " answered the tiger, "and it hurts me so; that is why I roar. "

"Well, " said the Raja's son, "I will take it out for you. But perhaps, as you are a tiger, when I have made you well, you will eat me?"

"Oh, no, " said the tiger, "I won't eat you. Do make me well. "

Then the prince took a little knife from his pocket, and cut the thornout of the tiger's foot; but when he cut, the tiger roared louder thanever--so loud that his wife heard him in the next jungle, and camebounding along to see what was the matter. The tiger saw her coming, and hid the prince in the jungle, so that she should not see him. 

"What man hurt you that you roared so loud?" said the wife. "No onehurt me, " answered the husband; "but a Raja's son came and took thethorn out of my foot. "

"Where is he? Show him to me, " said his wife. 

"If you promise not to kill him, I will call him, " said the tiger. 

"I won't kill him; only let me see him, " answered his wife. 

Then the tiger called the Raja's son, and when he came the tiger andhis wife made him a great many salaams. Then they gave him a gooddinner, and he stayed with them for three days. Every day he looked atthe tiger's foot, and the third day it was quite healed. Then he saidgood-bye to the tigers, and the tiger said to him, "If ever you are introuble, think of me, and we will come to you. "

The Raja's son rode on and on till he came to a third jungle. Here hefound four fakirs whose teacher and master had died, and had left fourthings, --a bed, which carried whoever sat on it whithersoever he wishedto go; a bag, that gave its owner whatever he wanted, jewels, food, orclothes; a stone bowl that gave its owner as much water as he wanted, no matter how far he might be from a tank; and a stick and rope, towhich its owner had only to say, if any one came to make war on him, "Stick, beat as many men and soldiers as are here, " and the stick wouldbeat them and the rope would tie them up. 

The four fakirs were quarrelling over these four things. One said, "Iwant this;" another said, "You cannot have it, for I want it;" and soon. 

The Raja's son said to them, "Do not quarrel for these things. I willshoot four arrows in four different directions. Whichever of you getsto my first arrow, shall have the first thing--the bed. Whosoever getsto the second arrow, shall have the second thing--the bag. He who getsto the third arrow, shall have the third thing--the bowl. And he whogets to the fourth arrow, shall have the last things--the stick andrope. " To this they agreed, and the prince shot off his first arrow. Away raced the fakirs to get it. When they brought it back to him heshot off the second, and when they had found and brought it to him heshot off his third, and when they had brought him the third he shot offthe fourth. 

While they were away looking for the fourth arrow the Raja's son lethis horse loose in the jungle, and sat on the bed, taking the bowl, thestick and rope, and the bag with him. Then he said, "Bed, I wish to goto the Princess Labam's country. " The little bed instantly rose up intothe air and began to fly, and it flew and flew till it came to thePrincess Labam's country, where it settled on the ground. The Raja'sson asked some men he saw, "Whose country is this?"

"The Princess Labam's country, " they answered. Then the prince went ontill he came to a house where he saw an old woman. 

"Who are you?" she said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from a far country, " he said; "do let me stay with you to-night. "

"No, " she answered, "I cannot let you stay with me; for our king hasordered that men from other countries may not stay in his country. Youcannot stay in my house. "

"You are my aunty, " said the prince; "let me remain with you for thisone night. You see it is evening, and if I go into the jungle, then thewild beasts will eat me. "

"Well, " said the old woman, "you may stay here to-night; but to-morrowmorning you must go away, for if the king hears you have passed thenight in my house, he will have me seized and put into prison. "

Then she took him into her house, and the Raja's son was very glad. Theold woman began preparing dinner, but he stopped her, "Aunty, " he said, "I will give you food. " He put his hand into his bag, saying, "Bag, Iwant some dinner, " and the bag gave him instantly a delicious dinner, served up on two gold plates. The old woman and the Raja's son thendined together. 

When they had finished eating, the old woman said, "Now I will fetchsome water. "

"Don't go, " said the prince. "You shall have plenty of water directly. "So he took his bowl and said to it, "Bowl, I want some water, " and thenit filled with water. When it was full, the prince cried out, "Stop, bowl, " and the bowl stopped filling. "See, aunty, " he said, "with thisbowl I can always get as much water as I want. "

By this time night had come. "Aunty, " said the Raja's son, "why don'tyou light a lamp?"

"There is no need, " she said. "Our king has forbidden the people in hiscountry to light any lamps; for, as soon as it is dark, his daughter, the Princess Labam, comes and sits on her roof, and she shines so thatshe lights up all the country and our houses, and we can see to do ourwork as if it were day. "

When it was quite black night the princess got up. She dressed herselfin her rich clothes and jewels, and rolled up her hair, and across herhead she put a band of diamonds and pearls. Then she shone like themoon, and her beauty made night day. She came out of her room, and saton the roof of her palace. In the daytime she never came out of herhouse; she only came out at night. All the people in her father'scountry then went about their work and finished it. 

The Raja's son watched the princess quietly, and was very happy. Hesaid to himself, "How lovely she is!"

At midnight, when everybody had gone to bed, the princess came downfrom her roof, and went to her room; and when she was in bed andasleep, the Raja's son got up softly, and sat on his bed. "Bed, " hesaid to it, "I want to go to the Princess Labam's bed-room. " So thelittle bed carried him to the room where she lay fast asleep. 

The young Raja took his bag and said, "I want a great deal of betel-leaf, " and it at once gave him quantities of betel-leaf. This he laidnear the princess's bed, and then his little bed carried him back tothe old woman's house. 

Next morning all the princess's servants found the betel-leaf, andbegan to eat it. "Where did you get all that betel-leaf?" asked theprincess. 

"We found it near your bed, " answered the servants. Nobody knew theprince had come in the night and put it all there. 

In the morning the old woman came to the Raja's son. "Now it ismorning, " she said, "and you must go; for if the king finds out all Ihave done for you, he will seize me. "

"I am ill to-day, dear aunty, " said the prince; "do let me stay tillto-morrow morning. "

"Good, " said the old woman. So he stayed, and they took their dinnerout of the bag, and the bowl gave them water. 

When night came the princess got up and sat on her roof, and at twelveo'clock, when every one was in bed, she went to her bed-room, and wassoon fast asleep. Then the Raja's son sat on his bed, and it carriedhim to the princess. He took his bag and said, "Bag, I want a mostlovely shawl. " It gave him a splendid shawl, and he spread it over theprincess as she lay asleep. Then he went back to the old woman's houseand slept till morning. 

In the morning, when the princess saw the shawl she was delighted. "See, mother, " she said; "Khuda must have given me this shawl, it is sobeautiful. " Her mother was very glad too. 

"Yes, my child, " she said; "Khuda must have given you this splendidshawl. "

When it was morning the old woman said to the Raja's son, "Now you mustreally go. "

"Aunty, " he answered, "I am not well enough yet. Let me stay a few dayslonger. I will remain hidden in your house, so that no one may see me. "So the old woman let him stay. 

When it was black night, the princess put on her lovely clothes andjewels, and sat on her roof. At midnight she went to her room and wentto sleep. Then the Raja's son sat on his bed and flew to her bed-room. There he said to his bag, "Bag, I want a very, very beautiful ring. "The bag gave him a glorious ring. Then he took the Princess Labam'shand gently to put on the ring, and she started up very muchfrightened. 

"Who are you?" she said to the prince. "Where do you come from? Why doyou come to my room?"

"Do not be afraid, princess, " he said; "I am no thief. I am a greatRaja's son. Hiraman parrot, who lives in the jungle where I went tohunt, told me your name, and then I left my father and mother, and cameto see you. "

"Well, " said the princess, "as you are the son of such a great Raja, Iwill not have you killed, and I will tell my father and mother that Iwish to marry you. "

The prince then returned to the old woman's house; and when morningcame the princess said to her mother, "The son of a great Raja has cometo this country, and I wish to marry him. " Her mother told this to theking. 

"Good, " said the king; "but if this Raja's son wishes to marry mydaughter, he must first do whatever I bid him. If he fails I will killhim. I will give him eighty pounds weight of mustard seed, and out ofthis he must crush the oil in one day. If he cannot do this he shalldie. "

In the morning the Raja's son told the old woman that he intended tomarry the princess. "Oh, " said the old woman, "go away from thiscountry, and do not think of marrying her. A great many Rajas andRajas' sons have come here to marry her, and her father has had themall killed. He says whoever wishes to marry his daughter must first dowhatever he bids him. If he can, then he shall marry the princess; ifhe cannot, the king will have him killed. But no one can do the thingsthe king tells him to do; so all the Rajas and Rajas' sons who havetried have been put to death. You will be killed too, if you try. Do goaway. " But the prince would not listen to anything she said. 

The king sent for the prince to the old woman's house, and his servantsbrought the Raja's son to the king's court-house to the king. There theking gave him eighty pounds of mustard seed, and told him to crush allthe oil out of it that day, and bring it next morning to him to thecourt-house. "Whoever wishes to marry my daughter, " he said to theprince, "must first do all I tell him. If he cannot, then I have himkilled. So if you cannot crush all the oil out of this mustard seed, you will die. "

The prince was very sorry when he heard this. "How can I crush the oilout of all this mustard seed in one day?" he said to himself; "and if Ido not, the king will kill me. " He took the mustard seed to the oldwoman's house, and did not know what to do. At last he remembered theAnt-Raja, and the moment he did so, the Ant-Raja and his ants came tohim. "Why do you look so sad?" said the Ant-Raja. 

The prince showed him the mustard seed, and said to him, "How can Icrush the oil out of all this mustard seed in one day? And if I do nottake the oil to the king to-morrow morning, he will kill me. "

"Be happy, " said the Ant-Raja; "lie down and sleep; we will crush allthe oil out for you during the day, and to-morrow morning you shalltake it to the king. " The Raja's son lay down and slept, and the antscrushed out the oil for him. The prince was very glad when he saw theoil. 

The next morning he took it to the court-house to the king. But theking said, "You cannot yet marry my daughter. If you wish to do so, youmust first fight with my two demons and kill them. " The king a longtime ago had caught two demons, and then, as he did not know what to dowith them, he had shut them up in a cage. He was afraid to let themloose for fear they would eat up all the people in his country; and hedid not know how to kill them. So all the kings and kings' sons whowanted to marry the Princess Labam had to fight with these demons;"for, " said the king to himself, "perhaps the demons may be killed, andthen I shall be rid of them. "

When he heard of the demons the Raja's son was very sad. "What can Ido?" he said to himself. "How can I fight with these two demons?" Thenhe thought of his tiger: and the tiger and his wife came to him andsaid, "Why are you so sad?" The Raja's son answered, "The king hasordered me to fight with his two demons and kill them. How can I dothis?" "Do not be frightened, " said the tiger. "Be happy. I and my wifewill fight with them for you. "

Then the Raja's son took out of his bag two splendid coats. They wereall gold and silver, and covered with pearls and diamonds. These he puton the tigers to make them beautiful, and he took them to the king, andsaid to him, "May these tigers fight your demons for me?" "Yes, " saidthe king, who did not care in the least who killed his demons, providedthey were killed. "Then call your demons, " said the Raja's son, "andthese tigers will fight them. " The king did so, and the tigers and thedemons fought and fought until the tigers had killed the demons. 

"That is good, " said the king. "But you must do something else before Igive you my daughter. Up in the sky I have a kettle-drum. You must goand beat it. If you cannot do this, I will kill you. "

The Raja's son thought of his little bed; so he went to the old woman'shouse and sat on his bed. "Little bed, " he said, "up in the sky is theking's kettle-drum. I want to go to it. " The bed flew up with him, andthe Raja's son beat the drum, and the king heard him. Still, when hecame down, the king would not give him his daughter. "You have, " hesaid to the prince, "done the three things I told you to do; but youmust do one thing more. " "If I can, I will, " said the Raja's son. 

Then the king showed him the trunk of a tree that was lying near hiscourt-house. It was a very, very thick trunk. He gave the prince a waxhatchet, and said, "Tomorrow morning you must cut this trunk in twowith this wax hatchet. "

The Raja's son went back to the old woman's house. He was very sad, andthought that now the Raja would certainly kill him. "I had his oilcrushed out by the ants, " he said to himself. "I had his demons killedby the tigers. My bed helped me to beat his kettle-drum. But now whatcan I do? How can I cut that thick tree-trunk in two with a waxhatchet?"

At night he went on his bed to see the princess. "To-morrow, " he saidto her, "your father will kill me. " "Why?" asked the princess. 

"He has told me to cut a thick tree-trunk in two with a wax hatchet. How can I ever do that?" said the Raja's son. "Do not be afraid, " saidthe princess; "do as I bid you, and you will cut it in two quiteeasily. "

Then she pulled out a hair from her head, and gave it to the prince. "To-morrow, " she said, "when no one is near you, you must say to thetree-trunk, 'The Princess Labam commands you to let yourself be cut intwo by this hair. ' Then stretch the hair down the edge of the waxhatchet's blade. "

The prince next day did exactly as the princess had told him; and theminute the hair that was stretched down the edge of the hatchet-bladetouched the tree-trunk it split into two pieces. 

The king said, "Now you can marry my daughter. " Then the wedding tookplace. All the Rajas and kings of the countries round were asked tocome to it, and there were great rejoicings. After a few days theprince's son said to his wife, "Let us go to my father's country. " ThePrincess Labam's father gave them a quantity of camels and horses andrupees and servants; and they travelled in great state to the prince'scountry, where they lived happily. 

The prince always kept his bag, bowl, bed, and stick; only, as no oneever came to make war on him, he never needed to use the stick. 

THE LAMBIKIN

Once upon a time there was a wee wee Lambikin, who frolicked about onhis little tottery legs, and enjoyed himself amazingly. 

Now one day he set off to visit his Granny, and was jumping with joy tothink of all the good things he should get from her, when who should hemeet but a Jackal, who looked at the tender young morsel and said:"Lambikin! Lambikin! I'll EAT YOU!"

But Lambikin only gave a little frisk and said:

 "To Granny's house I go, Where I shall fatter grow, Then you can eat me so. "

The Jackal thought this reasonable, and let Lambikin pass. 

By-and-by he met a Vulture, and the Vulture, looking hungrily at thetender morsel before him, said: "Lambikin! Lambikin! I'll EAT YOU!"

But Lambikin only gave a little frisk, and said:

 "To Granny's house I go, Where I shall fatter grow, Then you can eat me so. "

The Vulture thought this reasonable, and let Lambikin pass. 

And by-and-by he met a Tiger, and then a Wolf, and a Dog, and an Eagle, and all these, when they saw the tender little morsel, said: "Lambikin!Lambikin! I'll EAT YOU!"

But to all of them Lambikin replied, with a little frisk:

 "To Granny's house I go, Where I shall fatter grow, Then you can eat me so. "

At last he reached his Granny's house, and said, all in a great hurry, "Granny, dear, I've promised to get very fat; so, as people ought tokeep their promises, please put me into the corn-bin _at once_. "

So his Granny said he was a good boy, and put him into the corn-bin, and there the greedy little Lambikin stayed for seven days, and ate, and ate, and ate, until he could scarcely waddle, and his Granny saidhe was fat enough for anything, and must go home. But cunning littleLambikin said that would never do, for some animal would be sure to eathim on the way back, he was so plump and tender. 

"I'll tell you what you must do, " said Master Lambikin, "you must makea little drumikin out of the skin of my little brother who died, andthen I can sit inside and trundle along nicely, for I'm as tight as adrum myself. "

So his Granny made a nice little drumikin out of his brother's skin, with the wool inside, and Lambikin curled himself up snug and warm inthe middle, and trundled away gaily. Soon he met with the Eagle, whocalled out:

 "Drumikin! Drumikin! Have you seen Lambikin?"

And Mr. Lambikin, curled up in his soft warm nest, replied:

 "Fallen into the fire, and so will you On little Drumikin. Tum-pa, tum-too!"

"How very annoying!" sighed the Eagle, thinking regretfully of thetender morsel he had let slip. 

Meanwhile Lambikin trundled along, laughing to himself, and singing:

 "Tum-pa, tum-too; Tum-pa, tum-too!"

Every animal and bird he met asked him the same question:

 "Drumikin! Drumikin! Have you seen Lambikin?"

And to each of them the little slyboots replied:

 "Fallen into the fire, and so will you On little Drumikin. Tum-pa, tum too; Tum-pa, tum-too; Tum-pa, tum-too!"

Then they all sighed to think of the tender little morsel they had letslip. 

At last the Jackal came limping along, for all his sorry looks as sharpas a needle, and he too called out--

 "Drumikin! Drumikin! Have you seen Lambikin?"

And Lambikin, curled up in his snug little nest, replied gaily:

 "Fallen into the fire, and so will you On little Drumikin! Tum-pa--"

But he never got any further, for the Jackal recognised his voice atonce, and cried: "Hullo! you've turned yourself inside out, have you?Just you come out of that!"

Whereupon he tore open Drumikin and gobbled up Lambikin. 

PUNCHKIN

Once upon a time there was a Raja who had seven beautiful daughters. They were all good girls; but the youngest, named Balna, was moreclever than the rest. The Raja's wife died when they were quite littlechildren, so these seven poor Princesses were left with no mother totake care of them. 

The Raja's daughters took it by turns to cook their father's dinnerevery day, whilst he was absent deliberating with his Ministers on theaffairs of the nation. 

About this time the Prudhan died, leaving a widow and one daughter; andevery day, every day, when the seven Princesses were preparing theirfather's dinner, the Prudhan's widow and daughter would come and begfor a little fire from the hearth. Then Balna used to say to hersisters, "Send that woman away; send her away. Let her get the fire ather own house. What does she want with ours? If we allow her to comehere, we shall suffer for it some day. "

But the other sisters would answer, "Be quiet, Balna; why must youalways be quarrelling with this poor woman? Let her take some fire ifshe likes. " Then the Prudhan's widow used to go to the hearth and takea few sticks from it; and whilst no one was looking, she would quicklythrow some mud into the midst of the dishes which were being preparedfor the Raja's dinner. 

Now the Raja was very fond of his daughters. Ever since their mother'sdeath they had cooked his dinner with their own hands, in order toavoid the danger of his being poisoned by his enemies. So, when hefound the mud mixed up with his dinner, he thought it must arise fromtheir carelessness, as it did not seem likely that any one should haveput mud there on purpose; but being very kind he did not like toreprove them for it, although this spoiling of the curry was repeatedmany successive days. 

At last, one day, he determined to hide, and watch his daughterscooking, and see how it all happened; so he went into the next room, and watched them through a hole in the wall. 

There he saw his seven daughters carefully washing the rice andpreparing the curry, and as each dish was completed, they put it by thefire ready to be cooked. Next he noticed the Prudhan's widow come tothe door, and beg for a few sticks from the fire to cook her dinnerwith. Balna turned to her, angrily, and said, "Why don't you keep fuelin your own house, and not come here every day and take ours? Sisters, don't give this woman any more wood; let her buy it for herself. "

Then the eldest sister answered, "Balna, let the poor woman take thewood and the fire; she does us no harm. " But Balna replied, "If you lether come here so often, maybe she will do us some harm, and make ussorry for it, some day. "

The Raja then saw the Prudhan's widow go to the place where all hisdinner was nicely prepared, and, as she took the wood, she threw alittle mud into each of the dishes. 

At this he was very angry, and sent to have the woman seized andbrought before him. But when the widow came, she told him that she hadplayed this trick because she wanted to gain an audience with him; andshe spoke so cleverly, and pleased him so well with her cunning words, that instead of punishing her, the Raja married her, and made her hisRanee, and she and her daughter came to live in the palace. 

Now the new Ranee hated the seven poor Princesses, and wanted to getthem, if possible, out of the way, in order that her daughter mighthave all their riches, and live in the palace as Princess in theirplace; and instead of being grateful to them for their kindness to her, she did all she could to make them miserable. She gave them nothing butbread to eat, and very little of that, and very little water to drink;so these seven poor little Princesses, who had been accustomed to haveeverything comfortable about them, and good food and good clothes alltheir lives long, were very miserable and unhappy; and they used to goout every day and sit by their dead mother's tomb and cry--and say:

"Oh mother, mother, cannot you see your poor children, how unhappy weare, and how we are starved by our cruel step-mother?"

One day, whilst they were thus sobbing and crying, lo and behold! abeautiful pomelo tree grew up out of the grave, covered with fresh ripepomeloes, and the children satisfied their hunger by eating some of thefruit, and every day after this, instead of trying to eat the baddinner their step-mother provided for them, they used to go out totheir mother's grave and eat the pomeloes which grew there on thebeautiful tree. 

Then the Ranee said to her daughter, "I cannot tell how it is, everyday those seven girls say they don't want any dinner, and won't eatany; and yet they never grow thin nor look ill; they look better thanyou do. I cannot tell how it is. " And she bade her watch the sevenPrincesses, and see if any one gave them anything to eat. 

So next day, when the Princesses went to their mother's grave, and wereeating the beautiful pomeloes, the Prudhan's daughter followed them, and saw them gathering the fruit. 

Then Balna said to her sisters, "Do you not see that girl watching us?Let us drive her away, or hide the pomeloes, else she will go and tellher mother all about it, and that will be very bad for us. "

But the other sisters said, "Oh no, do not be unkind, Balna. The girlwould never be so cruel as to tell her mother. Let us rather invite herto come and have some of the fruit. " And calling her to them, they gaveher one of the pomeloes. 

No sooner had she eaten it, however, than the Prudhan's daughter wenthome and said to her mother, "I do not wonder the seven Princesses willnot eat the dinner you prepare for them, for by their mother's gravethere grows a beautiful pomelo tree, and they go there every day andeat the pomeloes. I ate one, and it was the nicest I have ever tasted. "

The cruel Ranee was much vexed at hearing this, and all next day shestayed in her room, and told the Raja that she had a very bad headache. The Raja was deeply grieved, and said to his wife, "What can I do foryou?" She answered, "There is only one thing that will make my headachewell. By your dead wife's tomb there grows a fine pomelo tree; you mustbring that here, and boil it, root and branch, and put a little of thewater in which it has been boiled, on my forehead, and that will curemy headache. " So the Raja sent his servants, and had the beautifulpomelo tree pulled up by the roots, and did as the Ranee desired; andwhen some of the water, in which it had been boiled, was put on herforehead, she said her headache was gone and she felt quite well. 

Next day, when the seven Princesses went as usual to the grave of theirmother, the pomelo tree had disappeared. Then they all began to cryvery bitterly. 

Now there was by the Ranee's tomb a small tank, and as they were cryingthey saw that the tank was filled with a rich cream-like substance, which quickly hardened into a thick white cake. At seeing this all thePrincesses were very glad, and they ate some of the cake, and liked it;and next day the same thing happened, and so it went on for many days. Every morning the Princesses went to their mother's grave, and foundthe little tank filled with the nourishing cream-like cake. Then thecruel step-mother said to her daughter: "I cannot tell how it is, Ihave had the pomelo tree which used to grow by the Ranee's gravedestroyed, and yet the Princesses grow no thinner, nor look more sad, though they never eat the dinner I give them. I cannot tell how it is!"

And her daughter said, "I will watch. "

Next day, while the Princesses were eating the cream cake, who shouldcome by but their step-mother's daughter. Balna saw her first, andsaid, "See, sisters, there comes that girl again. Let us sit round theedge of the tank and not allow her to see it, for if we give her someof our cake, she will go and tell her mother; and that will be veryunfortunate for us. "

The other sisters, however, thought Balna unnecessarily suspicious, andinstead of following her advice, they gave the Prudhan's daughter someof the cake, and she went home and told her mother all about it. 

The Ranee, on hearing how well the Princesses fared, was exceedinglyangry, and sent her servants to pull down the dead Ranee's tomb, andfill the little tank with the ruins. And not content with this, shenext day pretended to be very, very ill--in fact, at the point ofdeath--and when the Raja was much grieved, and asked her whether it wasin his power to procure her any remedy, she said to him: "Only onething can save my life, but I know you will not do it. " He replied, "Yes, whatever it is, I will do it. " She then said, "To save my life, you must kill the seven daughters of your first wife, and put some oftheir blood on my forehead and on the palms of my hands, and theirdeath will be my life. " At these words the Raja was very sorrowful; butbecause he feared to break his word, he went out with a heavy heart tofind his daughters. 

He found them crying by the ruins of their mother's grave. 

Then, feeling he could not kill them, the Raja spoke kindly to them, and told them to come out into the jungle with him; and there he made afire and cooked some rice, and gave it to them. But in the afternoon, it being very hot, the seven Princesses all fell asleep, and when hesaw they were fast asleep, the Raja, their father, stole away and leftthem (for he feared his wife), saying to himself: "It is better my poordaughters should die here, than be killed by their step-mother. "

He then shot a deer, and returning home, put some of its blood on theforehead and hands of the Ranee, and she thought then that he hadreally killed the Princesses, and said she felt quite well. 

Meantime the seven Princesses awoke, and when they found themselves allalone in the thick jungle they were much frightened, and began to callout as loud as they could, in hopes of making their father hear; but hewas by that time far away, and would not have been able to hear themeven had their voices been as loud as thunder. 

It so happened that this very day the seven young sons of aneighbouring Raja chanced to be hunting in that same jungle, and asthey were returning home, after the day's sport was over, the youngestPrince said to his brothers "Stop, I think I hear some one crying andcalling out. Do you not hear voices? Let us go in the direction of thesound, and find out what it is. "

So the seven Princes rode through the wood until they came to the placewhere the seven Princesses sat crying and wringing their hands. At thesight of them the young Princes were very much astonished, and stillmore so on learning their story; and they settled that each should takeone of these poor forlorn ladies home with him, and marry her. 

So the first and eldest Prince took the eldest Princess home with him, and married her. 

And the second took the second;

And the third took the third;

And the fourth took the fourth;

And the fifth took the fifth;

And the sixth took the sixth;

And the seventh, and the handsomest of all, took the beautiful Balna. 

And when they got to their own land, there was great rejoicingthroughout the kingdom, at the marriage of the seven young Princes toseven such beautiful Princesses. 

About a year after this Balna had a little son, and his uncles andaunts were so fond of the boy that it was as if he had seven fathersand seven mothers. None of the other Princes and Princesses had anychildren, so the son of the seventh Prince and Balna was acknowledgedtheir heir by all the rest. 

They had thus lived very happily for some time, when one fine day theseventh Prince (Balna's husband) said he would go out hunting, and awayhe went; and they waited long for him, but he never came back. 

Then his six brothers said they would go and see what had become ofhim; and they went away, but they also did not return. 

And the seven Princesses grieved very much, for they feared that theirkind husbands must have been killed. 

One day, not long after this had happened, as Balna was rocking herbaby's cradle, and whilst her sisters were working in the room below, there came to the palace door a man in a long black dress, who saidthat he was a Fakir, and came to beg. The servants said to him, "Youcannot go into the palace--the Raja's sons have all gone away; we thinkthey must be dead, and their widows cannot be interrupted by yourbegging. " But he said, "I am a holy man, you must let me in. " Then thestupid servants let him walk through the palace, but they did not knowthat this was no Fakir, but a wicked Magician named Punchkin. 

Punchkin Fakir wandered through the palace, and saw many beautifulthings there, till at last he reached the room where Balna sat singingbeside her little boy's cradle. The Magician thought her more beautifulthan all the other beautiful things he had seen, insomuch that he askedher to go home with him and to marry him. But she said, "My husband, Ifear, is dead, but my little boy is still quite young; I will stay hereand teach him to grow up a clever man, and when he is grown up he shallgo out into the world, and try and learn tidings of his father. Heavenforbid that I should ever leave him, or marry you. " At these words theMagician was very angry, and turned her into a little black dog, andled her away; saying, "Since you will not come with me of your own freewill, I will make you. " So the poor Princess was dragged away, withoutany power of effecting an escape, or of letting her sisters know whathad become of her. As Punchkin passed through the palace gate theservants said to him, "Where did you get that pretty little dog?" Andhe answered, "One of the Princesses gave it to me as a present. " Athearing which they let him go without further questioning. 

Soon after this, the six elder Princesses heard the little baby, theirnephew, begin to cry, and when they went upstairs they were muchsurprised to find him all alone, and Balna nowhere to be seen. Thenthey questioned the servants, and when they heard of the Fakir and thelittle black dog, they guessed what had happened, and sent in everydirection seeking them, but neither the Fakir nor the dog were to befound. What could six poor women do? They gave up all hopes of everseeing their kind husbands, and their sister, and her husband, again, and devoted themselves thenceforward to teaching and taking care oftheir little nephew. 

Thus time went on, till Balna's son was fourteen years old. Then, oneday, his aunts told him the history of the family; and no sooner did hehear it, than he was seized with a great desire to go in search of hisfather and mother and uncles, and if he could find them alive to bringthem home again. His aunts, on learning his determination, were muchalarmed and tried to dissuade him, saying, "We have lost our husbands, and our sister and her husband, and you are now our sole hope; if yougo away, what shall we do?" But he replied, "I pray you not to bediscouraged; I will return soon, and if it is possible bring my fatherand mother and uncles with me. " So he set out on his travels; but forsome months he could learn nothing to help him in his search. 

At last, after he had journeyed many hundreds of weary miles, andbecome almost hopeless of ever hearing anything further of his parents, he one day came to a country that seemed full of stones, and rocks, andtrees, and there he saw a large palace with a high tower; hard by whichwas a Malee's little house. 

As he was looking about, the Malee's wife saw him, and ran out of thehouse and said, "My dear boy, who are you that dare venture to thisdangerous place?" He answered, "I am a Raja's son, and I come in searchof my father, and my uncles, and my mother whom a wicked enchanterbewitched. "

Then the Malee's wife said, "This country and this palace belong to agreat enchanter; he is all powerful, and if any one displeases him, hecan turn them into stones and trees. All the rocks and trees you seehere were living people once, and the Magician turned them to what theynow are. Some time ago a Raja's son came here, and shortly afterwardscame his six brothers, and they were all turned into stones and trees;and these are not the only unfortunate ones, for up in that tower livesa beautiful Princess, whom the Magician has kept prisoner there fortwelve years, because she hates him and will not marry him. "

Then the little Prince thought, "These must be my parents and myuncles. I have found what I seek at last. " So he told his story to theMalee's wife, and begged her to help him to remain in that place awhileand inquire further concerning the unhappy people she mentioned; andshe promised to befriend him, and advised his disguising himself lestthe Magician should see him, and turn him likewise into stone. To thisthe Prince agreed. So the Malee's wife dressed him up in a saree, andpretended that he was her daughter. 

One day, not long after this, as the Magician was walking in his gardenhe saw the little girl (as he thought) playing about, and asked her whoshe was. She told him she was the Malee's daughter, and the Magiciansaid, "You are a pretty little girl, and to-morrow you shall take apresent of flowers from me to the beautiful lady who lives in thetower. "

The young Prince was much delighted at hearing this, and wentimmediately to inform the Malee's wife; after consultation with whom hedetermined that it would be more safe for him to retain his disguise, and trust to the chance of a favourable opportunity for establishingsome communication with his mother, if it were indeed she. 

Now it happened that at Balna's marriage her husband had given her asmall gold ring on which her name was engraved, and she had put it onher little son's finger when he was a baby, and afterwards when he wasolder his aunts had had it enlarged for him, so that he was still ableto wear it. The Malee's wife advised him to fasten the well-knowntreasure to one of the bouquets he presented to his mother, and trustto her recognising it. This was not to be done without difficulty, assuch a strict watch was kept over the poor Princess (for fear of herever establishing communication with her friends), that though thesupposed Malee's daughter was permitted to take her flowers every day, the Magician or one of his slaves was always in the room at the time. At last one day, however, opportunity favoured him, and when no one waslooking, the boy tied the ring to a nosegay, and threw it at Balna'sfeet. It fell with a clang on the floor, and Balna, looking to see whatmade the strange sound, found the little ring tied to the flowers. Onrecognising it, she at once believed the story her son told her of hislong search, and begged him to advise her as to what she had better do;at the same time entreating him on no account to endanger his life bytrying to rescue her. She told him that for twelve long years theMagician had kept her shut up in the tower because she refused to marryhim, and she was so closely guarded that she saw no hope of release. 

Now Balna's son was a bright, clever boy, so he said, "Do not fear, dear mother; the first thing to do is to discover how far theMagician's power extends, in order that we may be able to liberate myfather and uncles, whom he has imprisoned in the form of rocks andtrees. You have spoken to him angrily for twelve long years; now ratherspeak kindly. Tell him you have given up all hopes of again seeing thehusband you have so long mourned, and say you are willing to marry him. Then endeavour to find out what his power consists in, and whether heis immortal, or can be put to death. "

Balna determined to take her son's advice; and the next day sent forPunchkin, and spoke to him as had been suggested. 

The Magician, greatly delighted, begged her to allow the wedding totake place as soon as possible. 

But she told him that before she married him he must allow her a littlemore time, in which she might make his acquaintance, and that, afterbeing enemies so long, their friendship could but strengthen bydegrees. "And do tell me, " she said, "are you quite immortal? Can deathnever touch you? And are you too great an enchanter ever to feel humansuffering?"

"Why do you ask?" said he. 

"Because, " she replied, "if I am to be your wife, I would fain know allabout you, in order, if any calamity threatens you, to overcome, or ifpossible to avert it. "

"It is true, " he added, "that I am not as others. Far, far away, hundreds of thousands of miles from this, there lies a desolate countrycovered with thick jungle. In the midst of the jungle grows a circle ofpalm trees, and in the centre of the circle stand six chattees full ofwater, piled one above another: below the sixth chattee is a small cagewhich contains a little green parrot; on the life of the parrot dependsmy life; and if the parrot is killed I must die. It is, however, " headded, "impossible that the parrot should sustain any injury, both onaccount of the inaccessibility of the country, and because, by myappointment, many thousand genii surround the palm trees, and kill allwho approach the place. "

Balna told her son what Punchkin had said; but at the same timeimplored him to give up all idea of getting the parrot. 

The Prince, however, replied, "Mother, unless I can get hold of thatparrot, you, and my father, and uncles, cannot be liberated: be notafraid, I will shortly return. Do you, meantime, keep the Magician ingood humour--still putting off your marriage with him on variouspretexts; and before he finds out the cause of delay, I will be here. "So saying, he went away. 

Many, many weary miles did he travel, till at last he came to a thickjungle; and, being very tired, sat down under a tree and fell asleep. He was awakened by a soft rustling sound, and looking about him, saw alarge serpent which was making its way to an eagle's nest built in thetree under which he lay, and in the nest were two young eagles. ThePrince seeing the danger of the young birds, drew his sword, and killedthe serpent; at the same moment a rushing sound was heard in the air, and the two old eagles, who had been out hunting for food for theiryoung ones, returned. They quickly saw the dead serpent and the youngPrince standing over it; and the old mother eagle said to him, "Dearboy, for many years all our young ones have been devoured by that cruelserpent; you have now saved the lives of our children; whenever you arein need, therefore, send to us and we will help you; and as for theselittle eagles, take them, and let them be your servants. "

At this the Prince was very glad, and the two eaglets crossed theirwings, on which he mounted; and they carried him far, far away over thethick jungles, until he came to the place where grew the circle of palmtrees, in the midst of which stood the six chattees full of water. Itwas the middle of the day, and the heat was very great. All round thetrees were the genii fast asleep; nevertheless, there were suchcountless thousands of them, that it would have been quite impossiblefor any one to walk through their ranks to the place; down swooped thestrong-winged eaglets--down jumped the Prince; in an instant he hadoverthrown the six chattees full of water, and seized the little greenparrot, which he rolled up in his cloak; while, as he mounted againinto the air, all the genii below awoke, and finding their treasuregone, set up a wild and melancholy howl. 

Away, away flew the little eagles, till they came to their home in thegreat tree; then the Prince said to the old eagles, "Take back yourlittle ones; they have done me good service; if ever again I stand inneed of help, I will not fail to come to you. " He then continued hisjourney on foot till he arrived once more at the Magician's palace, where he sat down at the door and began playing with the parrot. Punchkin saw him, and came to him quickly, and said, "My boy, where didyou get that parrot? Give it to me, I pray you. "

But the Prince answered, "Oh no, I cannot give away my parrot, it is agreat pet of mine; I have had it many years. "

Then the Magician said, "If it is an old favourite, I can understandyour not caring to give it away; but come what will you sell it for?"

"Sir, " replied the Prince, "I will not sell my parrot. "

Then Punchkin got frightened, and said, "Anything, anything; name whatprice you will, and it shall be yours. " The Prince answered, "Let theseven Raja's sons whom you turned into rocks and trees be instantlyliberated. "

"It is done as you desire, " said the Magician, "only give me myparrot. " And with that, by a stroke of his wand, Balna's husband andhis brothers resumed their natural shapes. "Now, give me my parrot, "repeated Punchkin. 

"Not so fast, my master, " rejoined the Prince; "I must first beg thatyou will restore to life all whom you have thus imprisoned. "

The Magician immediately waved his wand again; and, whilst he cried, inan imploring voice, "Give me my parrot!" the whole garden becamesuddenly alive: where rocks, and stones, and trees had been before, stood Rajas, and Punts, and Sirdars, and mighty men on prancing horses, and jewelled pages, and troops of armed attendants. 

"Give me my parrot!" cried Punchkin. Then the boy took hold of theparrot, and tore off one of its wings; and as he did so the Magician'sright arm fell off. 

Punchkin then stretched out his left arm, crying, "Give me my parrot!"The Prince pulled off the parrot's second wing, and the Magician's leftarm tumbled off. 

"Give me my parrot!" cried he, and fell on his knees. The Prince pulledoff the parrot's right leg, the Magician's right leg fell off: thePrince pulled off the parrot's left leg, down fell the Magician's left. 

Nothing remained of him save the limbless body and the head; but stillhe rolled his eyes, and cried, "Give me my parrot!" "Take your parrot, then, " cried the boy, and with that he wrung the bird's neck, and threwit at the Magician; and, as he did so, Punchkin's head twisted round, and, with a fearful groan, he died!

Then they let Balna out of the tower; and she, her son, and the sevenPrinces went to their own country, and lived very happily everafterwards. And as to the rest of the world, every one went to his ownhouse. 

THE BROKEN POT

There lived in a certain place a Brahman, whose name wasSvabhavak_ri_pa_n_a, which means "a born miser. " He had collecteda quantity of rice by begging, and after having dined off it, he filled apot with what was left over. He hung the pot on a peg on the wall, placed his couch beneath, and looking intently at it all the night, hethought, "Ah, that pot is indeed brimful of rice. Now, if there should bea famine, I should certainly make a hundred rupees by it. With this Ishall buy a couple of goats. They will have young ones every six months, and thus I shall have a whole herd of goats. Then, with the goats, Ishall buy cows. As soon as they have calved, I shall sell the calves. Then, with the calves, I shall buy buffaloes; with the buffaloes, mares. When the mares have foaled, I shall have plenty of horses; and whenI sell them, plenty of gold. With that gold I shall get a house with fourwings. And then a Brahman will come to my house, and will give me hisbeautiful daughter, with a large dowry. She will have a son, and I shallcall him Somasarman. When he is old enough to be danced on hisfather's knee, I shall sit with a book at the back of the stable, and whileI am reading, the boy will see me, jump from his mother's lap, and runtowards me to be danced on my knee. He will come too near thehorse's hoof, and, full of anger, I shall call to my wife, 'Take the baby;take him!' But she, distracted by some domestic work, does not hear me. Then I get up, and give her such a kick with my foot. " While he thoughtthis, he gave a kick with his foot, and broke the pot. All the rice fellover him, and made him quite white. Therefore, I say, "He who makesfoolish plans for the future will be white all over, like the father ofSomasarman. "

THE MAGIC FIDDLE

Once upon a time there lived seven brothers and a sister. The brotherswere married, but their wives did not do the cooking for the family. Itwas done by their sister, who stopped at home to cook. The wives forthis reason bore their sister-in-law much ill-will, and at length theycombined together to oust her from the office of cook and generalprovider, so that one of themselves might obtain it. They said, "Shedoes not go out to the fields to work, but remains quietly at home, andyet she has not the meals ready at the proper time. " They then calledupon their Bonga, and vowing vows unto him they secured his good-willand assistance; then they said to the Bonga, "At midday, when oursister-in-law goes to bring water, cause it thus to happen, that onseeing her pitcher, the water shall vanish, and again slowly re-appear. In this way she will be delayed. Let the water not flow into herpitcher, and you may keep the maiden as your own. "

At noon when she went to bring water, it suddenly dried up before her, and she began to weep. Then after a while the water began slowly torise. When it reached her ankles she tried to fill her pitcher, but itwould not go under the water. Being frightened she began to wail andcry to her brother:

 "Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my ankles, Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip. "

The water continued to rise until it reached her knee, when she beganto wail again:

 "Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my knee, Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip. "

The water continued to rise, and when it reached her waist, she criedagain:

 "Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my waist, Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip. "

The water still rose, and when it reached her neck she kept on crying:

 "Oh! my brother, the water reaches to my neck, Still, Oh! my brother, the pitcher will not dip. "

At length the water became so deep that she felt herself drowning, thenshe cried aloud:

 "Oh! my brother, the water measures a man's height, Oh! my brother, the pitcher begins to fill. "

The pitcher filled with water, and along with it she sank and wasdrowned. The Bonga then transformed her into a Bonga like himself, andcarried her off. 

After a time she re-appeared as a bamboo growing on the embankment ofthe tank in which she had been drowned. When the bamboo had grown to animmense size, a Jogi, who was in the habit of passing that way, seeingit, said to himself, "This will make a splendid fiddle. " So one day hebrought an axe to cut it down; but when he was about to begin, thebamboo called out, "Do not cut at the root, cut higher up. " When helifted his axe to cut high up the stem, the bamboo cried out, "Do notcut near the top, cut at the root. " When the Jogi again preparedhimself to cut at the root as requested, the bamboo said, "Do not cutat the root, cut higher up;" and when he was about to cut higher up, itagain called out to him, "Do not cut high up, cut at the root. " TheJogi by this time felt sure that a Bonga was trying to frighten him, sobecoming angry he cut down the bamboo at the root, and taking it awaymade a fiddle out of it. The instrument had a superior tone anddelighted all who heard it. The Jogi carried it with him when he wenta-begging, and through the influence of its sweet music he returnedhome every evening with a full wallet. 

He now and then visited, when on his rounds, the house of the Bongagirl's brothers, and the strains of the fiddle affected them greatly. Some of them were moved even to tears, for the fiddle seemed to wail asone in bitter anguish. The elder brother wished to purchase it, andoffered to support the Jogi for a whole year if he would consent topart with his wonderful instrument. The Jogi, however, knew its value, and refused to sell it. 

It so happened that the Jogi some time after went to the house of avillage chief, and after playing a tune or two on his fiddle asked forsomething to eat. They offered to buy his fiddle and promised a highprice for it, but he refused to sell it, as his fiddle brought to himhis means of livelihood. When they saw that he was not to be prevailedupon, they gave him food and a plentiful supply of liquor. Of thelatter he drank so freely that he presently became intoxicated. Whilehe was in this condition, they took away his fiddle, and substitutedtheir own old one for it. When the Jogi recovered, he missed hisinstrument, and suspecting that it had been stolen asked them to returnit to him. They denied having taken it, so he had to depart, leavinghis fiddle behind him. The chief's son, being a musician, used to playon the Jogi's fiddle, and in his hands the music it gave forthdelighted the ears of all who heard it. 

When all the household were absent at their labours in the fields, theBonga girl used to come out of the bamboo fiddle, and prepared thefamily meal. Having eaten her own share, she placed that of the chief'sson under his bed, and covering it up to keep off the dust, re-enteredthe fiddle. This happening every day, the other members of thehousehold thought that some girl friend of theirs was in this mannershowing her interest in the young man, so they did not troublethemselves to find out how it came about. The young chief, however, wasdetermined to watch, and see which of his girl friends was so attentiveto his comfort. He said in his own mind, "I will catch her to-day, andgive her a sound beating; she is causing me to be ashamed before theothers. " So saying, he hid himself in a corner in a pile of firewood. In a short time the girl came out of the bamboo fiddle, and began todress her hair. Having completed her toilet, she cooked the meal ofrice as usual, and having eaten some herself, she placed the youngman's portion under his bed, as before, and was about to enter thefiddle again, when he, running out from his hiding-place, caught her inhis arms. The Bonga girl exclaimed, "Fie! Fie! you may be a Dom, or youmay be a Hadi of some other caste with whom I cannot marry. " He said, "No. But from to-day, you and I are one. " So they began lovingly tohold converse with each other. When the others returned home in theevening, they saw that she was both a human being and a Bonga, and theyrejoiced exceedingly. 

Now in course of time the Bonga girl's family became very poor, and herbrothers on one occasion came to the chief's house on a visit. 

The Bonga girl recognised them at once, but they did not know who shewas. She brought them water on their arrival, and afterwards set cookedrice before them. Then sitting down near them, she began in wailingtones to upbraid them on account of the treatment she had beensubjected to by their wives. She related all that had befallen her, andwound up by saying, "You must have known it all, and yet you did notinterfere to save me. " And that was all the revenge she took. 

THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED

Long ago the Bodisat was born to a forest life as the Genius of a treestanding near a certain lotus pond. 

Now at that time the water used to run short at the dry season in acertain pond, not over large, in which there were a good many fish. Anda crane thought on seeing the fish. 

"I must outwit these fish somehow or other and make a prey of them. "

And he went and sat down at the edge of the water, thinking how heshould do it. 

When the fish saw him, they asked him, "What are you sitting there for, lost in thought?"

"I am sitting thinking about you, " said he. 

"Oh, sir! what are you thinking about us?" said they. 

"Why, " he replied; "there is very little water in this pond, and butlittle for you to eat; and the heat is so great! So I was thinking, 'What in the world will these fish do now?'"

"Yes, indeed, sir! what _are_ we to do?" said they. 

"If you will only do as I bid you, I will take you in my beak to a finelarge pond, covered with all the kinds of lotuses, and put you intoit, " answered the crane. 

"That a crane should take thought for the fishes is a thing unheard of, sir, since the world began. It's eating us, one after the other, thatyou're aiming at. "

"Not I! So long as you trust me, I won't eat you. But if you don'tbelieve me that there is such a pond, send one of you with me to go andsee it. "

Then they trusted him, and handed over to him one of their number--abig fellow, blind of one eye, whom they thought sharp enough in anyemergency, afloat or ashore. 

Him the crane took with him, let him go in the pond, showed him thewhole of it, brought him back, and let him go again close to the otherfish. And he told them all the glories of the pond. 

And when they heard what he said, they exclaimed, "All right, sir! Youmay take us with you. "

Then the crane took the old purblind fish first to the bank of theother pond, and alighted in a Varana-tree growing on the bank there. But he threw it into a fork of the tree, struck it with his beak, andkilled it; and then ate its flesh, and threw its bones away at the footof the tree. Then he went back and called out:

"I've thrown that fish in; let another one come. "

And in that manner he took all the fish, one by one, and ate them, tillhe came back and found no more!

But there was still a crab left behind there; and the crane thought hewould eat him too, and called out:

"I say, good crab, I've taken all the fish away, and put them into afine large pond. Come along. I'll take you too!"

"But how will you take hold of me to carry me along?"

"I'll bite hold of you with my beak. "

"You'll let me fall if you carry me like that. I won't go with you!"

"Don't be afraid! I'll hold you quite tight all the way. "

Then said the crab to himself, "If this fellow once got hold of fish, he would never let them go in a pond! Now if he should really put meinto the pond, it would be capital; but if he doesn't--then I'll cuthis throat, and kill him!" So he said to him:

"Look here, friend, you won't be able to hold me tight enough; but wecrabs have a famous grip. If you let me catch hold of you round theneck with my claws, I shall be glad to go with you. "

And the other did not see that he was trying to outwit him, and agreed. So the crab caught hold of his neck with his claws as securely as witha pair of blacksmith's pincers, and called out, "Off with you, now!"

And the crane took him and showed him the pond, and then turned offtowards the Varana-tree. 

"Uncle!" cried the crab, "the pond lies that way, but you are taking methis way!"

"Oh, that's it, is it?" answered the crane. "Your dear little uncle, your very sweet nephew, you call me! You mean me to understand, Isuppose, that I am your slave, who has to lift you up and carry youabout with him! Now cast your eye upon the heap of fish-bones lying atthe root of yonder Varana-tree. Just as I have eaten those fish, everyone of them, just so I will devour you as well!"

"Ah! those fishes got eaten through their own stupidity, " answered thecrab; "but I'm not going to let you eat _me_. On the contrary, isit _you_ that I am going to destroy. For you in your folly havenot seen that I was outwitting you. If we die, we die both together;for I will cut off this head of yours, and cast it to the ground!" Andso saying, he gave the crane's neck a grip with his claws, as with avice. 

Then gasping, and with tears trickling from his eyes, and tremblingwith the fear of death, the crane beseeched him, saying, "O my Lord!Indeed I did not intend to eat you. Grant me my life!"

"Well, well! step down into the pond, and put me in there. "

And he turned round and stepped down into the pond, and placed the crabon the mud at its edge. But the crab cut through its neck as clean asone would cut a lotus-stalk with a hunting-knife, and then only enteredthe water!

When the Genius who lived in the Varana-tree saw this strange affair, he made the wood resound with his plaudits, uttering in a pleasantvoice the verse:

 "The villain, though exceeding clever, Shall prosper not by his villainy. He may win indeed, sharp-witted in deceit, But only as the Crane here from the Crab!"

LOVING LAILI

Once there was a king called King Dantal, who had a great many rupeesand soldiers and horses. He had also an only son called Prince Majnun, who was a handsome boy with white teeth, red lips, blue eyes, redcheeks, red hair, and a white skin. This boy was very fond of playingwith the Wazir's son, Husain Mahamat, in King Dantal's garden, whichwas very large and full of delicious fruits, and flowers, and trees. They used to take their little knives there and cut the fruits and eatthem. King Dantal had a teacher for them to teach them to read andwrite. 

One day, when they were grown two fine young men, Prince Majnun said tohis father, "Husain Mahamat and I should like to go and hunt. " Hisfather said they might go, so they got ready their horses and all elsethey wanted for their hunting, and went to the Phalana country, huntingall the way, but they only founds jackals and birds. 

The Raja of the Phalana country was called Munsuk Raja, and he had adaughter named Laili, who was very beautiful; she had brown eyes andblack hair. 

One night, some time before Prince Majnun came to her father's kingdom, as she slept, Khuda sent to her an angel in the form of a man who toldher that she should marry Prince Majnun and no one else, and that thiswas Khuda's command to her. When Laili woke she told her father of theangel's visit to her as she slept; but her father paid no attention toher story. From that time she began repeating, "Majnun, Majnun; I wantMajnun, " and would say nothing else. Even as she sat and ate her foodshe kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun. " Her father used toget quite vexed with her. "Who is this Majnun? who ever heard of thisMajnun?" he would say. 

"He is the man I am to marry, " said Laili. "Khuda has ordered me tomarry no one but Majnun. " And she was half mad. 

Meanwhile, Majnun and Husain Mahamat came to hunt in the Phalanacountry; and as they were riding about, Laili came out on her horse toeat the air, and rode behind them. All the time she kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun. " The prince heard her, and turnedround. "Who is calling me?" he asked. At this Laili looked at him, andthe moment she saw him she fell deeply in love with him, and she saidto herself, "I am sure that is the Prince Majnun that Khuda says I amto marry. " And she went home to her father and said, "Father, I wish tomarry the prince who has come to your kingdom; for I know he is thePrince Majnun I am to marry. "

"Very well, you shall have him for your husband, " said Munsuk Raja. "Wewill ask him to-morrow. " Laili consented to wait, although she was veryimpatient. As it happened, the prince left the Phalana kingdom thatnight, and when Laili heard he was gone, she went quite mad. She wouldnot listen to a word her father, or her mother, or her servants said toher, but went off into the jungle, and wandered from jungle to jungle, till she got farther and farther away from her own country. All thetime she kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun;" and so shewandered about for twelve years. 

At the end of the twelve years she met a fakir--he was really an angel, but she did not know this--who asked her, "Why do you always say, 'Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun'?" She answered, "I am the daughter ofthe king of the Phalana country, and I want to find Prince Majnun; tellme where his kingdom is. "

"I think you will never get there, " said the fakir, "for it is very farfrom hence, and you have to cross many rivers to reach it. " But Lailisaid she did not care; she must see Prince Majnun. "Well, " said thefakir, "when you come to the Bhagirathi river you will see a big fish, a Rohu; and you must get him to carry you to Prince Majnun's country, or you will never reach it. "

She went on and on, and at last she came to the Bhagirathi river. Therewas a great big fish called the Rohu fish. It was yawning just as shegot up to it, and she instantly jumped down its throat into itsstomach. All the time she kept saying, "Majnun, Majnun. " At this theRohu fish was greatly alarmed and swam down the river as fast as hecould. By degrees he got tired and went slower, and a crow came andperched on his back, and said "Caw, caw. " "Oh, Mr. Crow, " said the poorfish "do see what is in my stomach that makes such a noise. "

"Very well, " said the crow, "open your mouth wide, and I'll fly downand see. "

So the Rohu opened his jaws and the crow flew down, but he came upagain very quickly. "You have a Rakshas in your stomach, " said thecrow, and he flew away. 

This news did not comfort the poor Rohu, and he swam on and on till hecame to Prince Majnun's country. There he stopped. And a jackal camedown to the river to drink. "Oh, jackal, " said the Rohu "do tell mewhat I have inside me. "

"How can I tell?" said the jackal. "I cannot see unless I go insideyou. " So the Rohu opened his mouth wide, and the jackal jumped down histhroat; but he came up very quickly, looking much frightened andsaying, "You have a Rakshas in your stomach, and if I don't run awayquickly, I am afraid it will eat me. " So off he ran. After the jackalcame an enormous snake. "Oh, " says the fish, "do tell me what I have inmy stomach, for it rattles about so, and keeps saying, 'Majnun, Majnun;I want Majnun. '"

The snake said, "Open your mouth wide, and I'll go down and see what itis. " The snake went down: when he returned he said, "You have a Rakshasin your stomach, but if you will let me cut you open, it will come outof you. " "If you do that, I shall die, " said the Rohu. "Oh, no, " saidthe snake, "you will not, for I will give you a medicine that will makeyou quite well again. " So the fish agreed, and the snake got a knifeand cut him open, and out jumped Laili. 

She was now very old. Twelve years she had wandered about the jungle, and for twelve years she had lived inside her Rohu; and she was nolonger beautiful, and had lost her teeth. The snake took her on hisback and carried her into the country, and there he put her down, andshe wandered on and on till she got to Majnun's court-house, where KingMajnun was sitting. There some men heard her crying, "Majnun, Majnun; Iwant Majnun, " and they asked her what she wanted. "I want King Majnun, "she said. 

So they went in and said to Prince Majnun, "An old woman outside saysshe wants you. " "I cannot leave this place, " said he; "send her inhere. " They brought her in and the prince asked her what she wanted. "Iwant to marry you, " she answered. "Twenty-four years ago you came to myfather the Phalana Raja's country, and I wanted to marry you then; butyou went away without marrying me. Then I went mad, and I have wanderedabout all these years looking for you. " Prince Majnun said, "Verygood. "

"Pray to Khuda, " said Laili, "to make us both young again, and then weshall be married. " So the prince prayed to Khuda, and Khuda said tohim, "Touch Laili's clothes and they will catch fire, and when they areon fire, she and you will become young again. " When he touched Laili'sclothes they caught fire, and she and he became young again. And therewere great feasts, and they were married, and travelled to the Phalanacountry to see her father and mother. 

Now Laili's father and mother had wept so much for their daughter thatthey had become quite blind, and her father kept always repeating, "Laili, Laili, Laili. " When Laili saw their blindness, she prayed toKhuda to restore their sight to them, which he did. As soon as thefather and mother saw Laili, they hugged her and kissed her, and thenthey had the wedding all over again amid great rejoicings. PrinceMajnum and Laili stayed with Munsuk Raja and his wife for three years, and then they returned to King Dantal, and lived happily for some timewith him. They used to go out hunting, and they often went from countryto country to eat the air and amuse themselves. 

One day Prince Majnun said to Laili, "Let us go through this jungle. ""No, no, " said Laili; "if we go through this jungle, some harm willhappen to me. " But Prince Majnun laughed, and went into the jungle. Andas they were going through it, Khuda thought, "I should like to knowhow much Prince Majnun loves his wife. Would he be very sorry if shedied? And would he marry another wife? I will see. " So he sent one ofhis angels in the form of a fakir into the jungle; and the angel wentup to Laili, and threw some powder in her face, and instantly she fellto the ground a heap of ashes. 

Prince Majnun was in great sorrow and grief when he saw his dear Lailiturned into a little heap of ashes; and he went straight home to hisfather, and for a long, long time he would not be comforted. After agreat many years he grew more cheerful and happy, and began to go againinto his father's beautiful garden with Husain Mahamat. King Dantalwished his son to marry again. "I will only have Laili for my wife; Iwill not marry any other woman, " said Prince Majnun. 

"How can you marry Laili? Laili is dead. She will never come back toyou, " said the father. "Then I'll not have any wife at all, " saidPrince Majnun. 

Meanwhile Laili was living in the jungle where her husband had left hera little heap of ashes. As soon as Majnun had gone, the fakir had takenher ashes and made them quite clean, and then he had mixed clay andwater with the ashes, and made the figure of a woman with them, and soLaili regained her human form, and Khuda sent life into it. But Lailihad become once more a hideous old woman, with a long, long nose, andteeth like tusks; just such an old woman, excepting her teeth, as shehad been when she came out of the Rohu fish; and she lived in thejungle, and neither ate nor drank, and she kept on saying, "Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun. "

At last the angel who had come as a fakir and thrown the powder at her, said to Khuda, "Of what use is it that this woman should sit in thejungle crying, crying for ever, 'Majnun, Majnun; I want Majnun, ' andeating and drinking nothing? Let me take her to Prince Majnun. " "Well, "said Khuda, "you may do so; but tell her that she must not speak toMajnun if he is afraid of her when he sees her; and that if he isafraid when he sees her, she will become a little white dog the nextday. Then she must go to the palace, and she will only regain her humanshape when Prince Majnun loves her, feeds her with his own food, andlets her sleep in his bed. "

So the angel came to Laili again as a fakir and carried her to KingDantal's garden. "Now, " he said, "it is Khuda's command that you stayhere till Prince Majnun comes to walk in the garden, and then you mayshow yourself to him. But you must not speak to him, if he is afraid ofyou; and should he be afraid of you, you will the next day become alittle white dog. " He then told her what she must do as a little dog toregain her human form. 

Laili stayed in the garden, hidden in the tall grass, till PrinceMajnun and Husain Mahamat came to walk in the garden. King Dantal wasnow a very old man, and Husain Mahamat, though he was really only asold as Prince Majnun, looked a great deal older than the prince, whohad been made quite young again when he married Laili. 

As Prince Majnun and the Wazir's son walked in the garden, theygathered the fruit as they had done as little children, only they bitthe fruit with their teeth; they did not cut it. While Majnun was busyeating a fruit in this way, and was talking to Husain Mahamat, heturned towards him and saw Laili walking behind the Wazir's son. 

"Oh, look, look!" he cried, "see what is following you; it is a Rakshasor a demon, and I am sure it is going to eat us. " Laili looked at himbeseechingly with all her eyes, and trembled with age and eagerness;but this only frightened Majnun the more. "It is a Rakshas, a Rakshas!"he cried, and he ran quickly to the palace with the Wazir's son; and asthey ran away, Laili disappeared into the jungle. They ran to KingDantal, and Majnun told him there was a Rakshas or a demon in thegarden that had come to eat them. 

"What nonsense, " said his father. "Fancy two grown men being sofrightened by an old ayah or a fakir! And if it had been a Rakshas, itwould not have eaten you. " Indeed King Dantal did not believe Majnunhad seen anything at all, till Husain Mahamat said the prince wasspeaking the exact truth. They had the garden searched for the terribleold woman, but found nothing, and King Dantal told his son he was verysilly to be so much frightened. However, Prince Majnun would not walkin the garden any more. 

The next day Laili turned into a pretty little dog; and in this shapeshe came into the palace, where Prince Majnun soon became very fond ofher. She followed him everywhere, went with him when he was outhunting, and helped him to catch his game, and Prince Majnun fed herwith milk, or bread, or anything else he was eating, and at night thelittle dog slept in his bed. 

But one night the little dog disappeared, and in its stead there laythe little old woman who had frightened him so much in the garden; andnow Prince Majnun was quite sure she was a Rakshas, or a demon, or somesuch horrible thing come to eat him; and in his terror he cried out, "What do you want? Oh, do not eat me; do not eat me!" Poor Lailianswered, "Don't you know me? I am your wife Laili, and I want to marryyou. Don't you remember how you would go through that jungle, though Ibegged and begged you not to go, for I told you that harm would happento me, and then a fakir came and threw powder in my face, and I becamea heap of ashes. But Khuda gave me my life again, and brought me here, after I had stayed a long, long while in the jungle crying for you, andnow I am obliged to be a little dog; but if you will marry me, I shallnot be a little dog any more. " Majnun, however, said "How can I marryan old woman like you? how can you be Laili? I am sure you are aRakshas or a demon come to eat me, " and he was in great terror. 

In the morning the old woman had turned into the little dog, and theprince went to his father and told him all that had happened. "An oldwoman! an old woman! always an old woman!" said his father. "You donothing but think of old women. How can a strong man like you be soeasily frightened?" However, when he saw that his son was really ingreat terror, and that he really believed the old woman would came backat night, he advised him to say to her, "I will marry you if you canmake yourself a young girl again. How can I marry such an old woman asyou are?"

That night as he lay trembling in bed the little old woman lay there inplace of the dog, crying "Majnun, Majnun, I want to marry you. I haveloved you all these long, long years. When I was in my father's kingdoma young girl, I knew of you, though you knew nothing of me, and weshould have been married then if you had not gone away so suddenly, andfor long, long years I followed you. "

"Well, " said Majnun, "if you can make yourself a young girl again, Iwill marry you. "

Laili said, "Oh, that is quite easy. Khuda will make me a young girlagain. In two days' time you must go into the garden, and there youwill see a beautiful fruit. You must gather it and bring it into yourroom and cut it open yourself very gently, and you must not open itwhen your father or anybody else is with you, but when you are quitealone; for I shall be in the fruit quite naked, without any clothes atall on. " In the morning Laili took her little dog's form, anddisappeared in the garden. 

Prince Majnun told all this to his father, who told him to do all theold woman had bidden him. In two days' time he and the Wazir's sonwalked in the garden, and there they saw a large, lovely red fruit. "Oh!" said the Prince, "I wonder shall I find my wife in that fruit. "Husain Mahamat wanted him to gather it and see, but he would not tillhe had told his father, who said, "That must be the fruit; go andgather it. " So Majnun went back and broke the fruit off its stalk; andhe said to his father, "Come with me to my room while I open it; I amafraid to open it alone, for perhaps I shall find a Rakshas in it thatwill eat me. "

"No, " said King Dantal; "remember, Laili will be naked; you must goalone and do not be afraid if, after all, a Rakshas is in the fruit, for I will stay outside the door, and you have only to call me with aloud voice, and I will come to you, so the Rakshas will not be able toeat you. "

Then Majnun took the fruit and began to cut it open tremblingly, for heshook with fear; and when he had cut it, out stepped Laili, young andfar more beautiful than she had ever been. At the sight of her extremebeauty, Majnun fell backwards fainting on the floor. 

Laili took off his turban and wound it all round herself like a sari(for she had no clothes at all on), and then she called King Dantal, and said to him sadly, "Why has Majnun fallen down like this? Why willhe not speak to me? He never used to be afraid of me; and he has seenme so many, many times. "

King Dantal answered, "It is because you are so beautiful. You are far, far more beautiful than you ever were. But he will be very happydirectly. " Then the King got some water, and they bathed Majnun's faceand gave him some to drink, and he sat up again. 

Then Laili said, "Why did you faint? Did you not see I am Laili?"

"Oh!" said Prince Majnun, "I see you are Laili come back to me, butyour eyes have grown so wonderfully beautiful, that I fainted when Isaw them. " Then they were all very happy, and King Dantal had all thedrums in the place beaten, and had all the musical instruments playedon, and they made a grand wedding-feast, and gave presents to theservants, and rice and quantities of rupees to the fakirs. 

After some time had passed very happily, Prince Majnun and his wifewent out to eat the air. They rode on the same horse, and had only agroom with them. They came to another kingdom, to a beautiful garden. "We must go into that garden and see it, " said Majnun. 

"No, no, " said Laili; "it belongs to a bad Raja, Chumman Basa, a verywicked man. " But Majnun insisted on going in, and in spite of all Lailicould say, he got off the horse to look at the flowers. Now, as he waslooking at the flowers, Laili saw Chumman Basa coming towards them, andshe read in his eyes that he meant to kill her husband and seize her. So she said to Majnun, "Come, come, let us go; do not go near that badman. I see in his eyes, and I feel in my heart, that he will kill youto seize me. "

"What nonsense, " said Majnun. "I believe he is a very good Raja. Anyhow, I am so near to him that I could not get away. "

"Well, " said Laili, "it is better that you should be killed than I, forif I were to be killed a second time, Khuda would not give me my lifeagain; but I can bring you to life if you are killed. " Now Chumman Basahad come quite near, and seemed very pleasant, so thought PrinceMajnun; but when he was speaking to Majnun, he drew his scimitar andcut off the prince's head at one blow. 

Laili sat quite still on her horse, and as the Raja came towards hershe said, "Why did you kill my husband?"

"Because I want to take you, " he answered. 

"You cannot, " said Laili. 

"Yes, I can, " said the Raja. 

"Take me, then, " said Laili to Chumman Basa; so he came quite close andput out his hand to take hers to lift her off her horse. But she puther hand in her pocket and pulled out a tiny knife, only as long as herhand was broad, and this knife unfolded itself in one instant till itwas such a length! and then Laili made a great sweep with her arm andher long, long knife, and off came Chumman Basa's head at one touch. 

Then Laili slipped down off her horse, and she went to Majnun's deadbody, and she cut her little finger inside her hand straight down fromthe top of her nail to her palm, and out of this gushed blood likehealing medicine. Then she put Majnun's head on his shoulders, andsmeared her healing blood all over the wound, and Majnun woke up andsaid, "What a delightful sleep I have had! Why, I feel as if I hadslept for years!" Then he got up and saw the Raja's dead body byLaili's horse. 

"What's that?" said Majnun. 

"That is the wicked Raja who killed you to seize me, just as I said hewould. "

"Who killed him?" asked Majnun. 

"I did, " answered Laili, "and it was I who brought you to life. "

"Do bring the poor man to life if you know how to do so, " said Majnun. 

"No, " said Laili, "for he is a wicked man, and will try to do youharm. " But Majnun asked her for such a long time, and so earnestly tobring the wicked Raja to life, that at least she said, "Jump up on thehorse, then, and go far away with the groom. "

"What will you do, " said Majnun, "if I leave you? I cannot leave you. "

"I will take care of myself, " said Laili; "but this man is so wicked, he may kill you again if you are near him. " So Majnun got up on thehorse, and he and the groom went a long way off and waited for Laili. Then she set the wicked Raja's head straight on his shoulders, and shesqueezed the wound in her finger till a little blood-medicine came outof it. Then she smeared this over the place where her knife had passed, and just as she saw the Raja opening his eyes, she began to run, andshe ran, and ran so fast, that she outran the Raja, who tried to catchher; and she sprang up on the horse behind her husband, and they rodeso fast, so fast, till they reached King Dantal's palace. 

There Prince Majnun told everything to his father, who was horrifiedand angry. "How lucky for you that you have such a wife, " he said. "Whydid you not do what she told you? But for her, you would be now dead. "Then he made a great feast out of gratitude for his son's safety, andgave many, many rupees to the fakirs. And he made so much of Laili. Heloved her dearly; he could not do enough for her. Then he built asplendid palace for her and his son, with a great deal of ground aboutit, and lovely gardens, and gave them great wealth, and heaps ofservants to wait on them. But he would not allow any but their servantsto enter their gardens and palace, and he would not allow Majnun to goout of them, nor Laili; "for, " said King Dantal, "Laili is sobeautiful, that perhaps some one may kill my son to take her away. "

THE TIGER, THE BRAHMAN, AND THE JACKAL

Once upon a time, a tiger was caught in a trap. He tried in vain to getout through the bars, and rolled and bit with rage and grief when hefailed. 

By chance a poor Brahman came by. "Let me out of this cage, oh piousone!" cried the tiger. 

"Nay, my friend, " replied the Brahman mildly, "you would probably eatme if I did. "

"Not at all!" swore the tiger with many oaths; "on the contrary, Ishould be for ever grateful, and serve you as a slave!"

Now when the tiger sobbed and sighed and wept and swore, the piousBrahman's heart softened, and at last he consented to open the door ofthe cage. Out popped the tiger, and, seizing the poor man, cried, "Whata fool you are! What is to prevent my eating you now, for after beingcooped up so long I am just terribly hungry!"

In vain the Brahman pleaded for his life; the most he could gain was apromise to abide by the decision of the first three things he chose toquestion as to the justice of the tiger's action. 

So the Brahman first asked a _pipal_ tree what it thought of thematter, but the _pipal_ tree replied coldly, "What have you tocomplain about? Don't I give shade and shelter to every one who passesby, and don't they in return tear down my branches to feed theircattle? Don't whimper--be a man!"

Then the Brahman, sad at heart, went further afield till he saw abuffalo turning a well-wheel; but he fared no better from it, for itanswered, "You are a fool to expect gratitude! Look at me! Whilst Igave milk they fed me on cotton-seed and oil-cake, but now I am drythey yoke me here, and give me refuse as fodder!"

The Brahman, still more sad, asked the road to give him its opinion. 

"My dear sir, " said the road, "how foolish you are to expect anythingelse! Here am I, useful to everybody, yet all, rich and poor, great andsmall, trample on me as they go past, giving me nothing but the ashesof their pipes and the husks of their grain!"

On this the Brahman turned back sorrowfully, and on the way he met ajackal, who called out, "Why, what's the matter, Mr. Brahman? You lookas miserable as a fish out of water!"

The Brahman told him all that had occurred. "How very confusing!" saidthe jackal, when the recital was ended; "would you mind telling me overagain, for everything has got so mixed up?"

The Brahman told it all over again, but the jackal shook his head in adistracted sort of way, and still could not understand. 

"It's very odd, " said he, sadly, "but it all seems to go in at one earand out at the other! I will go to the place where it all happened, andthen perhaps I shall be able to give a judgment. "

So they returned to the cage, by which the tiger was waiting for theBrahman, and sharpening his teeth and claws. 

"You've been away a long time!" growled the savage beast, "but now letus begin our dinner. "

"_Our_ dinner!" thought the wretched Brahman, as his knees knockedtogether with fright; "what a remarkably delicate way of putting it!"

"Give me five minutes, my lord!" he pleaded, "in order that I mayexplain matters to the jackal here, who is somewhat slow in his wits. "

The tiger consented, and the Brahman began the whole story over again, not missing a single detail, and spinning as long a yarn as possible. 

"Oh, my poor brain! oh, my poor brain!" cried the jackal, wringing itspaws. "Let me see! how did it all begin? You were in the cage, and thetiger came walking by--"

"Pooh!" interrupted the tiger, "what a fool you are! _I_ was inthe cage. "

"Of course!" cried the jackal, pretending to tremble with fright; "yes!I was in the cage--no I wasn't--dear! dear! where are my wits? Let mesee--the tiger was in the Brahman, and the cage came walking by--no, that's not it, either! Well, don't mind me, but begin your dinner, forI shall never understand!"

"Yes, you shall!" returned the tiger, in a rage at the jackal'sstupidity; "I'll _make_ you understand! Look here--I am thetiger--"

"Yes, my lord!"

"And that is the Brahman--"

"Yes, my lord!"

"And that is the cage--"

"Yes, my lord!"

"And I was in the cage--do you understand?"

"Yes--no--Please, my lord--"

"Well?" cried the tiger impatiently. 

"Please, my lord!--how did you get in?"

"How!--why in the usual way, of course!"

"Oh, dear me!--my head is beginning to whirl again! Please don't beangry, my lord, but what is the usual way?"

At this the tiger lost patience, and, jumping into the cage, cried, "This way! Now do you understand how it was?"

"Perfectly!" grinned the jackal, as he dexterously shut the door, "andif you will permit me to say so, I think matters will remain as theywere!"

THE SOOTHSAYER'S SON

A soothsayer when on his deathbed wrote out the horoscope of his secondson, whose name was Gangazara, and bequeathed it to him as his onlyproperty, leaving the whole of his estate to his eldest son. The secondson thought over the horoscope, and said to himself:

"Alas! am I born to this only in the world? The sayings of my fathernever failed. I have seen them prove true to the last word while he wasliving; and how has he fixed my horoscope! 'FROM MY BIRTH POVERTY!' Noris that my only fate. 'FOR TEN YEARS, IMPRISONMENT'--a fate harder thanpoverty; and what comes next? 'DEATH ON THE SEA-SHORE'; which meansthat I must die away from home, far from friends and relatives on asea-coast. Now comes the most curious part of the horoscope, that I amto 'HAVE SOME HAPPINESS AFTERWARDS!' What this happiness is, is anenigma to me. "

Thus thought he, and after all the funeral obsequies of his father wereover, took leave of his elder brother, and started for Benares. He wentby the middle of the Deccan, avoiding both the coasts, and went onjourneying and journeying for weeks and months, till at last he reachedthe Vindhya mountains. While passing that desert he had to journey fora couple of days through a sandy plain, with no signs of life orvegetation. The little store of provision with which he was providedfor a couple of days, at last was exhausted. The chombu, which hecarried always full, filling it with the sweet water from the flowingrivulet or plenteous tank, he had exhausted in the heat of the desert. There was not a morsel in his hand to eat; nor a drop of water todrink. Turn his eyes wherever he might he found a vast desert, out ofwhich he saw no means of escape. Still he thought within himself, "Surely my father's prophecy never proved untrue. I must survive thiscalamity to find my death on some sea-coast. " So thought he, and thisthought gave him strength of mind to walk fast and try to find a dropof water somewhere to slake his dry throat. 

At last he succeeded; heaven threw in his way a ruined well. He thoughthe could collect some water if he let down his chombu with the stringthat he always carried noosed to the neck of it. Accordingly he let itdown; it went some way and stopped, and the following words came fromthe well: "Oh, relieve me! I am the king of tigers, dying here ofhunger. For the last three days I have had nothing. Fortune has sentyou here. If you assist me now you will find a sure help in methroughout your life. Do not think that I am a beast of prey. When youhave become my deliverer I will never touch you. Pray, kindly lift meup. " Gangazara thought: "Shall I take him out or not? If I take him outhe may make me the first morsel of his hungry mouth. No; that he willnot do. For my father's prophecy never came untrue. I must die on a seacoast, and not by a tiger. " Thus thinking, he asked the tiger-king tohold tight to the vessel, which he accordingly did, and he lifted himup slowly. The tiger reached the top of the well and felt himself onsafe ground. True to his word, he did no harm to Gangazara. On theother hand, he walked round his patron three times, and standing beforehim, humbly spoke the following words: "My life-giver, my benefactor!I shall never forget this day, when I regained my life through yourkind hands. In return for this kind assistance I pledge my oath tostand by you in all calamities. Whenever you are in any difficultyjust think of me. I am there with you ready to oblige you by all themeans that I can. To tell you briefly how I came in here: Three daysago I was roaming in yonder forest, when I saw a goldsmith passingthrough it. I chased him. He, finding it impossible to escape my claws, jumped into this well, and is living to this moment in the very bottomof it. I also jumped in, but found myself on the first ledge of thewell; he is on the last and fourth ledge. In the second lives a serpenthalf-famished with hunger. On the third lies a rat, also half-famished, and when you again begin to draw water these may request you first torelease them. In the same way the goldsmith also may ask you. I begyou, as your bosom friend, never assist that wretched man, though he isyour relation as a human being. Goldsmiths are never to be trusted. Youcan place more faith in me, a tiger, though I feast sometimes upon men, in a serpent, whose sting makes your blood cold the very next moment, or in a rat, which does a thousand pieces of mischief in your house. But never trust a goldsmith. Do not release him; and if you do, youshall surely repent of it one day or other. " Thus advising, the hungrytiger went away without waiting for an answer. 

Gangazara thought several times of the eloquent way in which the tigerspoke, and admired his fluency of speech. But still his thirst was notquenched. So he let down his vessel again, which was now caught hold ofby the serpent, who addressed him thus: "Oh, my protector! Lift me up. I am the king of serpents, and the son of Adisesha, who is now piningaway in agony for my disappearance. Release me now. I shall ever remainyour servant, remember your assistance, and help you throughout life inall possible ways. Oblige me: I am dying. " Gangazara, calling again tomind the "DEATH ON THE SEA-SHORE" of the prophecy lifted him up. He, like the tiger-king, walked round him thrice, and prostrating himselfbefore him spoke thus: "Oh, my life-giver, my father, for so I mustcall you, as you have given me another birth. I was three days agobasking myself in the morning sun, when I saw a rat running before me. I chased him. He fell into this well. I followed him, but instead offalling on the third storey where he is now lying, I fell into thesecond. I am going away now to see my father. Whenever you are in anydifficulty just think of me. I will be there by your side to assist youby all possible means. " So saying, the Nagaraja glided away in zigzagmovements, and was out of sight in a moment. 

The poor son of the Soothsayer, who was now almost dying of thirst, letdown his vessel for a third time. The rat caught hold of it, andwithout discussing he lifted up the poor animal at once. But it wouldnot go away without showing its gratitude: "Oh, life of my life! Mybenefactor! I am the king of rats. Whenever you are in any calamityjust think of me. I will come to you, and assist you. My keen earsoverheard all that the tiger-king told you about the goldsmith, who isin the fourth storey. It is nothing but a sad truth that goldsmithsought never to be trusted. Therefore, never assist him as you have doneto us all. And if you do, you will suffer for it. I am hungry; let mego for the present. " Thus taking leave of his benefactor, the rat, too, ran away. 

Gangazara for a while thought upon the repeated advice given by thethree animals about releasing the goldsmith: "What wrong would there bein my assisting him? Why should I not release him also?" So thinking tohimself, Gangazara let down the vessel again. The goldsmith caught holdof it, and demanded help. The Soothsayer's son had no time to lose; hewas himself dying of thirst. 

Therefore he lifted the goldsmith up, who now began his story. "Stopfor a while, " said Gangazara, and after quenching his thirst by lettingdown his vessel for the fifth time, still fearing that some one mightremain in the well and demand his assistance, he listened to thegoldsmith, who began as follows: "My dear friend, my protector, what adeal of nonsense these brutes have been talking to you about me; I amglad you have not followed their advice. I am just now dying of hunger. Permit me to go away. My name is Manikkasari. I live in the East mainstreet of Ujjaini, which is twenty kas to the south of this place, andso lies on your way when you return from Benares. Do not forget to cometo me and receive my kind remembrances of your assistance, on your wayback to your country. " So saying, the goldsmith took his leave, andGangazara also pursued his way north after the above adventures. 

He reached Benares, and lived there for more than ten years, and quiteforgot the tiger, serpent, rat, and goldsmith. After ten years ofreligious life, thoughts of home and of his brother rushed into hismind. "I have secured enough merit now by my religious observances. Letme return home. " Thus thought Gangazara within himself, and very soonhe was on his way back to his country. Remembering the prophecy of hisfather he returned by the same way by which he went to Benares tenyears before. While thus retracing his steps he reached the ruined wellwhere he had released the three brute kings and the gold smith. At oncethe old recollections rushed into his mind, and he thought of the tigerto test his fidelity. Only a moment passed, and the tiger-king camerunning before him carrying a large crown in his mouth, the glitter ofthe diamonds of which for a time outshone even the bright rays of thesun. He dropped the crown at his life-giver's feet, and, putting asideall his pride, humbled himself like a pet cat to the strokes of hisprotector, and began in the following words: "My life-giver! How is itthat you have forgotten me, your poor servant, for such a long time? Iam glad to find that I still occupy a corner in your mind. I can neverforget the day when I owed my life to your lotus hands. I have severaljewels with me of little value. This crown, being the best of all, Ihave brought here as a single ornament of great value, which you cancarry with you and dispose of in your own country. " Gangazara looked atthe crown, examined it over and over, counted and recounted the gems, and thought within himself that he would become the richest of men byseparating the diamonds and gold, and selling them in his own country. He took leave of the tiger-king, and after his disappearance thought ofthe kings of serpents and rats, who came in their turn with theirpresents, and after the usual greetings and exchange of words tooktheir leave. Gangazara was extremely delighted at the faithfulness withwhich the brute beasts behaved, and went on his way to the south. Whilegoing along he spoke to himself thus: "These beasts have been veryfaithful in their assistance. Much more, therefore, must Manikkasari befaithful. I do not want anything from him now. If I take this crownwith me as it is, it occupies much space in my bundle. It may alsoexcite the curiosity of some robbers on the way. I will go now toUjjaini on my way. Manikkasari requested me to see him without failureon my return journey. I shall do so, and request him to have the crownmelted, the diamonds and gold separated. He must do that kindness atleast for me. I shall then roll up these diamonds and gold ball in myrags, and wend my way homewards. " Thus thinking and thinking, hereached Ujjaini. At once he inquired for the house of his goldsmithfriend, and found him without difficulty. Manikkasari was extremelydelighted to find on his threshold him who ten years before, notwithstanding the advice repeatedly given him by the sage-lookingtiger, serpent, and rat, had relieved him from the pit of death. Gangazara at once showed him the crown that he received from the tiger-king, told him how he got it, and requested his kind assistance toseparate the gold and diamonds. Manikkasari agreed to do so, andmeanwhile asked his friend to rest himself for a while to have his bathand meals; and Gangazara, who was very observant of his religiousceremonies, went direct to the river to bathe. 

How came the crown in the jaws of the tiger? The king of Ujjaini had aweek before gone with all his hunters on a hunting expedition. All of asudden the tiger-king started from the wood, seized the king, andvanished. 

When the king's attendants informed the prince about the death of hisfather he wept and wailed, and gave notice that he would give half ofhis kingdom to any one who should bring him news about the murderer ofhis father. The goldsmith knew full well that it was a tiger thatkilled the king, and not any hunter's hands, since he had heard fromGangazara how he obtained the crown. Still, he resolved to denounceGangazara as the king's murderer, so, hiding the crown under hisgarments, he flew to the palace. He went before the prince and informedhim that the assassin was caught, and placed the crown before him. 

The prince took it into his hands, examined it, and at once gave halfthe kingdom to Manikkasari, and then inquired about the murderer. "Heis bathing in the river, and is of such and such appearance, " was thereply. At once four armed soldiers flew to the river, and bound thepoor Brahman hand and foot, while he, sitting in meditation, waswithout any knowledge of the fate that hung over him. They broughtGangazara to the presence of the prince, who turned his face away fromthe supposed murderer, and asked his soldiers to throw him into adungeon. In a minute, without knowing the cause, the poor Brahman foundhimself in the dark dungeon. 

It was a dark cellar underground, built with strong stone walls, intowhich any criminal guilty of a capital offence was ushered to breathehis last there without food and drink. Such was the cellar into whichGangazara was thrust. What were his thoughts when he reached thatplace? "It is of no use to accuse either the goldsmith or the princenow. We are all the children of fate. We must obey her commands. Thisis but the first day of my father's prophecy. So far his statement istrue. But how am I going to pass ten years here? Perhaps withoutanything to sustain life I may drag on my existence for a day or two. But how pass ten years? That cannot be, and I must die. Before deathcomes let me think of my faithful brute friends. "

So pondered Gangazara in the dark cell underground, and at that momentthought of his three friends. The tiger-king, serpent-king, and rat-king assembled at once with their armies at a garden near the dungeon, and for a while did not know what to do. They held their council, anddecided to make an underground passage from the inside of a ruined wellto the dungeon. The rat raja issued an order at once to that effect tohis army. They, with their teeth, bored the ground a long way to thewalls of the prison. After reaching it they found that their teethcould not work on the hard stones. The bandicoots were then speciallyordered for the business; they, with their hard teeth, made a smallslit in the wall for a rat to pass and re-pass without difficulty. Thusa passage was effected. 

The rat raja entered first to condole with his protector on hismisfortune, and undertook to supply his protector with provisions. "Whatever sweetmeats or bread are prepared in any house, one and all ofyou must try to bring whatever you can to our benefactor. Whateverclothes you find hanging in a house, cut down, dip the pieces in water, and bring the wet bits to our benefactor. He will squeeze them andgather water for drink! and the bread and sweetmeats shall form hisfood. " Having issued these orders, the king of the rats took leave ofGangazara. They, in obedience to their king's order, continued tosupply him with provisions and water. 

The snake-king said: "I sincerely condole with you in your calamity;the tiger-king also fully sympathises with you, and wants me to tellyou so, as he cannot drag his huge body here as we have done with oursmall ones. The king of the rats has promised to do his best to provideyou with food. We would now do what we can for your release. From thisday we shall issue orders to our armies to oppress all the subjects ofthis kingdom. The deaths by snake-bite and tigers shall increase ahundredfold from this day, and day by day it shall continue to increasetill your release. Whenever you hear people near you, you had betterbawl out so as to be heard by them: 'The wretched prince imprisoned meon the false charge of having killed his father, while it was a tigerthat killed him. From that day these calamities have broken out in hisdominions. If I were released I would save all by my powers of healingpoisonous wounds and by incantations. ' Some one may report this to theking, and if he knows it, you will obtain your liberty. " Thuscomforting his protector in trouble, he advised him to pluck upcourage, and took leave of him. From that day tigers and serpents, acting under the orders of their kings, united in killing as manypersons and cattle as possible. Every day people were carried away bytigers or bitten by serpents. Thus passed months and years. Gangazarasat in the dark cellar, without the sun's light falling upon him, andfeasted upon the breadcrumbs and sweetmeats that the rats so kindlysupplied him with. These delicacies had completely changed his bodyinto a red, stout, huge, unwieldy mass of flesh. Thus passed full tenyears, as prophesied in the horoscope. 

Ten complete years rolled away in close imprisonment. On the lastevening of the tenth year one of the serpents got into the bed-chamberof the princess and sucked her life. She breathed her last. She was theonly daughter of the king. The king at once sent for all the snake-bitecurers. He promised half his kingdom and his daughter's hand to him whowould restore her to life. Now a servant of the king who had severaltimes overheard Gangazara's cries, reported the matter to him. The kingat once ordered the cell to be examined. There was the man sitting init. How had he managed to live so long in the cell? Some whispered thathe must be a divine being. Thus they discussed, while they broughtGangazara to the king. 

The king no sooner saw Gangazara than he fell on the ground. He wasstruck by the majesty and grandeur of his person. His ten years'imprisonment in the deep cell underground had given a sort of lustre tohis body. His hair had first to be cut before his face could be seen. The king begged forgiveness for his former fault, and requested him torevive his daughter. 

"Bring me within an hour all the corpses of men and cattle, dying anddead, that remain unburnt or unburied within the range of yourdominions; I shall revive them all, " were the only words that Gangazaraspoke. 

Cartloads of corpses of men and cattle began to come in every minute. Even graves, it is said, were broken open, and corpses buried a day ortwo before were taken out and sent for their revival. As soon as allwere ready, Gangazara took a vessel full of water and sprinkled it overthem all, thinking only of his snake-king and tiger-king. All rose upas if from deep slumber, and went to their respective homes. Theprincess, too, was restored to life. The joy of the king knew nobounds. He cursed the day on which he imprisoned him, blamed himselffor having believed the word of a goldsmith, and offered him the handof his daughter and the whole kingdom, instead of half, as he promised. Gangazara would not accept anything, but asked the king to assemble allhis subjects in a wood near the town. "I shall there call in all thetigers and serpents, and give them a general order. "

When the whole town was assembled, just at the dusk of evening, Gangazara sat dumb for a moment, and thought upon the Tiger King andthe Serpent King, who came with all their armies. People began to taketo their heels at the sight of tigers. Gangazara assured them ofsafety, and stopped them. 

The grey light of the evening, the pumpkin colour of Gangazara, theholy ashes scattered lavishly over his body, the tigers and snakeshumbling themselves at his feet, gave him the true majesty of the godGangazara. For who else by a single word could thus command vast armiesof tigers and serpents, said some among the people. "Care not for it;it may be by magic. That is not a great thing. That he revivedcartloads of corpses shows him to be surely Gangazara, " said others. 

"Why should you, my children, thus trouble these poor subjects ofUjjaini? Reply to me, and henceforth desist from your ravages. " Thussaid the Soothsayer's son, and the following reply came from the kingof the tigers: "Why should this base king imprison your honour, believing the mere word of a goldsmith that your honour killed hisfather? All the hunters told him that his father was carried away by atiger. I was the messenger of death sent to deal the blow on his neck. I did it, and gave the crown to your honour. The prince makes noinquiry, and at once imprisons your honour. How can we expect justicefrom such a stupid king as that? Unless he adopt a better standard ofjustice we will go on with our destruction. "

The king heard, cursed the day on which he believed in the word of agoldsmith, beat his head, tore his hair, wept and wailed for his crime, asked a thousand pardons, and swore to rule in a just way from thatday. The serpent-king and tiger-king also promised to observe theiroath as long as justice prevailed, and took their leave. The gold-smithfled for his life. He was caught by the soldiers of the king, and waspardoned by the generous Gangazara, whose voice now reigned supreme. All returned to their homes. The king again pressed Gangazara to acceptthe hand of his daughter. He agreed to do so, not then, but some timeafterwards. He wished to go and see his elder brother first, and thento return and marry the princess. The king agreed; and Gangazara leftthe city that very day on his way home. 

It so happened that unwittingly he took a wrong road, and had to passnear a sea-coast. His elder brother was also on his way up to Benaresby that very same route. They met and recognised each other, even at adistance. They flew into each other's arms. Both remained still for atime almost unconscious with joy. The pleasure of Gangazara was sogreat that he died of joy. 

The elder brother was a devout worshipper of Ganesa. That was a Friday, a day very sacred to that god. The elder brother took the corpse to thenearest Ganesa temple and called upon him. The god came, and asked himwhat he wanted. "My poor brother is dead and gone; and this is hiscorpse. Kindly keep it in your charge till I finish worshipping you. IfI leave it anywhere else the devils may snatch it away when I am absentworshipping you; after finishing the rites I shall burn him. " Thus saidthe elder brother, and, giving the corpse to the god Ganesa, he went toprepare himself for that deity's ceremonials. Ganesa made over thecorpse to his Ganas, asking them to watch over it carefully. Butinstead of that they devoured it. 

The elder brother, after finishing the puja, demanded his brother'scorpse of the god. The god called his Ganas, who came to the frontblinking, and fearing the anger of their master. The god was greatlyenraged. The elder brother was very angry. When the corpse was notforthcoming he cuttingly remarked, "Is this, after all, the return formy deep belief in you? You are unable even to return my brother'scorpse. " Ganesa was much ashamed at the remark. So he, by his divinepower, gave him a living Gangazara instead of the dead corpse. Thus wasthe second son of the Soothsayer restored to life. 

The brothers had a long talk about each other's adventures. They bothwent to Ujjaini, where Gangazara married the princess, and succeeded tothe throne of that kingdom. He reigned for a long time, conferringseveral benefits upon his brother. And so the horoscope was fullyfulfilled. 

HARISAMAN

There was a certain Brahman in a certain village, named Harisarman. Hewas poor and foolish and in evil case for want of employment, and hehad very many children, that he might reap the fruit of his misdeeds ina former life. He wandered about begging with his family, and at lasthe reached a certain city, and entered the service of a richhouseholder called Sthuladatta. His sons became keepers ofSthuladatta's cows and other property, and his wife a servant to him, and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of anattendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage of thedaughter of Sthuladatta, largely attended by many friends of the bride-groom, and merry-makers. Harisarman hoped that he would be able to fillhimself up to the throat with ghee and flesh and other dainties, andget the same for his family, in the house of his patron. While he wasanxiously expecting to be fed, no one thought of him. 

Then he was distressed at getting nothing to eat, and he said to hiswife at night, "It is owing to my poverty and stupidity that I amtreated with such disrespect here; so I will pretend by means of anartifice to possess a knowledge of magic, so that I may become anobject of respect to this Sthuladatta; so, when you get an opportunity, tell him that I possess magical knowledge. " He said this to her, andafter turning the matter over in his mind, while people were asleep hetook away from the house of Sthuladatta a horse on which his master'sson-in-law rode. He placed it in concealment at some distance, and inthe morning the friends of the bridegroom could not find the horse, though they searched in every direction. Then, while Sthuladatta wasdistressed at the evil omen, and searching for the thieves who hadcarried off the horse, the wife of Harisarman came and said to him, "My husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology and magical sciences;he can get the horse back for you; why do you not ask him?"

When Sthuladatta heard that, he called Harisarman, who said, "YesterdayI was forgotten, but to-day, now the horse is stolen, I am called tomind, " and Sthuladatta then propitiated the Brahman with these words--"I forgot you, forgive me"--and asked him to tell him who had takenaway their horse. Then Harisarman drew all kinds of pretended diagrams, and said: "The horse has been placed by thieves on the boundary linesouth from this place. It is concealed there, and before it is carriedoff to a distance, as it will be at close of day, go quickly and bringit. " When they heard that, many men ran and brought the horse quickly, praising the discernment of Harisarman. Then Harisarman was honoured byall men as a sage, and dwelt there in happiness, honoured bySthuladatta. 

Now, as days went on, much treasure, both of gold and jewels, had beenstolen by a thief from the palace of the king. As the thief was notknown, the king quickly summoned Harisarman on account of hisreputation for knowledge of magic. And he, when summoned, tried to gaintime, and said, "I will tell you to-morrow, " and then he was placed ina chamber by the king, and carefully guarded. And he was sad because hehad pretended to have knowledge. Now in that palace there was a maidnamed Jihva (which means Tongue), who, with the assistance of herbrother, had stolen that treasure from the interior of the palace. She, being alarmed at Harisarman's knowledge, went at night and applied herear to the door of that chamber in order to find out what he was about. And Harisarman, who was alone inside, was at that very moment blaminghis own tongue, that had made a vain assumption of knowledge. He said:"O Tongue, what is this that you have done through your greediness?Wicked one, you will soon receive punishment in full. " When Jihva heardthis, she thought, in her terror, that she had been discovered by thiswise man, and she managed to get in where he was, and falling at hisfeet, she said to the supposed wizard: "Brahman, here I am, that Jihvawhom you have discovered to be the thief of the treasure, and after Itook it I buried it in the earth in a garden behind the palace, under apomegranate tree. So spare me, and receive the small quantity of goldwhich is in my possession. "

When Harisarman heard that, he said to her proudly: "Depart, I know allthis; I know the past, present and future; but I will not denounce you, being a miserable creature that has implored my protection. Butwhatever gold is in your possession you must give back to me. " When hesaid this to the maid, she consented, and departed quickly. ButHarisarman reflected in his astonishment: "Fate brings about, as if insport, things impossible, for when calamity was so near, who would havethought chance would have brought us success? While I was blaming myjihva, the thief Jihva suddenly flung herself at my feet. Secret crimesmanifest themselves by means of fear. " Thus thinking, he passed thenight happily in the chamber. And in the morning he brought the king, by some skilful parade of pretended knowledge into the garden, and ledhim up to the treasure, which was buried under the pomegranate tree, and said that the thief had escaped with a part of it. Then the kingwas pleased, and gave him the revenue of many villages. 

But the minister, named Devajnanin, whispered in the king's ear: "Howcan a man possess such knowledge unattainable by men, without havingstudied the books of magic; you may be certain that this is a specimenof the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by having a secretintelligence with thieves. It will be much better to test him by somenew artifice. " Then the king of his own accord brought a coveredpitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to Harisarman, "Brahman, if you can guess what there is in this pitcher, I will do yougreat honour to-day. " When the Brahman Harisarman heard that, hethought that his last hour had come, and he called to mind the pet nameof "Froggie" which his father had given him in his childhood in sport, and, impelled by luck, he called to himself by his pet name, lamentinghis hard fate, and suddenly called out: "This is a fine pitcher foryou, Froggie; it will soon become the swift destroyer of your helplessself. " The people there, when they heard him say that, raised a shoutof applause, because his speech chimed in so well with the objectpresented to him, and murmured, "Ah! a great sage, he knows even aboutthe frog!" Then the king, thinking that this was all due to knowledgeof divination, was highly delighted, and gave Harisarman the revenue ofmore villages, with gold, an umbrella, and state carriages of allkinds. So Harisarman prospered in the world. 

THE CHARMED RING

A merchant started his son in life with three hundred rupees, and badehim go to another country and try his luck in trade. The son took themoney and departed. He had not gone far before he came across someherdsmen quarrelling over a dog, that some of them wished to kill. "Please do not kill the dog, " pleaded the young and tender-heartedfellow; "I will give you one hundred rupees for it. " Then and there, ofcourse, the bargain was concluded, and the foolish fellow took the dog, and continued his journey. He next met with some people fighting abouta cat. Some of them wanted to kill it, but others not. "Oh! please donot kill it, " said he; "I will give you one hundred rupees for it. " Ofcourse they at once gave him the cat and took the money. He went ontill he reached a village, where some folk were quarrelling over asnake that had just been caught. Some of them wished to kill it, butothers did not. "Please do not kill the snake, " said he; "I will giveyou one hundred rupees. " Of course the people agreed, and were highlydelighted. 

What a fool the fellow was! What would he do now that all his money wasgone? What could he do except return to his father? Accordingly he wenthome. 

"You fool! You scamp!" exclaimed his father when he had heard how hisson had wasted all the money that had been given to him. "Go and livein the stables and repent of your folly. You shall never again enter myhouse. "

So the young man went and lived in the stables. His bed was the grassspread for the cattle, and his companions were the dog, the cat, andthe snake, which he had purchased so dearly. These creatures got veryfond of him, and would follow him about during the day, and sleep byhim at night; the cat used to sleep at his feet, the dog at his head, and the snake over his body, with its head hanging on one side and itstail on the other. 

One day the snake in course of conversation said to its master, "I amthe son of Raja Indrasha. One day, when I had come out of the ground todrink the air, some people seized me, and would have slain me had younot most opportunely arrived to my rescue. I do not know how I shallever be able to repay you for your great kindness to me. Would that youknew my father! How glad he would be to see his son's preserver!"

"Where does he live? I should like to see him, if possible, " said theyoung man. 

"Well said!" continued the snake. "Do you see yonder mountain? At thebottom of that mountain there is a sacred spring. If you will come withme and dive into that spring, we shall both reach my father's country. Oh! how glad he will be to see you! He will wish to reward you, too. But how can he do that? However, you may be pleased to accept somethingat his hand. If he asks you what you would like, you would, perhaps, dowell to reply, 'The ring on your right hand, and the famous pot andspoon which you possess. ' With these in your possession, you wouldnever need anything, for the ring is such that a man has only to speakto it, and immediately a beautiful furnished mansion will be providedfor him, while the pot and the spoon will supply him with all manner ofthe rarest and most delicious foods. "

Attended by his three companions the man walked to the well andprepared to jump in, according to the snake's directions. "O master!"exclaimed the cat and dog, when they saw what he was going to do. "Whatshall we do? Where shall we go?"

"Wait for me here, " he replied. "I am not going far. I shall not belong away. " On saying this, he dived into the water and was lost tosight. 

"Now what shall we do?" said the dog to the cat. "We must remain here, "replied the cat, "as our master ordered. Do not be anxious about food. I will go to the people's houses and get plenty of food for both ofus. " And so the cat did, and they both lived very comfortably tilltheir master came again and joined them. 

The young man and the snake reached their destination in safety; andinformation of their arrival was sent to the Raja. His highnesscommanded his son and the stranger to appear before him. But the snakerefused, saying that it could not go to its father till it was releasedfrom this stranger, who had saved it from a most terrible death, andwhose slave it therefore was. Then the Raja went and embraced his son, and saluting the stranger welcomed him to his dominions. The young manstayed there a few days, during which he received the Raja's right-handring, and the pot and spoon, in recognition of His Highness's gratitudeto him for having delivered his son. He then returned. On reaching thetop of the spring he found his friends, the dog and the cat, waitingfor him. They told one another all they had experienced since they hadlast seen each other, and were all very glad. Afterwards they walkedtogether to the river side, where it was decided to try the powers ofthe charmed ring and pot and spoon. 

The merchant's son spoke to the ring, and immediately a beautiful houseand a lovely princess with golden hair appeared. He spoke to the potand spoon, also, and the most delicious dishes of food were providedfor them. So he married the princess, and they lived very happily forseveral years, until one morning the princess, while arranging hertoilet, put the loose hairs into a hollow bit of reed and threw theminto the river that flowed along under the window. The reed floated onthe water for many miles, and was at last picked up by the prince ofthat country, who curiously opened it and saw the golden hair. Onfinding it the prince rushed off to the palace, locked himself up inhis room, and would not leave it. He had fallen desperately in lovewith the woman whose hair he had picked up, and refused to eat, ordrink, or sleep, or move, till she was brought to him. The king, hisfather, was in great distress about the matter, and did not know whatto do. He feared lest his son should die and leave him without an heir. At last he determined to seek the counsel of his aunt, who was anogress. The old woman consented to help him, and bade him not to beanxious, as she felt certain that she would succeed in getting thebeautiful woman for his son's wife. 

She assumed the shape of a bee and went along buzzing, and buzzing, andbuzzing. Her keen sense of smell soon brought her to the beautifulprincess, to whom she appeared as an old hag, holding in one hand astick by way of support. She introduced herself to the beautifulprincess and said, "I am your aunt, whom you have never seen before, because I left the country just after your birth. " She also embracedand kissed the princess by way of adding force to her words. Thebeautiful princess was thoroughly deceived. She returned the ogress'sembrace, and invited her to come and stay in the house as long as shecould, and treated her with such honour and attention, that the ogressthought to herself, "I shall soon accomplish my errand. " When she hadbeen in the house three days, she began to talk of the charmed ring, and advised her to keep it instead of her husband, because the latterwas constantly out shooting and on other such-like expeditions, andmight lose it. Accordingly the beautiful princess asked her husband forthe ring, and he readily gave it to her. 

The ogress waited another day before she asked to see the preciousthing. Doubting nothing, the beautiful princess complied, when theogress seized the ring, and reassuming the form of a bee flew away withit to the palace, where the prince was lying nearly on the point ofdeath. "Rise up. Be glad. Mourn no more, " she said to him. "The womanfor whom you yearn will appear at your summons. See, here is the charm, whereby you may bring her before you. " The prince was almost mad withjoy when he heard these words, and was so desirous of seeing thebeautiful princess, that he immediately spoke to the ring, and thehouse with its fair occupant descended in the midst of the palacegarden. He at once entered the building, and telling the beautifulprincess of his intense love, entreated her to be his wife. Seeing noescape from the difficulty, she consented on the condition that hewould wait one month for her. 

Meanwhile the merchant's son had returned from hunting and was terriblydistressed not to find his house and wife. There was the place only, just as he knew it before he had tried the charmed ring which RajaIndrasha had given him. He sat down and determined to put an end tohimself. Presently the cat and dog came up. They had gone away andhidden themselves, when they saw the house and everything disappear. "Omaster!" they said, "stay your hand. Your trial is great, but it can beremedied. Give us one month, and we will go and try to recover yourwife and house. "

"Go, " said he, "and may the great God aid your efforts. Bring back mywife, and I shall live. "

So the cat and dog started off at a run, and did not stop till theyreached the place whither their mistress and the house had been taken. "We may have some difficulty here, " said the cat. "Look, the king hastaken our master's wife and house for himself. You stay here. I will goto the house and try to see her. " So the dog sat down, and the catclimbed up to the window of the room, wherein the beautiful princesswas sitting, and entered. The princess recognised the cat, and informedit of all that had happened to her since she had left them. 

"But is there no way of escape from the hands of these people?" sheasked. 

"Yes, " replied the cat, "if you can tell me where the charmed ring is. "

"The ring is in the stomach of the ogress, " she said. 

"All right, " said the cat, "I will recover it. If we once get it, everything is ours. " Then the cat descended the wall of the house, andwent and laid down by a rat's hole and pretended she was dead. Now atthat time a great wedding chanced to be going on among the ratcommunity of that place, and all the rats of the neighbourhood wereassembled in that one particular mine by which the cat had lain down. The eldest son of the king of the rats was about to be married. The catgot to know of this, and at once conceived the idea of seizing thebridegroom and making him render the necessary help. Consequently, whenthe procession poured forth from the hole squealing and jumping inhonour of the occasion, it immediately spotted the bridegroom andpounced down on him. "Oh! let me go, let me go, " cried the terrifiedrat. "Oh! let him go, " squealed all the company. "It is his weddingday. "

"No, no, " replied the cat. "Not unless you do some thing for me. Listen. The ogress, who lives in that house with the prince and hiswife, has swallowed a ring, which I very much want. If you will procureit for me, I will allow the rat to depart unharmed. If you do not, thenyour prince dies under my feet. "

"Very well, we agree, " said they all. "Nay, if we do not get the ringfor you, devour us all. "

This was rather a bold offer. However, they accomplished the thing. Atmidnight, when the ogress was sound asleep, one of the rats went to herbedside, climbed up on her face, and inserted its tail into her throat;whereupon the ogress coughed violently, and the ring came out androlled on to the floor. The rat immediately seized the precious thingand ran off with it to its king, who was very glad, and went at once tothe cat and released its son. 

As soon as the cat received the ring, she started back with the dog togo and tell their master the good tidings. All seemed safe now. Theyhad only to give the ring to him, and he would speak to it, and thehouse and beautiful princess would again be with them, and everythingwould go on as happily as before. "How glad master will be!" theythought, and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Now, on theway they had to cross a stream. The dog swam, and the cat sat on itsback. Now the dog was jealous of the cat, so he asked for the ring, andthreatened to throw the cat into the water if it did not give it up;whereupon the cat gave up the ring. Sorry moment, for the dog at oncedropped it, and a fish swallowed it. 

"Oh! what shall I do? what shall I do?" said the dog. 

"What is done is done, " replied the cat. "We must try to recover it, and if we do not succeed we had better drown ourselves in this stream. I have a plan. You go and kill a small lamb, and bring it here to me. "

"All right, " said the dog, and at once ran off. He soon came back witha dead lamb, and gave it to the cat. The cat got inside the lamb andlay down, telling the dog to go away a little distance and keep quiet. Not long after this a nadhar, a bird whose look can break the bones ofa fish, came and hovered over the lamb, and eventually pounced down onit to carry it away. On this the cat came out and jumped on to thebird, and threatened to kill it if it did not recover the lost ring. This was most readily promised by the nadhar, who immediately flew offto the king of the fishes, and ordered it to make inquiries and torestore the ring. The king of the fishes did so, and the ring was foundand carried back to the cat. 

"Come along now; I have got the ring, " said the cat to the dog. 

"No, I will not, " said the dog, "unless you let me have the ring. I cancarry it as well as you. Let me have it or I will kill you. " So the catwas obliged to give up the ring. The careless dog very soon dropped itagain. This time it was picked up and carried off by a kite. 

"See, see, there it goes--away to that big tree, " the cat exclaimed. 

"Oh! oh! what have I done?" cried the dog. 

"You foolish thing, I knew it would be so, " said the cat. "But stopyour barking, or you will frighten away the bird to some place where weshall not be able to trace it. "

The cat waited till it was quite dark, and then climbed the tree, killed the kite, and recovered the ring. "Come along, " it said to thedog when it reached the ground. "We must make haste now. We have beendelayed. Our master will die from grief and suspense. Come on. "

The dog, now thoroughly ashamed of itself, begged the cat's pardon forall the trouble it had given. It was afraid to ask for the ring thethird time, so they both reached their sorrowing master in safety andgave him the precious charm. In a moment his sorrow was turned intojoy. He spoke to the ring, and his beautiful wife and house reappeared, and he and everybody were as happy as ever they could be. 

THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE

The future Buddha was once born in a minister's family, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares; and when he grew up, he became theking's adviser in things temporal and spiritual. 

Now this king was very talkative; while he was speaking, others had noopportunity for a word. And the future Buddha, wanting to cure thistalkativeness of his, was constantly seeking for some means of doingso. 

At that time there was living, in a pond in the Himalaya mountains, atortoise. Two young hamsas, or wild ducks, who came to feed there, madefriends with him. And one day, when they had become very intimate withhim, they said to the tortoise:

"Friend tortoise! the place where we live, at the Golden Cave on MountBeautiful in the Himalaya country, is a delightful spot. Will you comethere with us?"

"But how can I get there?"

"We can take you, if you can only hold your tongue, and will saynothing to anybody. "

"Oh! that I can do. Take me with you. "

"That's right, " said they. And making the tortoise bite hold of astick, they themselves took the two ends in their teeth, and flew upinto the air. 

Seeing him thus carried by the hamsas, some villagers called out, "Twowild ducks are carrying a tortoise along on a stick!" Whereupon thetortoise wanted to say, "If my friends choose to carry me, what is thatto you, you wretched slaves!" So just as the swift flight of the wildducks had brought him over the king's palace in the city of Benares, helet go of the stick he was biting, and falling in the open courtyard, split in two! And there arose a universal cry, "A tortoise has fallenin the open courtyard, and has split in two!"

The king, taking the future Buddha, went to the place, surrounded byhis courtiers; and looking at the tortoise, he asked the Bodisat, "Teacher! how comes he to be fallen here?"

The future Buddha thought to himself, "Long expecting, wishing toadmonish the king, have I sought for some means of doing so. Thistortoise must have made friends with the wild ducks; and they must havemade him bite hold of the stick, and have flown up into the air to takehim to the hills. But he, being unable to hold his tongue when he hearsany one else talk, must have wanted to say something, and let go thestick; and so must have fallen down from the sky, and thus lost hislife. " And saying, "Truly, O king! those who are called chatter-boxes--people whose words have no end--come to grief like this, " he utteredthese Verses:

 "Verily the tortoise killed himself Whilst uttering his voice; Though he was holding tight the stick, By a word himself he slew. 

 "Behold him then, O excellent by strength! And speak wise words, not out of season. You see how, by his talking overmuch, The tortoise fell into this wretched plight!"

The king saw that he was himself referred to, and said, "O Teacher! areyou speaking of us?"

And the Bodisat spake openly, and said, "O great king! be it thou, orbe it any other, whoever talks beyond measure meets with some mishaplike this. "

And the king henceforth refrained himself, and became a man of fewwords. 

A LAC OF RUPEES FOR A BIT OF ADVICE

A poor blind Brahman and his wife were dependent on their son fortheir subsistence. Every day the young fellow used to go out and getwhat he could by begging. This continued for some time, till at last hebecame quite tired of such a wretched life, and determined to go andtry his luck in another country. He informed his wife of his intention, and ordered her to manage somehow or other for the old people duringthe few months that he would be absent. He begged her to beindustrious, lest his parents should be angry and curse him. 

One morning he started with some food in a bundle, and walked on dayafter day, till he reached the chief city of the neighbouring country. Here he went and sat down by a merchant's shop and asked alms. Themerchant inquired whence he had come, why he had come, and what was hiscaste; to which he replied that he was a Brahman, and was wanderinghither and thither begging a livelihood for himself and wife andparents. Moved with pity for the man, the merchant advised him to visitthe kind and generous king of that country, and offered to accompanyhim to the court. Now at that time it happened that the king wasseeking for a Brahman to look after a golden temple which he had justhad built. His Majesty was very glad, therefore, when he saw theBrahman and heard that he was good and honest. He at once deputed himto the charge of this temple, and ordered fifty kharwars of rice andone hundred rupees to be paid to him every year as wages. 

Two months after this, the Brahman's wife, not having heard any news ofher husband, left the house and went in quest of him. By a happy fateshe arrived at the very place that he had reached, where she heard thatevery morning at the golden temple a golden rupee was given in theking's name to any beggar who chose to go for it. Accordingly, on thefollowing morning she went to the place and met her husband. 

"Why have you come here?" he asked. "Why have you left my parents? Careyou not whether they curse me and I die? Go back immediately, and awaitmy return. "

"No, no, " said the woman. "I cannot go back to starve and see your oldfather and mother die. There is not a grain of rice left in the house. "

"O Bhagawant!" exclaimed the Brahman. "Here, take this, " he continued, scribbling a few lines on some paper, and then handing it to her, "andgive it to the king. You will see that he will give you a lac of rupeesfor it. " Thus saying he dismissed her, and the woman left. 

On this scrap of paper were written three pieces of advice--First, If aperson is travelling and reaches any strange place at night, let him becareful where he puts up, and not close his eyes in sleep, lest heclose them in death. Secondly, If a man has a married sister, andvisits her in great pomp, she will receive him for the sake of what shecan obtain from him; but if he comes to her in poverty, she will frownon him and disown him. Thirdly, If a man has to do any work, he must doit himself, and do it with might and without fear. 

On reaching her home the Brahmani told her parents of her meeting withher husband, and what a valuable piece of paper he had given her; butnot liking to go before the king herself, she sent one of herrelations. The king read the paper, and ordering the man to be flogged, dismissed him. The next morning the Brahmani took the paper, and whileshe was going along the road to the darbar reading it, the king's sonmet her, and asked what she was reading, whereupon she replied that sheheld in her hands a paper containing certain bits of advice, for whichshe wanted a lac of rupees. The prince asked her to show it to him, andwhen he had read it gave her a parwana for the amount, and rode on. Thepoor Brahmani was very thankful. That day she laid in a great store ofprovisions, sufficient to last them all for a long time. 

In the evening the prince related to his father the meeting with thewoman, and the purchase of the piece of paper. He thought his fatherwould applaud the act. But it was not so. The king was more angry thanbefore, and banished his son from the country. 

So the prince bade adieu to his mother and relations and friends, androde off on his horse, whither he did not know. At nightfall he arrivedat some place, where a man met him, and invited him to lodge at hishouse. The prince accepted the invitation, and was treated like aprince. Matting was spread for him to squat on, and the best provisionsset before him. 

"Ah!" thought he, as he lay down to rest, "here is a case for the firstpiece of advice that the Brahmani gave me. I will not sleep to-night. "

It was well that he thus resolved, for in the middle of the night theman rose up, and taking a sword in his hand, rushed to the prince withthe intention of killing him. But he rose up and spoke. 

"Do not slay me, " he said. "What profit would you get from my death? Ifyou killed me you would be sorry afterwards, like that man who killedhis dog. "

"What man? What dog?" he asked. 

"I will tell you, " said the prince, "if you will give me that sword. "

So he gave him the sword, and the prince began his story:

"Once upon a time there lived a wealthy merchant who had a pet dog. Hewas suddenly reduced to poverty, and had to part with his dog. He got aloan of five thousand rupees from a brother merchant, leaving the dogas a pledge, and with the money began business again. Not long afterthis the other merchant's shop was broken into by thieves andcompletely sacked. There was hardly ten rupees' worth left in theplace. The faithful dog, however, knew what was going on, and went andfollowed the thieves, and saw where they deposited the things, and thenreturned. 

"In the morning there was great weeping and lamentation in themerchant's house when it was known what had happened. The merchanthimself nearly went mad. Meanwhile the dog kept on running to the door, and pulling at his master's shirt and paijamas, as though wishing himto go outside. At last a friend suggested that, perhaps, the dog knewsomething of the whereabouts of the things, and advised the merchant tofollow its leadings. The merchant consented, and went after the dogright up to the very place where the thieves had hidden the goods. Herethe animal scraped and barked, and showed in various ways that thethings were underneath. So the merchant and his friends dug about theplace, and soon came upon all the stolen property. Nothing was missing. There was everything just as the thieves had taken them. 

"The merchant was very glad. On returning to his house, he at once sentthe dog back to its old master with a letter rolled under the collar, wherein he had written about the sagacity of the beast, and begged hisfriend to forget the loan and to accept another five thousand rupees asa present. When this merchant saw his dog coming back again, hethought, 'Alas! my friend is wanting the money. How can I pay him? Ihave not had sufficient time to recover myself from my recent losses. Iwill slay the dog ere he reaches the threshold, and say that anothermust have slain it. Thus there will be an end of my debt. '

"No dog, no loan. Accordingly he ran out and killed the poor dog, whenthe letter fell out of its collar. The merchant picked it up and readit. How great was his grief and disappointment when he knew the factsof the case!

"Beware, " continued the prince, "lest you do that which afterwards youwould give your life not to have done. "

By the time the prince had concluded this story it was nearly morning, and he went away, after rewarding the man. 

The prince then visited the country belonging to his brother-in-law. Hedisguised himself as a jogi, and sitting down by a tree near thepalace, pretended to be absorbed in worship. News of the man and of hiswonderful piety reached the ears of the king. He felt interested inhim, as his wife was very ill; and he had sought for hakims to cureher, but in vain. He thought that, perhaps, this holy man could dosomething for her. So he sent to him. But the jogi refused to tread thehalls of a king, saying that his dwelling was the open air, and that ifhis Majesty wished to see him he must come himself and bring his wifeto the place. Then the king took his wife and brought her to the jogi. The holy man bade her prostrate herself before him, and when she hadremained in this position for about three hours, he told her to riseand go, for she was cured. 

In the evening there was great consternation in the palace, because thequeen had lost her pearl rosary, and nobody knew anything about it. Atlength some one went to the jogi, and found it on the ground by theplace where the queen had prostrated herself. When the king heard thishe was very angry, and ordered the jogi to be executed. This sternorder, however, was not carried out, as the prince bribed the men andescaped from the country. But he knew that the second bit of advice wastrue. 

Clad in his own clothes, the prince was walking along one day when hesaw a potter crying and laughing alternately with his wife andchildren. "O fool, " said he, "what is the matter? If you laugh, why doyou weep? If you weep, why do you laugh?"

"Do not bother me, " said the potter. "What does it matter to you?"

"Pardon me, " said the prince, "but I should like to know the reason. "

"The reason is this, then, " said the potter. "The king of this countryhas a daughter whom he is obliged to marry every day, because all herhusbands die the first night of their stay with her. Nearly all theyoung men of the place have thus perished, and our son will be calledon soon. We laugh at the absurdity of the thing--a potter's sonmarrying a princess, and we cry at the terrible consequence of themarriage. What can we do?"

"Truly a matter for laughing and weeping. But weep no more, " said theprince. "I will exchange places with your son, and will be married tothe princess instead of him. Only give me suitable garments, andprepare me for the occasion. "

So the potter gave him beautiful raiment and ornaments, and the princewent to the palace. At night he was conducted to the apartment of theprincess. "Dread hour!" thought he; "am I to die like the scores ofyoung men before me?" He clenched his sword with firm grip, and laydown on his bed, intending to keep awake all the night and see whatwould happen. In the middle of the night he saw two Shahmars come outfrom the nostrils of the princess. They stole over towards him, intending to kill him, like the others who had been before him: but hewas ready for them. He laid hold of his sword, and when the snakesreached his bed he struck at them and killed them. In the morning theking came as usual to inquire, and was surprised to hear his daughterand the prince talking gaily together. "Surely, " said he, "this manmust be her husband, as he only can live with her. "

"Where do you come from? Who are you?" asked the king, entering theroom. 

"O king!" replied the prince, "I am the son of a king who rules oversuch-and-such a country. "

When he heard this the king was very glad, and bade the prince to abidein his palace, and appointed him his successor to the throne. Theprince remained at the palace for more than a year, and then askedpermission to visit his own country, which was granted. The king gavehim elephants, horses, jewels, and abundance of money for the expensesof the way and as presents for his father, and the prince started. 

On the way he had to pass through the country belonging to his brother-in-law, whom we have already mentioned. Report of his arrival reachedthe ears of the king, who came with rope-tied hands and haltered neckto do him homage. He most humbly begged him to stay at his palace, andto accept what little hospitality could be provided. While the princewas staying at the palace he saw his sister, who greeted him withsmiles and kisses. On leaving he told her how she and her husband hadtreated him at his first visit, and how he had escaped; and then gavethem two elephants, two beautiful horses, fifteen soldiers, and tenlacs rupees' worth of jewels. 

Afterwards he went to his own home, and informed his mother and fatherof his arrival. Alas! his parents had both become blind from weepingabout the loss of their son. "Let him come in, " said the king, "and puthis hands upon our eyes, and we shall see again. " So the princeentered, and was most affectionately greeted by his old parents; and helaid his hands on their eyes, and they saw again. 

Then the prince told his father all that had happened to him, and howhe had been saved several times by attending to the advice that he hadpurchased from the Brahmani. Whereupon the king expressed his sorrowfor having sent him away, and all was joy and peace again. 

THE GOLD-GIVING SERPENT

Now in a certain place there lived a Brahman named Haridatta. He was afarmer, but poor was the return his labour brought him. One day, at theend of the hot hours, the Brahman, overcome by the heat, lay down underthe shadow of a tree to have a doze. Suddenly he saw a great hoodedsnake creeping out of an ant-hill near at hand. So he thought tohimself, "Sure this is the guardian deity of the field, and I have notever worshipped it. That's why my farming is in vain. I will at once goand pay my respects to it. "

When he had made up his mind, he got some milk, poured it into a bowl, and went to the ant-hill, and said aloud: "O Guardian of this Field!all this while I did not know that you dwelt here. That is why I havenot yet paid my respects to you; pray forgive me. " And he laid the milkdown and went to his house. Next morning he came and looked, and he sawa gold denar in the bowl, and from that time onward every day the samething occurred he gave milk to the serpent and found a gold denar. 

One day the Brahman had to go to the village, and so he ordered his sonto take the milk to the ant-hill. The son brought the milk, put itdown, and went back home. Next day he went again and found a denar, sohe thought to himself: "This ant-hill is surely full of golden denars;I'll kill the serpent, and take them all for myself. " So next day, while he was giving the milk to the serpent, the Brahman's son struckit on the head with a cudgel. But the serpent escaped death by the willof fate, and in a rage bit the Brahman's son with its sharp fangs, andhe fell down dead at once. His people raised him a funeral pyre not farfrom the field and burnt him to ashes. 

Two days afterwards his father came back, and when he learnt his son'sfate he grieved and mourned. But after a time, he took the bowl ofmilk, went to the ant-hill, and praised the serpent with a loud voice. After a long, long time the serpent appeared, but only with its headout of the opening of the ant-hill, and spoke to the Brahman: "'Tisgreed that brings you here, and makes you even forget the loss of yourson. From this time forward friendship between us is impossible. Yourson struck me in youthful ignorance, and I have bitten him to death. How can I forget the blow with the cudgel? And how can you forget thepain and grief at the loss of your son?" So speaking, it gave theBrahman a costly pearl and disappeared. But before it went away itsaid: "Come back no more. " The Brahman took the pearl, and went backhome, cursing the folly of his son. 

THE SON OF SEVEN QUEENS

Once upon a time there lived a King who had seven Queens, but nochildren. This was a great grief to him, especially when he rememberedthat on his death there would be no heir to inherit the kingdom. 

Now it happened one day that a poor old fakir came to the King, andsaid, "Your prayers are heard, your desire shall be accomplished, andone of your seven Queens shall bear a son. "

The King's delight at this promise knew no bounds, and he gave ordersfor appropriate festivities to be prepared against the coming eventthroughout the length and breadth of the land. 

Meanwhile the seven Queens lived luxuriously in a splendid palace, attended by hundreds of female slaves, and fed to their hearts' contenton sweetmeats and confectionery. 

Now the King was very fond of hunting, and one day, before he started, the seven Queens sent him a message saying, "May it please our dearestlord not to hunt towards the north to-day, for we have dreamt baddreams, and fear lest evil should befall you. "

The king, to allay their anxiety, promised regard for their wishes, andset out towards the south; but as luck would have it, although hehunted diligently, he found no game. Nor had he more success to theeast or west, so that, being a keen sportsman, and determined not to gohome empty-handed, he forgot all about his promise, and turned to thenorth. Here also he was at first unsuccessful, but just as he had madeup his mind to give up for that day, a white hind with golden horns andsilver hoofs flashed past him into a thicket. So quickly did it passthat he scarcely saw it; nevertheless a burning desire to capture andpossess the beautiful strange creature filled his breast. He instantlyordered his attendants to form a ring round the thicket, and soencircle the hind; then, gradually narrowing the circle, he pressedforward till he could distinctly see the white hind panting in themidst. Nearer and nearer he advanced, till, just as he thought to layhold of the beautiful strange creature, it gave one mighty bound, leaptclean over the King's head, and fled towards the mountains. Forgetfulof all else, the King, setting spurs to his horse, followed at fullspeed. On, on he galloped, leaving his retinue far behind, keeping thewhite hind in view, never drawing bridle, until, finding himself in anarrow ravine with no outlet, he reined in his steed. Before him stooda miserable hovel, into which, being tired after his long, unsuccessfulchase, he entered to ask for a drink of water. An old woman, seated inthe hut at a spinning-wheel, answered his request by calling to herdaughter, and immediately from an inner room came a maiden so lovelyand charming, so white-skinned and golden-haired, that the King wastransfixed by astonishment at seeing so beautiful a sight in thewretched hovel. 

She held the vessel of water to the King's lips, and as he drank helooked into her eyes, and then it became clear to him that the girl wasno other than the white hind with the golden horns and silver feet hehad chased so far. 

Her beauty bewitched him, so he fell on his knees, begging her toreturn with him as his bride; but she only laughed, saying seven Queenswere quite enough even for a King to manage. However, when he wouldtake no refusal, but implored her to have pity on him, promising hereverything she could desire, she replied, "Give me the eyes of yourseven Queens, and then perhaps I may believe you mean what you say. "

The King was so carried away by the glamour of the white hind's magicalbeauty, that he went home at once, had the eyes of his seven Queenstaken out, and, after throwing the poor blind creatures into a noisomedungeon whence they could not escape, set off once more for the hovelin the ravine, bearing with him his horrible offering. But the whitehind only laughed cruelly when she saw the fourteen eyes, and threadingthem as a necklace, flung it round her mother's neck, saying, "Wearthat, little mother, as a keepsake, whilst I am away in the King'spalace. "

Then she went back with the bewitched monarch, as his bride, and hegave her the seven Queens' rich clothes and jewels to wear, the sevenQueens' palace to live in, and the seven Queens' slaves to wait uponher; so that she really had everything even a witch could desire. 

Now, very soon after the seven wretched hapless Queens had their eyestorn out, and were cast into prison, a baby was born to the youngest ofthe Queens. It was a handsome boy, but the other Queens were veryjealous that the youngest amongst them should be so fortunate. Butthough at first they disliked the handsome little boy, he soon provedso useful to them, that ere long they all looked on him as their son. Almost as soon as he could walk about he began scraping at the mud wallof their dungeon, and in an incredibly short space of time had made ahole big enough for him to crawl through. Through this he disappeared, returning in an hour or so laden with sweet-meats, which he dividedequally amongst the seven blind Queens. 

As he grew older he enlarged the hole, and slipped out two or threetimes every day to play with the little nobles in the town. No one knewwho the tiny boy was, but everybody liked him, and he was so full offunny tricks and antics, so merry and bright, that he was sure to berewarded by some girdle-cakes, a handful of parched grain, or somesweetmeats. All these things he brought home to his seven mothers, ashe loved to call the seven blind Queens, who by his help lived on intheir dungeon when all the world thought they had starved to death agesbefore. 

At last, when he was quite a big lad, he one day took his bow andarrow, and went out to seek for game. Coming by chance past the palacewhere the white hind lived in wicked splendour and magnificence, he sawsome pigeons fluttering round the white marble turrets, and, takinggood aim, shot one dead. It came tumbling past the very window wherethe white Queen was sitting; she rose to see what was the matter, andlooked out. At the first glance of the handsome young lad standingthere bow in hand, she knew by witchcraft that it was the King's son. 

She nearly died of envy and spite, determining to destroy the ladwithout delay; therefore, sending a servant to bring him to herpresence, she asked him if he would sell her the pigeon he had justshot. 

"No, " replied the sturdy lad, "the pigeon is for my seven blindmothers, who live in the noisome dungeon, and who would die if I didnot bring them food. "

"Poor souls!" cried the cunning white witch; "would you not like tobring them their eyes again? Give me the pigeon, my dear, and Ifaithfully promise to show you where to find them. "

Hearing this, the lad was delighted beyond measure, and gave up thepigeon at once. Whereupon the white Queen told him to seek her motherwithout delay, and ask for the eyes which she wore as a necklace. 

"She will not fail to give them, " said the cruel Queen, "if you showher this token on which I have written what I want done. "

So saying, she gave the lad a piece of broken potsherd, with thesewords inscribed on it--"Kill the bearer at once, and sprinkle his bloodlike water!"

Now, as the son of seven Queens could not read, he took the fatalmessage cheerfully, and set off to find the white Queen's mother. 

Whilst he was journeying be passed through a town, where every one ofthe inhabitants looked so sad, that he could not help asking what wasthe matter. They told him it was because the King's only daughterrefused to marry; so when her father died there would be no heir to thethrone. They greatly feared she must be out of her mind, for thoughevery good-looking young man in the kingdom had been shown to her, shedeclared she would only marry one who was the son of seven mothers, andwho ever heard of such a thing? The King, in despair, had ordered everyman who entered the city gates to be led before the Princess; so, muchto the lad's impatience, for he was in an immense hurry to find hismothers' eyes, he was dragged into the presence-chamber. 

No sooner did the Princess catch sight of him than she blushed, and, turning to the King, said, "Dear father, this is my choice!"

Never were such rejoicings as these few words produced. 

The inhabitants nearly went wild with joy, but the son of seven Queenssaid he would not marry the Princess unless they first let him recoverhis mothers' eyes. When the beautiful bride heard his story, she askedto see the potsherd, for she was very learned and clever. Seeing thetreacherous words, she said nothing, but taking another similar-shapedbit of potsherd, she wrote on it these words--"Take care of this lad, giving him all he desires, " and returned it to the son of seven Queens, who, none the wiser, set off on his quest. 

Ere long he arrived at the hovel in the ravine where the white witch'smother, a hideous old creature, grumbled dreadfully on reading themessage, especially when the lad asked for the necklace of eyes. Nevertheless she took it off, and gave it him, saying, "There are onlythirteen of 'em now, for I lost one last week. "

The lad, however, was only too glad to get any at all, so he hurriedhome as fast as he could to his seven mothers, and gave two eyes apieceto the six elder Queens; but to the youngest he gave one, saying, "Dearest little mother!--I will be your other eye always!"

After this he set off to marry the Princess, as he had promised, butwhen passing by the white Queen's palace he saw some pigeons on theroof. Drawing his bow, he shot one, and it came fluttering past thewindow. The white hind looked out, and lo! there was the King's sonalive and well. 

She cried with hatred and disgust, but sending for the lad, asked himhow he had returned so soon, and when she heard how he had brought homethe thirteen eyes, and given them to the seven blind Queens, she couldhardly restrain her rage. Nevertheless she pretended to be charmed withhis success, and told him that if he would give her this pigeon also, she would reward him with the Jogi's wonderful cow, whose milk flowsall day long, and makes a pond as big as a kingdom. The lad, nothingloth, gave her the pigeon; whereupon, as before, she bade him go askher mother for the cow, and gave him a potsherd whereon was written--"Kill this lad without fail, and sprinkle his blood like water!"

But on the way the son of seven Queens looked in on the Princess, justto tell her how he came to be delayed, and she, after reading themessage on the potsherd, gave him another in its stead; so that whenthe lad reached the old hag's hut and asked her for the Jogi's cow, shecould not refuse, but told the boy how to find it; and bidding him ofall things not to be afraid of the eighteen thousand demons who keptwatch and ward over the treasure, told him to be off before she becametoo angry at her daughter's foolishness in thus giving away so manygood things. 

Then the lad did as he had been told bravely. He journeyed on and ontill he came to a milk-white pond, guarded by the eighteen thousanddemons. They were really frightful to behold, but, plucking up courage, he whistled a tune as he walked through them, looking neither to theright nor the left. By-and-by he came upon the Jogi's cow, tall, white, and beautiful, while the Jogi himself, who was king of all the demons, sat milking her day and night, and the milk streamed from her udder, filling the milk-white tank. 

The Jogi, seeing the lad, called out fiercely, "What do you want here?"

Then the lad answered, according to the old hag's bidding, "I want yourskin, for King Indra is making a new kettle-drum, and says your skin isnice and tough. "

Upon this the Jogi began to shiver and shake (for no Jinn or Jogi daresdisobey King Indra's command), and, falling at the lad's feet, cried, "If you will spare me I will give you anything I possess, even mybeautiful white cow!"

To this the son of seven Queens, after a little pretended hesitation, agreed, saying that after all it would not be difficult to find a nicetough skin like the Jogi's elsewhere; so, driving the wonderful cowbefore him, he set off homewards. The seven Queens were delighted topossess so marvellous an animal, and though they toiled from morningtill night making curds and whey, besides selling milk to theconfectioners, they could not use half the cow gave, and became richerand richer day by day. 

Seeing them so comfortably off, the son of seven Queens started with alight heart to marry the Princess; but when passing the white hind'spalace he could not resist sending a bolt at some pigeons which werecooing on the parapet. One fell dead just beneath the window where thewhite Queen was sitting. Looking out, she saw the lad hale and heartystanding before her, and grew whiter than ever with rage and spite. 

She sent for him to ask how he had returned so soon, and when she heardhow kindly her mother had received him, she very nearly had a fit;however, she dissembled her feelings as well as she could, and, smilingsweetly, said she was glad to have been able to fulfil her promise, andthat if he would give her this third pigeon, she would do yet more forhim than she had done before, by giving him the million-fold rice, which ripens in one night. 

The lad was of course delighted at the very idea, and, giving up thepigeon, set off on his quest, armed as before with a potsherd, on whichwas written, "Do not fail this time. Kill the lad, and sprinkle hisblood like water!"

But when he looked in on his Princess, just to prevent her becominganxious about him, she asked to see the potsherd as usual, andsubstituted another, on which was written, "Yet again give this lad allhe requires, for his blood shall be as your blood!"

Now when the old hag saw this, and heard how the lad wanted themillion-fold rice which ripens in a single night, she fell into themost furious rage, but being terribly afraid of her daughter, shecontrolled herself, and bade the boy go and find the field guarded byeighteen millions of demons, warning him on no account to look backafter having plucked the tallest spike of rice, which grew in thecentre. 

So the son of seven Queens set off, and soon came to the field where, guarded by eighteen millions of demons, the million-fold rice grew. Hewalked on bravely, looking neither to the right or left, till hereached the centre and plucked the tallest ear, but as he turnedhomewards a thousand sweet voices rose behind him, crying in tenderestaccents, "Pluck me too! oh, please pluck me too!" He looked back, andlo! there was nothing left of him but a little heap of ashes!

Now as time passed by and the lad did not return, the old hag grewuneasy, remembering the message "his blood shall be as your blood"; soshe set off to see what had happened. 

Soon she came to the heap of ashes, and knowing by her arts what itwas, she took a little water, and kneading the ashes into a paste, formed it into the likeness of a man; then, putting a drop of bloodfrom her little finger into its mouth, she blew on it, and instantlythe son of seven Queens started up as well as ever. 

"Don't you disobey orders again!" grumbled the old hag, "or next timeI'll leave you alone. Now be off, before I repent of my kindness!"

So the son of seven Queens returned joyfully to his seven mothers, who, by the aid of the million-fold rice, soon became the richest people inthe kingdom. Then they celebrated their son's marriage to the cleverPrincess with all imaginable pomp; but the bride was so clever, shewould not rest until she had made known her husband to his father, andpunished the wicked white witch. So she made her husband build a palaceexactly like the one in which the seven Queens had lived, and in whichthe white witch now dwelt in splendour. Then, when all was prepared, she bade her husband give a grand feast to the King. Now the King hadheard much of the mysterious son of seven Queens, and his marvellouswealth, so he gladly accepted the invitation; but what was hisastonishment when on entering the palace he found it was a facsimile ofhis own in every particular! And when his host, richly attired, led himstraight to the private hall, where on royal thrones sat the sevenQueens, dressed as he had last seen them, he was speechless withsurprise, until the Princess, coming forward, threw herself at hisfeet, and told him the whole story. Then the King awoke from hisenchantment, and his anger rose against the wicked white hind who hadbewitched him so long, until he could not contain himself. So she wasput to death, and her grave ploughed over, and after that the sevenQueens returned to their own splendid palace, and everybody livedhappily. 

A LESSON FOR KINGS

Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, the futureBuddha returned to life as his son and heir. And when the day came forchoosing a name, they called him Prince Brahma-datta. He grew up in duecourse; and when he was sixteen years old, went to Takkasila, andbecame accomplished in all arts. And after his father died he ascendedthe throne, and ruled the kingdom with righteousness and equity. Hegave judgments without partiality, hatred, ignorance, or fear. Since hethus reigned with justice, with justice also his ministers administeredthe law. Lawsuits being thus decided with justice, there were none whobrought false cases. And as these ceased, the noise and tumult oflitigation ceased in the king's court. Though the judges sat all day inthe court, they had to leave without any one coming for justice. Itcame to this, that the Hall of Justice would have to be closed!

Then the future Buddha thought, "It cannot be from my reigning withrighteousness that none come for judgment; the bustle has ceased, andthe Hall of Justice will have to be closed. I must, therefore, nowexamine into my own faults; and if I find that anything is wrong in me, put that away, and practise only virtue. "

Thenceforth he sought for some one to tell him his faults, but amongthose around him he found no one who would tell him of any fault, butheard only his own praise. 

Then he thought, "It is from fear of me that these men speak only goodthings, and not evil things, " and he sought among those people wholived outside the palace. And finding no fault-finder there, he soughtamong those who lived outside the city, in the suburbs, at the fourgates. And there too finding no one to find fault, and hearing only hisown praise, he determined to search the country places. 

So he made over the kingdom to his ministers, and mounted his chariot;and taking only his charioteer, left the city in disguise. Andsearching the country through, up to the very boundary, he found nofault-finder, and heard only of his own virtue; and so he turned backfrom the outer-most boundary, and returned by the high road towards thecity. 

Now at that time the king of Kosala, Mallika by name, was also rulinghis kingdom with righteousness; and when seeking for some fault inhimself, he also found no fault-finder in the palace, but only heard ofhis own virtue! So seeking in country places, he too came to that veryspot. And these two came face to face in a low cart-track withprecipitous sides, where there was no space for a chariot to get out ofthe way!

Then the charioteer of Mallika the king said to the charioteer of theking of Benares, "Take thy chariot out of the way!"

But he said, "Take thy chariot out of the way, O charioteer! In thischariot sitteth the lord over the kingdom of Benares, the great kingBrahma-datta. "

Yet the other replied, "In this chariot, O charioteer, sitteth the lordover the kingdom of Kosala, the great king Mallika. Take thy carriageout of the way, and make room for the chariot of our king!"

Then the charioteer of the king of Benares thought, "They say then thathe too is a king! What _is_ now to be done?" After some consideration, he said to himself, "I know a way. I'll find out how old he is, and thenI'll let the chariot of the younger be got out of the way, and so makeroom for the elder. "

And when he had arrived at that conclusion, he asked that charioteerwhat the age of the king of Kosala was. But on inquiry he found thatthe ages of both were equal. Then he inquired about the extent of hiskingdom, and about his army, and his wealth, and his renown, and aboutthe country he lived in, and his caste and tribe and family. And hefound that both were lords of a kingdom three hundred leagues inextent; and that in respect of army and wealth and renown, and thecountries in which they lived, and their caste and their tribe andtheir family, they were just on a par!

Then he thought, "I will make way for the most righteous. " And heasked, "What kind of righteousness has this king of yours?"

Then the chorister of the king of Kosala, proclaiming his king'swickedness as goodness, uttered the First Stanza:

 "The strong he overthrows by strength, The mild by mildness, does Mallika; The good he conquers by goodness, And the wicked by wickedness too. Such is the nature of _this_ king! Move out of the way, O charioteer!"

But the charioteer of the king of Benares asked him, "Well, have youtold all the virtues of your king?"

"Yes, " said the other. 

"If these are his _virtues_, where are then his faults?" repliedhe. 

The other said, "Well, for the nonce, they shall be faults, if youlike! But pray, then, what is the kind of goodness your king has?"

And then the charioteer of the king of Benares called unto him tohearken, and uttered the Second Stanza

 "Anger he conquers by calmness, And by goodness the wicked; The stingy he conquers by gifts, And by truth the speaker of lies. Such is the nature of _this_ king! Move out of the way, O charioteer!"

And when he had thus spoken, both Mallika the king and his charioteeralighted from their chariot. And they took out the horses, and removedtheir chariot, and made way for the king of Benares!

PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL

In a certain village there lived ten cloth merchants, who always wentabout together. Once upon a time they had travelled far afield, andwere returning home with a great deal of money which they had obtainedby selling their wares. Now there happened to be a dense forest neartheir village, and this they reached early one morning. In it therelived three notorious robbers, of whose existence the traders had neverheard, and while they were still in the middle of it the robbers stoodbefore them, with swords and cudgels in their hands, and ordered themto lay down all they had. The traders had no weapons with them, and so, though they were many more in number, they had to submit themselves tothe robbers, who took away everything from them, even the very clothesthey wore, and gave to each only a small loin-cloth a span in breadthand a cubit in length. 

The idea that they had conquered ten men and plundered all theirproperty, now took possession of the robbers' minds. They seatedthemselves like three monarchs before the men they had plundered, andordered them to dance to them before returning home. The merchants nowmourned their fate. They had lost all they had, except their loin-cloth, and still the robbers were not satisfied, but ordered them todance. 

There was, among the ten merchants, one who was very clever. Hepondered over the calamity that had come upon him and his friends, thedance they would have to perform, and the magnificent manner in whichthe three robbers had seated themselves on the grass. At the same timehe observed that these last had placed their weapons on the ground, inthe assurance of having thoroughly cowed the traders, who were nowcommencing to dance. So he took the lead in the dance, and, as a songis always sung by the leader on such occasions, to which the rest keeptime with hands and feet, he thus began to sing:

 "We are enty men, They are erith men: If each erith man, Surround eno men Eno man remains. _Tâ, tai, tôm, tadingana. _"

The robbers were all uneducated, and thought that the leader was merelysinging a song as usual. So it was in one sense; for the leadercommenced from a distance, and had sung the song over twice before heand his companions commenced to approach the robbers. They hadunderstood his meaning, because they had been trained in trade. 

When two traders discuss the price of an article in the presence of apurchaser, they use a riddling sort of language. 

"What is the price of this cloth?" one trader will ask another. 

"Enty rupees, " another will reply, meaning "ten rupees. "

Thus, there is no possibility of the purchaser knowing what is meantunless he be acquainted with trade language. By the rules of thissecret language erith means "three, " enty means "ten, " and eno means"one. " So the leader by his song meant to hint to his fellow-tradersthat they were ten men, the robbers only three, that if three pouncedupon each of the robbers, nine of them could hold them down, while theremaining one bound the robbers' hands and feet. 

The three thieves, glorying in their victory, and little understandingthe meaning of the song and the intentions of the dancers, were proudlyseated chewing betel and tobacco. Meanwhile the song was sung a thirdtime. _Tâ tai tôm_ had left the lips of the singer; and, before_tadingana_ was out of them, the traders separated into parties ofthree, and each party pounced upon a thief. The remaining one--theleader himself--tore up into long narrow strips a large piece of cloth, six cubits long, and tied the hands and feet of the robbers. These wereentirely humbled now, and rolled on the ground like three bags of rice!

The ten traders now took back all their property, and armed themselveswith the swords and cudgels of their enemies; and when they reachedtheir village, they often amused their friends and relatives byrelating their adventure. 

RAJA RASALU

Once there lived a great Raja, whose name was Salabhan, and he had aQueen, by name Lona, who, though she wept and prayed at many a shrine, had never a child to gladden her eyes. After a long time, however, ason was promised to her. 

Queen Lona returned to the palace, and when the time for the birth ofthe promised son drew nigh, she inquired of three Jogis who camebegging to her gate, what the child's fate would be, and the youngestof them answered and said, "Oh, Queen! the child will be a boy, and hewill live to be a great man. But for twelve years you must not lookupon his face, for if either you or his father see it before the twelveyears are past, you will surely die! This is what you must do; as soonas the child is born you must send him away to a cellar underneath theground, and never let him see the light of day for twelve years. Afterthey are over, he may come forth, bathe in the river, put on newclothes, and visit you. His name shall be Raja Rasalu, and he shall beknown far and wide. "

So, when a fair young Prince was in due time born into the world, hisparents hid him away in an underground palace, with nurses, andservants, and everything else a King's son might desire. And with himthey sent a young colt, born the same day, and sword, spear, andshield, against the day when Raja Rasalu should go forth into theworld. 

So there the child lived, playing with his colt, and talking to hisparrot, while the nurses taught him all things needful for a King's sonto know. 

Young Rasalu lived on, far from the light of day, for eleven longyears, growing tall and strong, yet contented to remain playing withhis colt, and talking to his parrot; but when the twelfth year began, the lad's heart leapt up with desire for change, and he loved to listento the sounds of life which came to him in his palace-prison from theoutside world. 

"I must go and see where the voices come from!" he said; and when hisnurses told him he must not go for one year more, he only laughedaloud, saying, "Nay! I stay no longer here for any man!"

Then he saddled his Arab horse Bhaunr, put on his shining armour, androde forth into the world; but mindful of what his nurses had oft toldhim, when he came to the river, he dismounted, and, going into thewater, washed himself and his clothes. 

Then, clean of raiment, fair of face, and brave of heart, he rode onhis way until he reached his father's city. There he sat down to restawhile by a well, where the women were drawing water in earthenpitchers. Now, as they passed him, their full pitchers poised upontheir heads, the gay young Prince flung stones at the earthen vessels, and broke them all. Then the women, drenched with water, went weepingand wailing to the palace, complaining to the King that a mighty youngPrince in shining armour, with a parrot on his wrist and a gallantsteed beside him, sat by the well, and broke their pitchers. 

Now, as soon as Rajah Salabhan heard this, he guessed at once that itwas Prince Rasalu come forth before the time, and, mindful of theJogis' words that he would die if he looked on his son's face beforetwelve years were past, he did not dare to send his guards to seize theoffender and bring him to be judged. So he bade the women be comforted, and take pitchers of iron and brass, giving new ones from his treasuryto those who did not possess any of their own. 

But when Prince Rasalu saw the women returning to the well withpitchers of iron and brass, he laughed to himself, and drew his mightybow till the sharp-pointed arrows pierced the metal vessels as thoughthey had been clay. 

Yet still the King did not send for him, so he mounted his steed andset off in the pride of his youth and strength to the palace. He strodeinto the audience hall, where his father sat trembling, and saluted himwill all reverence; but Raja Salabhan, in fear of his life, turned hisback hastily and said never a word in reply. 

Then Prince Rasalu called scornfully to him across the hall:

 "I came to greet thee, King, and not to harm thee! What have I done that thou shouldst turn away? Sceptre and empire have no power to charm me-- I go to seek a worthier prize than they!"

Then he strode away, full of bitterness and anger; but, as he passedunder the palace windows, he heard his mother weeping, and the soundsoftened his heart, so that his wrath died down, and a great lonelinessfell upon him, because he was spurned by both father and mother. So hecried sorrowfully, "Oh heart crown'd with grief, hast thou nought But tears for thy son? Art mother of mine? Give one thought To my life just begun!"

And Queen Lona answered through her tears:

 "Yea! mother am I, though I weep, So hold this word sure, -- Go, reign king of all men, but keep Thy heart good and pure!"

So Raja Rasalu was comforted, and began to make ready for fortune. Hetook with him his horse Bhaunr and his parrot, both of whom had livedwith him since he was born. 

So they made a goodly company, and Queen Lona, when she saw them going, watched them from her window till she saw nothing but a cloud of duston the horizon; then she bowed her head on her hands and wept, saying:

 "Oh! son who ne'er gladdened mine eyes, Let the cloud of thy going arise, Dim the sunlight and darken the day; For the mother whose son is away Is as dust!"

Rasalu had started off to play chaupur with King Sarkap. And as hejourneyed there came a fierce storm of thunder and lightning, so thathe sought shelter, and found none save an old graveyard, where aheadless corpse lay upon the ground. So lonesome was it that even thecorpse seemed company, and Rasalu, sitting down beside it, said:

 "There is no one here, nor far nor near, Save this breathless corpse so cold and grim; Would God he might come to life again, 'Twould be less lonely to talk to him. "

And immediately the headless corpse arose and sat beside Raja Rasalu. And he, nothing astonished, said to it:

 "The storm beats fierce and loud, The clouds rise thick in the west; What ails thy grave and shroud, Oh corpse! that thou canst not rest?"

Then the headless corpse replied:

 "On earth I was even as thou, My turban awry like a king, My head with the highest, I trow, Having my fun and my fling, Fighting my foes like a brave, Living my life with a swing. And, now I am dead, Sins, heavy as lead, Will give me no rest in my grave!"

So the night passed on, dark and dreary, while Rasalu sat in thegraveyard and talked to the headless corpse. Now when morning broke andRasalu said he must continue his journey, the headless corpse asked himwhither he was going, and when he said "to play chaupur with KingSarkap, " the corpse begged him to give up the idea saying, "I am KingSarkap's brother, and I know his ways. Every day, before breakfast, hecuts off the heads of two or three men, just to amuse himself. One dayno one else was at hand, so he cut off mine, and he will surely cut offyours on some pretence or another. However, if you are determined to goand play chaupur with him, take some of the bones from this graveyard, and make your dice out of them, and then the enchanted dice with whichmy brother plays will lose their virtue. Otherwise he will always win. "

So Rasalu took some of the bones lying about, and fashioned them intodice, and these he put into his pocket. Then, bidding adieu to theheadless corpse, he went on his way to play chaupur with the King. 

Now, as Raja Rasalu, tender-hearted and strong, journeyed along to playchaupur with the King, he came to a burning forest, and a voice rosefrom the fire saying, "Oh, traveller! for God's sake save me from thefire!"

Then the Prince turned towards the burning forest, and, lo! the voicewas the voice of a tiny cricket. Nevertheless, Rasalu, tender-heartedand strong, snatched it from the fire and set it at liberty. Then thelittle creature, full of gratitude, pulled out one of its feelers, andgiving it to its preserver, said, "Keep this, and should you ever be introuble, put it into the fire, and instantly I will come to your aid. "

The Prince smiled, saying, "What help could _you_ give _me_?"Nevertheless, he kept the hair and went on his way. 

Now, when he reached the city of King Sarkap, seventy maidens, daughters of the King, came out to meet him, --seventy fair maidens, merry and careless, full of smiles and laughter; but one, the youngestof them all, when she saw the gallant young Prince riding on BhaunrIraqi, going gaily to his doom, was filled with pity, and called to himsaying:

 "Fair Prince, on the charger so gray, Turn thee back! turn thee back! Or lower thy lance for the fray; Thy head will be forfeit to-day! Dost love life? then, stranger, I pray, Turn thee back! turn thee back!"

But he, smiling at the maiden, answered lightly:

 "Fair maiden, I come from afar, Sworn conqueror in love and in war! King Sarkap my coming will rue, His head in four pieces I'll hew; Then forth as a bridegroom I'll ride, With you, little maid, as my bride!"

Now when Rasalu replied so gallantly, the maiden looked in his face, and seeing how fair he was, and how brave and strong, she straightwayfell in love with him, and would gladly have followed him through theworld. 

But the other sixty-nine maidens, being jealous, laughed scornfully ather, saying, "Not so fast, oh gallant warrior! If you would marry oursister you must first do our bidding, for you will be our youngerbrother. "

"Fair sisters!" quoth Rasalu gaily, "give me my task and I will performit. "

So the sixty-nine maidens mixed a hundred-weight of millet seed with ahundredweight of sand, and giving it to Rasalu, bade him separate theseed from the sand. 

Then he bethought him of the cricket, and drawing the feeler from hispocket, thrust it into the fire. And immediately there was a whirringnoise in the air, and a great flight of crickets alighted beside him, and amongst them the cricket whose life he had saved. 

Then Rasalu said, "Separate the millet seed from the sand. "

"Is that all?" quoth the cricket; "had I known how small a job youwanted me to do, I would not have assembled so many of my brethren. "

With that the flight of crickets set to work, and in one night theyseparated the seed from the sand. 

Now when the sixty-nine fair maidens, daughters of the king saw thatRasalu had performed his task, they set him another, bidding him swingthem all, one by one, in their swings, until they were tired. 

Whereupon he laughed, saying, "There are seventy of you, counting mylittle bride yonder, and I am not going to spend my life swinginggirls! Why, by the time I have given each of you a swing, the firstwill be wanting another! No! if you want a swing, get in, all seventyof you, into one swing, and then I'll see what can be done. "

So the seventy maidens climbed into one swing, and Raja Rasalu, standing in his shining armour, fastened the ropes to his mighty bow, and drew it up to its fullest bent. Then he let go, and like an arrowthe swing shot into the air, with its burden of seventy fair maidens, merry and careless, full of smiles and laughter. 

But as it swung back again, Kasalu, standing there in his shiningarmour, drew his sharp sword and severed the ropes. Then the seventyfair maidens fell to the ground headlong; and some were bruised andsome broken, but the only one who escaped unhurt was the maiden wholoved Rasalu, for she fell out last, on the top of the others, and socame to no harm. 

After this, Rasalu strode on fifteen paces, till he came to the seventydrums, that every one who came to play chaupur with the King had tobeat in turn; and he beat them so loudly that he broke them all. Thenhe came to the seventy gongs, all in a row, and he hammered them sohard that they cracked to pieces. 

Seeing this, the youngest Princess, who was the only one who could run, fled to her father the King in a great fright, saying:

 "A mighty Prince, Sarkap! making havoc, rides along, He swung us, seventy maidens fair, and threw us out headlong; He broke the drums you placed there and the gongs too in his pride, Sure, he will kill thee, father mine, and take me for his bride!"

But King Sarkap replied scornfully:

 "Silly maiden, thy words make a lot Of a very small matter; For fear of my valour, I wot, His armour will clatter. As soon as I've eaten my bread I'll go forth and cut off his head!"

Notwithstanding these brave and boastful words, he was in reality verymuch afraid, having heard of Rasalu's renown. And learning that he wasstopping at the house of an old woman in the city, till the hour forplaying chaupur arrived, Sarkap sent slaves to him with trays ofsweetmeats and fruit, as to an honoured guest. But the food waspoisoned. 

Now when the slaves brought the trays to Raja Rasalu, he rose uphaughtily, saying, "Go, tell your master I have nought to do with himin friendship. I am his sworn enemy, and I eat not of his salt!"

So saying, he threw the sweetmeats to Raja Sarkap's dog, which hadfollowed the slave, and lo! the dog died. 

Then Rasalu was very wroth, and said bitterly, "Go back to Sarkap, slaves! and tell him that Rasalu deems it no act of bravery to killeven an enemy by treachery. "

Now, when evening came, Raja Rasalu went forth to play chaupur withKing Sarkap, and as he passed some potters' kilns he saw a catwandering about restlessly; so he asked what ailed her, that she neverstood still, and she replied, "My kittens are in an unbaked pot in thekiln yonder. It has just been set alight, and my children will be bakedalive; therefore I cannot rest!"

Her words moved the heart of Raja Rasalu, and, going to the potter, heasked him to sell the kiln as it was; but the potter replied that hecould not settle a fair price till the pots were burnt, as he could nottell how many would come out whole. Nevertheless, after somebargaining, he consented at last to sell the kiln, and Rasalu, havingsearched all the pots, restored the kittens to their mother, and she, in gratitude for his mercy, gave him one of them, saying, "Put it inyour pocket, for it will help you when you are in difficulties. " SoRaja Rasalu put the kitten in his pocket, and went to play chaupur withthe King. 

Now, before they sat down to play, Raja Sarkap fixed his stakes, --onthe first game, his kingdom; on the second, the wealth of the wholeworld; and, on the third, his own head. So, likewise, Raja Rasalu fixedhis stakes, --on the first game, his arms; on the second, his horse;and, on the third, his own head. 

Then they began to play, and it fell to Rasalu's lot to make the firstmove. Now he, forgetful of the dead man's warning, played with the dicegiven him by Raja Sarkap, besides which, Sarkap let loose his famousrat, Dhol Raja, and it ran about the board, upsetting the chaupurpieces on the sly, so that Rasalu lost the first game, and gave up hisshining armour. 

Then the second game began, and once more Dhol Raja, the rat, upset thepieces; and Rasalu, losing the game, gave up his faithful steed. ThenBhaunr, the Arab steed, who stood by, found voice, and cried to hismaster, "Sea-born am I, bought with much gold; Dear Prince! trust me now as of old. I'll carry you far from these wiles-- My flight, all unspurr'd, will be swift as a bird, For thousands and thousands of miles! Or if needs you must stay; ere the next game you play, Place hand in your pocket, I pray!"

Hearing this, Raja Sarkap frowned, and bade his slaves remove Bhaunr, the Arab steed, since he gave his master advice in the game. Now, whenthe slaves came to lead the faithful steed away, Rasalu could notrefrain from tears, thinking over the long years during which Bhaunr, the Arab steed, had been his companion. But the horse cried out again, "Weep not, dear Prince! I shall not eat my bread Of stranger hands, nor to strange stall be led. Take thy right hand, and place it as I said. "

These words roused some recollection in Rasalu's mind, and when, justat this moment, the kitten in his pocket began to struggle, heremembered all about the warning, and the dice made from dead men'sbones. Then his heart rose up once more, and he called boldly to RajaSarkap, "Leave my horse and arms here for the present. Time enough totake them away when you have won my head!"

Now, Raja Sarkap, seeing Rasalu's confident bearing, began to beafraid, and ordered all the women of his palace to come forth in theirgayest attire and stand before Rasalu, so as to distract his attentionfrom the game. But he never even looked at them, and drawing the dicefrom his pocket, said to Sarkap, "We have played with your dice allthis time; now we will play with mine. "

Then the kitten went and sat at the window through which the rat DholRaja used to come, and the game began. 

After a while, Sarkap, seeing Raja Rasalu was winning, called to hisrat, but when Dhol Raja saw the kitten he was afraid, and would not gofurther. So Rasalu won, and took back his arms. Next he played for hishorse, and once more Raja Sarkap called for his rat; but Dhol Raja, seeing the kitten keeping watch, was afraid. So Rasalu won the secondstake, and took back Bhaunr, the Arab steed. 

Then Sarkap brought all his skill to bear on the third and last game, saying, "Oh moulded pieces! favour me to-day! For sooth this is a man with whom I play. No paltry risk--but life and death at stake; As Sarkap does, so do, for Sarkap's sake!"

But Rasalu answered back, "Oh moulded pieces! favour me to-day! For sooth it is a man with whom I play. No paltry risk--but life and death at stake; As Heaven does, so do, for Heaven's sake!"

So they began to play, whilst the women stood round in a circle, andthe kitten watched Dhol Raja from the window. Then Sarkap lost, firsthis kingdom, then the wealth of the whole world, and lastly his head. 

Just then, a servant came in to announce the birth of a daughter toRaja Sarkap, and he, overcome by misfortunes, said, "Kill her at once!for she has been born in an evil moment, and has brought her father illluck!"

But Rasalu rose up in his shining armour, tender-hearted and strong, saying, "Not so, oh king! She has done no evil. Give me this child towife; and if you will vow, by all you hold sacred, never again to playchaupur for another's head, I will spare yours now!"

Then Sarkap vowed a solemn vow never to play for another's head; andafter that he took a fresh mango branch, and the new-born babe, andplacing them on a golden dish gave them to Rasalu. 

Now, as he left the palace, carrying with him the new-born babe and themango branch, he met a band of prisoners, and they called out to him, "A royal hawk art thou, oh King! the rest But timid wild-fowl. Grant us our request, -- Unloose these chains, and live for ever blest!"

And Raja Rasalu hearkened to them, and bade King Sarkap set them atliberty. 

Then he went to the Murti Hills, and placed the new-born babe, Kokilan, in an underground palace, and planted the mango branch at the door, saying, "In twelve years the mango tree will blossom; then will Ireturn and marry Kokilan. "

And after twelve years, the mango tree began to flower, and Raja Rasalumarried the Princess Kokilan, whom he won from Sarkap when he playedchaupur with the King. 

THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN

At the same time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, the futureBuddha was born one of a peasant family; and when he grew up, he gainedhis living by tilling the ground. 

At that time a hawker used to go from place to place, trafficking ingoods carried by an ass. Now at each place he came to, when he took thepack down from the ass's back, he used to clothe him in a lion's skin, and turn him loose in the rice and barley fields. And when the watchmenin the fields saw the ass, they dared not go near him, taking him for alion. 

So one day the hawker stopped in a village; and whilst he was gettinghis own breakfast cooked, he dressed the ass in a lion's skin, andturned him loose in a barley-field. The watchmen in the field dared notgo up to him; but going home, they published the news. Then all thevillagers came out with weapons in their hands; and blowing chanks, andbeating drums, they went near the field and shouted. Terrified with thefear of death, the ass uttered a cry--the bray of an ass!

And when he knew him then to be an ass, the future Buddha pronouncedthe First Verse:

 "This is not a lion's roaring, Nor a tiger's, nor a panther's; Dressed in a lion's skin, 'Tis a wretched ass that roars!"

But when the villagers knew the creature to be an ass, they beat himtill his bones broke; and, carrying off the lion's skin, went away. Then the hawker came; and seeing the ass fallen into so bad a plight, pronounced the Second Verse:

 "Long might the ass, Clad in a lion's skin, Have fed on the barley green. But he brayed! And that moment he came to ruin. "

And even whilst he was yet speaking the ass died on the spot!

THE FARMER AND THE MONEY-LENDER

There was once a farmer who suffered much at the hands of a money-lender. Good harvests, or bad, the farmer was always poor, the money-lender rich. At the last, when he hadn't a farthing left, farmer wentto the money-lender's house, and said, "You can't squeeze water from astone, and as you have nothing to get by me now, you might tell me thesecret of becoming rich. "

"My friend, " returned the money-lender, piously, "riches come from Ram--ask _him_. "

"Thank you, I will!" replied the simple farmer; so he prepared threegirdle-cakes to last him on the journey, and set out to find Ram. 

First he met a Brahman, and to him he gave a cake, asking him to pointout the road to Ram; but the Brahman only took the cake and went on hisway without a word, Next the farmer met a Jogi or devotee, and to himhe gave a cake, without receiving any help in return. At last, he cameupon a poor man sitting under a tree, and finding out he was hungry, the kindly farmer gave him his last cake, and sitting down to restbeside him, entered into conversation. 

"And where are you going?" asked the poor man, at length. 

"Oh, I have a long journey before me, for I am going to find Ram!"replied the farmer. "I don't suppose you could tell me which way togo?"

"Perhaps I can, " said the poor man, smiling, "for _I_ am Ram! Whatdo you want of me?"

Then the farmer told the whole story, and Ram, taking pity on him, gavehim a conch shell, and showed him how to blow it in a particular way, saying, "Remember! whatever you wish for, you have only to blow theconch that way, and your wish will be fulfilled. Only have a care ofthat money-lender, for even magic is not proof against their wiles!"

The farmer went back to his village rejoicing. In fact the money-lendernoticed his high spirits at once, and said to himself, "Some goodfortune must have befallen the stupid fellow, to make him hold his headso jauntily. " Therefore he went over to the simple farmer's house, andcongratulated him on his good fortune, in such cunning words, pretending to have heard all about it, that before long the farmerfound himself telling the whole story--all except the secret of blowingthe conch, for, with all his simplicity, the farmer was not quite sucha fool as to tell that. 

Nevertheless, the money-lender determined to have the conch by hook orby crook, and as he was villain enough not to stick at trifles, hewaited for a favourable opportunity and stole the conch. 

But, after nearly bursting himself with blowing the conch in everyconceivable way, he was obliged to give up the secret as a bad job. However, being determined to succeed he went back to the farmer, andsaid, coolly, "Look here; I've got your conch, but I can't use it; youhaven't got it, so it's clear you can't use it either. Business is at astand-still unless we make a bargain. Now, I promise to give you backyour conch, and never to interfere with your using it, on onecondition, which is this, --whatever you get from it, I am to getdouble. "

"Never!" cried the farmer; "that would be the old business all overagain!"

"Not at all!" replied the wily money-lender; "you will have your share!Now, don't be a dog in the manger, for if _you_ get all you want, what can it matter to you if _I_ am rich or poor?"

At last, though it went sorely against the grain to be of any benefitto a money-lender, the farmer was forced to yield, and from that time, no matter what he gained by the power of the conch, the money-lendergained double. And the knowledge that this was so preyed upon thefarmer's mind day and night, so that he had no satisfaction out ofanything. 

At last, there came a very dry season, --so dry that the farmer's cropswithered for want of rain. Then he blew his conch, and wished for awell to water them, and lo! there was the well, _but the money-lenderhad two!_--two beautiful new wells! This was too much for any farmerto stand; and our friend brooded over it, and brooded over it, till atlast a bright idea came into his head. He seized the conch, blew itloudly, and cried out, "Oh, Ram! I wish to be blind of one eye!" And sohe, was, in a twinkling, but the money-lender of course was blind ofboth, and in trying to steer his way between the two new wells, he fellinto one, and was drowned. 

Now this true story shows that a farmer once got the better of a money-lender--but only by losing one of his eyes. 

THE BOY WHO HAD A MOON ON HIS FOREHEAD AND A STAR ON HIS CHIN

In a country were seven daughters of poor parents, who used to comedaily to play under the shady trees in the King's garden with thegardener's daughter; and daily she used to say to them, "When I ammarried I shall have a son. Such a beautiful boy as he will be hasnever been seen. He will have a moon on his forehead and a star on hischin. " Then her playfellows used to laugh at her and mock her. 

But one day the King heard her telling them about the beautiful boy shewould have when she was married, and he said to himself he should likevery much to have such a son; the more so that though he had alreadyfour Queens he had no child. He went, therefore, to the gardener andtold him he wished to marry his daughter. This delighted the gardenerand his wife, who thought it would indeed be grand for their daughterto become a princess. So they said "Yes" to the King, and invited alltheir friends to the wedding. The King invited all his, and he gave thegardener as much money as he wanted. Then the wedding was held withgreat feasting and rejoicing. 

A year later the day drew near on which the gardener's daughter was tohave her son; and the King's four other Queens came constantly to seeher. One day they said to her, "The King hunts every day; and the timeis soon coming when you will have your child. Suppose you fell illwhilst he was out hunting and could therefore know nothing of yourillness, what would you do then?"

When the King came home that evening, the gardener's daughter said tohim, "Every day you go out hunting. Should I ever be in trouble or sickwhile you are away, how could I send for you?" The King gave her akettle-drum which he placed near the door for her, and he said to her, "Whenever you want me, beat this kettle-drum. No matter how far away Imay be, I shall hear it, and will come at once to you. "

Next morning when the King had gone out to hunt, his four other Queenscame to see the gardener's daughter. She told them all about herkettle-drum. "Oh, " they said, "do drum on it just to see if the Kingreally will come to you. "

"No, I will not, " she said; "for why should I call him from his huntingwhen I do not want him?"

"Don't mind interrupting his hunting, " they answered. "Do try if hereally will come to you when you beat your kettle-drum. " So at last, just to please them, she beat it, and the King stood before her. 

"Why have you called me?" he said. "See, I have left my hunting to cometo you. "

"I want nothing, " she answered; "I only wished to know if you reallywould come to me when I beat my drum. "

"Very well, " answered the King; "but do not call me again unless youreally need me. " Then he returned to his hunting. 

The next day, when the King had gone out hunting as usual, the fourQueens again came to see the gardener's daughter. They begged andbegged her to beat her drum once more, "just to see if the King willreally come to see you this time. " At first she refused, but at lastshe consented. So she beat her drum, and the King came to her. But whenhe found she was neither ill nor in trouble, he was angry, and said toher, "Twice I have left my hunting and lost my game to come to you whenyou did not need me. Now you may call me as much as you like, but Iwill not come to you, " and then he went away in a rage. 

The third day the gardener's daughter fell ill, and she beat and beather kettle-drum; but the King never came. He heard her kettle-drum, buthe thought, "She does not really want me; she is only trying to see ifI will go to her. "

Meanwhile the four other Queens came to her, and they said, "Here it isthe custom before a child is born to bind its mother's eyes with ahandkerchief that she may not see it just at first. So let us bind youreyes. " She answered, "Very well, bind my eyes. " The four wives thentied a handkerchief over them. 

Soon after, the gardener's daughter had a beautiful little son, with amoon on his forehead and a star on his chin, and before the poor motherhad seen him, the four wicked Queens took the boy to the nurse and saidto her, "Now you must not let this child make the least sound for fearhis mother should hear him; and in the night you must either kill him, or else take him away, so that his mother may never see him. If youobey our orders, we will give you a great many rupees. " All this theydid out of spite. The nurse took the little child and put him into abox, and the four Queens went back to the gardener's daughter. 

First they put a stone into her boy's little bed, and then they tookthe handkerchief off her eyes and showed it her, saying, "Look! this isyour son!" The poor girl cried bitterly, and thought, "What will theKing say when he finds no child?" But she could do nothing. 

When the King came home; he was furious at hearing his youngest wife, the gardener's daughter, had given him a stone instead of the beautifullittle son she had promised him. He made her one of the palaceservants, and never spoke to her. 

In the middle of the night the nurse took the box in which was thebeautiful little prince, and went out to a broad plain in the jungle. There she dug a hole, made the fastenings of the box sure, and put thebox into the hole, although the child in it was still alive. The King'sdog, whose name was Shankar, had followed her to see what she did withthe box. As soon as she had gone back to the four Queens (who gave hera great many rupees), the dog went to the hole in which she had put thebox, took the box out, and opened it. When he saw the beautiful littleboy, he was very much delighted and said, "If it pleases Khuda thatthis child should live, I will not hurt him; I will not eat him, but Iwill swallow him whole and hide him in my stomach. " This he did. 

After six months had passed, the dog went by night to the jungle, andthought, "I wonder whether the boy is alive or dead. " Then he broughtthe child out of his stomach and rejoiced over his beauty. The boy wasnow six months old. When Shankar had caressed and loved him, heswallowed him again for another six months. At the end of that time hewent once more by night to the broad jungle-plain. There he brought upthe child out of his stomach (the child was now a year old), andcaressed and petted him a great deal, and was made very happy by hisgreat beauty. 

But this time the dog's keeper had followed and watched the dog; and hesaw all that Shankar did, and the beautiful little child, so he ran tothe four Queens and said to them, "Inside the King's dog there is achild! the loveliest child! He has a moon on his forehead and a star onhis chin. Such a child has never been seen!" At this the four wiveswere very much frightened, and as soon as the King came home fromhunting they said to him, "While you were away your dog came to ourrooms, and tore our clothes and knocked about all our things. We areafraid he will kill us. " "Do not be afraid, " said the King. "Eat yourdinner and be happy. I will have the dog shot to-morrow morning. "

Then he ordered his servants to shoot the dog at dawn, but the dogheard him, and said to himself, "What shall I do? The King intends tokill me. I don't care about that, but what will become of the child ifI am killed? He will die. But I will see if I cannot save him. "

So when it was night, the dog ran to the King's cow, who was calledSuri, and said to her, "Suri, I want to give you something, for theKing has ordered me to be shot to-morrow. Will you take great care ofwhatever I give you?"

"Let me see what it is, " said Suri, "I will take care of it if I can. "Then they both went together to the wide plain, and there the dogbrought up the boy. Suri was enchanted with him. "I never saw such abeautiful child in this country, " she said. "See, he has a moon on hisforehead and a star on his chin. I will take the greatest care of him. "So saying she swallowed the little prince. The dog made her a greatmany salaams, and said, "To-morrow I shall die;" and the cow then wentback to her stable. 

Next morning at dawn the dog was taken to the jungle and shot. 

The child now lived in Suri's stomach; and when one whole year hadpassed, and he was two years old, the cow went out to the plain, andsaid to herself, "I do not know whether the child is alive or dead. ButI have never hurt it, so I will see. " Then she brought up the boy; andhe played about, and Suri was delighted; she loved him and caressedhim, and talked to him. Then she swallowed him, and returned to herstable. 

At the end of another year she went again to the plain and brought upthe child. He played and ran about for an hour to her great delight, and she talked to him and caressed him. His great beauty made her veryhappy. Then she swallowed him once more and returned to her stable. Thechild was now three years old. 

But this time the cowherd had followed Suri, and had seen the wonderfulchild and all she did to it. So he ran and told the four Queens, "TheKing's cow has a beautiful boy inside her. He has a moon on hisforehead and a star on his chin. Such a child has never been seenbefore!"

At this the Queens were terrified. They tore their clothes and theirhair and cried. When the King came home at evening, he asked them whythey were so agitated. "Oh, " they said, "your cow came and tried tokill us; but we ran away. She tore our hair and our clothes. " "Nevermind, " said the King. "Eat your dinner and be happy. The cow shall bekilled to-morrow morning. "

Now Suri heard the King give this order to the servants, so she said toherself, "What shall I do to save the child?" When it was midnight, shewent to the King's horse called Katar, who was very wicked, and quiteuntameable. No one had ever been able to ride him; indeed no one couldgo near him with safety, he was so savage. Suri said to this horse, "Katar, will you take care of something that I want to give you, because the King has ordered me to be killed to-morrow?"

"Good, " said Katar; "show me what it is. " Then Suri brought up thechild, and the horse was delighted with him. "Yes, " he said, "I willtake the greatest care of him. Till now no one has been able to rideme, but this child shall ride me. " Then he swallowed the boy, and whenhe had done so, the cow made him many salaams, saying, "It is for thisboy's sake that I am to die. " The next morning she was taken to thejungle and there killed. 

The beautiful boy now lived in the horse's stomach, and he stayed in itfor one whole year. At the end of that time the horse thought, "I willsee if this child is alive or dead. " So he brought him up; and then heloved him, and petted him, and the little prince played all about thestable, out of which the horse was never allowed to go. Katar was veryglad to see the child, who was now four years old. After he had playedfor some time, the horse swallowed him again. At the end of anotheryear, when the boy was five years old, Katar brought him up again, caressed him, loved him, and let him play about the stable as he haddone a year before. Then the horse swallowed him again. 

But this time the groom had seen all that happened, and when it wasmorning, and the King had gone away to his hunting, he went to the fourwicked Queens, and told them all he had seen, and all about thewonderful, beautiful child that lived inside the King's horse Katar. Onhearing the groom's story the four Queens cried, and tore their hairand clothes, and refused to eat. When the King returned at evening andasked them why they were so miserable, they said, "Your horse Katarcame and tore our clothes, and upset all our things, and we ran awayfor fear he should kill us. "

"Never mind, " said the King. "Only eat your dinner and be happy. I willhave Katar shot to-morrow. " Then he thought that two men unaided couldnot kill such a wicked horse, so he ordered his servants to bid histroop of sepoys shoot him. 

So the next day the King placed his sepoys all round the stable, and hetook up his stand with them; and he said he would himself shoot any onewho let his horse escape. 

Meanwhile the horse had overheard all these orders. So he brought upthe child and said to him, "Go into that little room that leads out ofthe stable, and you will find in it a saddle and bridle which you mustput on me. Then you will find in the room some beautiful clothes suchas princes wear; these you must put on yourself; and you must take thesword and gun you will find there too. Then you must mount on my back. "Now Katar was a fairy-horse, and came from the fairies' country, so hecould get anything he wanted; but neither the King nor any of hispeople knew this. 

When all was ready, Katar burst out of his stable, with the prince onhis back, rushed past the King himself before the King had time toshoot him, galloped away to the great jungle-plain, and galloped aboutall over it. The King saw his horse had a boy on his back, though hecould not see the boy distinctly. The sepoys tried in vain to shoot thehorse; he galloped much too fast; and at last they were all scatteredover the plain. Then the King had to give it up and go home; and thesepoys went to their homes. The King could not shoot any of his sepoysfor letting his horse escape, for he himself had let him do so. 

Then Katar galloped away, on, and on, and on; and when night came theystayed under a tree, he and the King's son. The horse ate grass, andthe boy wild fruits which he found in the jungle. Next morning theystarted afresh, and went far, and far, till they came to a jungle inanother country, which did not belong to the little prince's father, but to another king. Here Katar said to the boy, "Now get off my back. "Off jumped the prince. "Unsaddle me and take off my bridle; take offyour beautiful clothes and tie them all up in a bundle with your swordand gun. " This the boy did. Then the horse gave him some poor, commonclothes, which he told him to put on. As soon as he was dressed in themthe horse said, "Hide your bundle in this grass, and I will take careof it for you. I will always stay in this jungle-plain, so that whenyou want me you will always find me. You must now go away and findservice with some one in this country. "

This made the boy very sad. "I know nothing about anything, " he said. "What shall I do all alone in this country?"

"Do not be afraid, " answered Katar. "You will find service, and I willalways stay here to help you when you want me. So go, only before yougo, twist my right ear. " The boy did so, and his horse instantly becamea donkey. "Now twist your right ear, " said Katar. And when the boy hadtwisted it, he was no longer a handsome prince, but a poor, common-looking, ugly man; and his moon and star were hidden. 

Then he went away further into the country, until he came to a grainmerchant of the country, who asked him who he was. "I am a poor man, "answered the boy, "and I want service. " "Good, " said the grainmerchant, "you shall be my servant. "

Now the grain merchant lived near the King's palace, and one night attwelve o'clock the boy was very hot; so he went out into the King'scool garden, and began to sing a lovely song. The seventh and youngestdaughter of the King heard him, and she wondered who it was who couldsing so deliciously. Then she put on her clothes, rolled up her hair, and came down to where the seemingly poor common man was lying singing. "Who are you? where do you come from?" she asked. 

But he answered nothing. 

"Who is this man who does not answer when I speak to him?" thought thelittle princess, and she went away. On the second night the same thinghappened, and on the third night too. But on the third night, when shefound she could not make him answer her, she said to him, "What astrange man you are not to answer me when I speak to you. " But still heremained silent, so she went away. 

The next day, when he had finished his work, the young prince went tothe jungle to see his horse, who asked him, "Are you quite well andhappy?" "Yes, I am, " answered the boy. "I am servant to a grainmerchant. The last three nights I have gone into the King's garden andsung a song, and each night the youngest princess has come to me andasked me who I am, and whence I came, and I have answered nothing. Whatshall I do now?" The horse said, "Next time she asks you who you are, tell her you are a very poor man, and came from your own country tofind service here. "

The boy then went home to the grain merchant, and at night, when everyone had gone to bed, he went to the King's garden and sang his sweetsong again. The youngest princess heard him, got up, dressed, and cameto him. "Who are you? Whence do you come?" she asked. 

"I am a very poor man, " he answered. "I came from my own country toseek service here, and I am now one of the grain merchant's servants. "Then she went away. For three more nights the boy sang in the King'sgarden, and each night the princess came and asked him the samequestions as before, and the boy gave her the same answers. 

Then she went to her father, and said to him, "Father, I wish to bemarried; but I must choose my husband myself. " Her father consented tothis, and he wrote and invited all the Kings and Rajas in the land, saying, "My youngest daughter wishes to be married, but she insists onchoosing her husband herself. As I do not know who it is she wishes tomarry, I beg you will all come on a certain day, for her to see you andmake her choice. "

A great many Kings, Rajas, and their sons accepted this invitation andcame. When they had all arrived, the little princess's father said tothem, "To-morrow morning you must all sit together in my garden" (theKing's garden was very large), "for then my youngest daughter will comeand see you all, and choose her husband. I do not know whom she willchoose. "

The youngest princess ordered a grand elephant to be ready for her thenext morning, and when the morning came, and all was ready, she dressedherself in the most lovely clothes, and put on her beautiful jewels;then she mounted her elephant, which was painted blue. In her hand shetook a gold necklace. 

Then she went into the garden where the Kings, Rajas, and their sonswere seated. The boy, the grain merchant's servant, was also in thegarden: not as a suitor, but looking on with the other servants. 

The princess rode all round the garden, and looked at all the Kings andRajas and princes, and then she hung the gold necklace round the neckof the boy, the grain merchant's servant. At this everybody laughed, and the Kings were greatly astonished. But then they and the Rajassaid, "What fooling is this?" and they pushed the pretended poor manaway, and took the necklace off his neck, and said to him, "Get out ofthe way, you poor, dirty man. Your clothes are far too dirty for you tocome near us!" The boy went far away from them, and stood a long wayoff to see what would happen. 

Then the King's youngest daughter went all round the garagain, holdingher gold necklace in her hand, and once more she hung it round theboy's neck. Every one laughed at her and said, "How can the King'sdaughter think of marrying this poor, common man!" and the Kings andthe Rajas, who had come as suitors, all wanted to turn him out of thegarden. But the princess said, "Take care! take care! You must not turnhim out. Leave him alone. " Then she put him on her elephant, and tookhim to the palace. 

The Kings and Rajas and their sons were very much astonished, and said, "What does this mean? The princess does not care to marry one of us, but chooses that very poor man!" Her father then stood up, and said tothem all, "I promised my daughter she should marry any one she pleased, and as she has twice chosen that poor, common man, she shall marryhim. " And so the princess and the boy were married with great pomp andsplendour: her father and mother were quite content with her choice;and the Kings, the Rajas and their sons, all returned to their homes. 

Now the princess's six sisters had all married rich princes, and theylaughed at her for choosing such a poor ugly husband as hers seemed tobe, and said to each other, mockingly, "See! our sister has marriedthis poor, common man!" Their six husbands used to go out hunting everyday, and every evening they brought home quantities of all kinds ofgame to their wives, and the game was cooked for their dinner and forthe King's; but the husband of the youngest princess always stayed athome in the palace, and never went out hunting at all. This made hervery sad, and she said to herself, "My sisters' husbands hunt everyday, but my husband never hunts at all. "

At last she said to him, "Why do you never go out hunting as mysisters' husbands do every day, and every day they bring homequantities of all kinds of game? Why do you always stay at home, instead of doing as they do?"

One day he said to her, "I am going out to-day to eat the air. "

"Very good, " she answered; "go, and take one of the horses. "

"No, " said the young prince, "I will not ride, I will walk. " Then hewent to the jungle-plain where he had left Katar, who all this time hadseemed to be a donkey, and he told Katar everything. "Listen, " he said;"I have married the youngest princess; and when we were marriedeverybody laughed at her for choosing me, and said, 'What a very poor, common man our princess has chosen for her husband!' Besides, my wifeis very sad, for her six sisters' husbands all hunt every day, andbring home quantities of game, and their wives therefore are very proudof them. But I stay at home all day, and never hunt. To-day I shouldlike to hunt very much. "

"Well, " said Katar, "then twist my left ear;" and as soon as the boyhad twisted it, Katar was a horse again, and not a donkey any longer. "Now, " said Katar, "twist your left ear, and you will see what abeautiful young prince you will become. " So the boy twisted his ownleft ear, and there he stood no longer a poor, common, ugly man, but agrand young prince with a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin. Then he put on his splendid clothes, saddled and bridled Katar, got onhis back with his sword and gun, and rode off to hunt. 

He rode very far, and shot a great many birds and a quantity of deer. That day his six brothers-in-law could find no game, for the beautifulyoung prince had shot it all. Nearly all the day long these six princeswandered about looking in vain for game; till at last they grew hungryand thirsty, and could find no water, and they had no food with them. Meanwhile the beautiful young prince had sat down under a tree, to dineand rest, and there his six brothers-in-law found him. By his side wassome delicious water, and also some roast meat. 

When they saw him the six princes said to each other, "Look at thathandsome prince. He has a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin. We have never seen such a prince in this jungle before; he must comefrom another country. " Then they came up to him, and made him manysalaams, and begged him to give them some food and water. "Who areyou?" said the young prince. "We are the husbands of the six elderdaughters of the King of this country, " they answered; "and we havehunted all day, and are very hungry and thirsty. " They did notrecognise their brother-in-law in the least. 

"Well, " said the young prince, "I will give you something to eat anddrink if you will do as I bid you. " "We will do all you tell us to do, "they answered, "for if we do not get water to drink, we shall die. ""Very good, " said the young prince. "Now you must let me put a red-hotpice on the back of each of you, and then I will give you food andwater. Do you agree to this?" The six princes consented, for theythought, "No one will ever see the mark of the pice, as it will becovered by our clothes; and we shall die if we have no water to drink. "Then the young prince took six pice, and made them red-hot in the fire;he laid one on the back of each of the six princes, and gave them goodfood and water. They ate and drank; and when they had finished theymade him many salaams and went home. 

The young prince stayed under the tree till it was evening; then hemounted his horse and rode off to the King's palace. All the peoplelooked at him as he came riding along, saying, "What a splendid youngprince that is! He has a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin. "But no one recognised him. When he came near the King's palace, all theKing's servants asked him who he was; and as none of them knew him, thegate-keepers would not let him pass in. They all wondered who he couldbe, and all thought him the most beautiful prince that had ever beenseen. 

At last they asked him who he was. "I am the husband of your youngestprincess, " he answered. 

"No, no, indeed you are not, " they said; "for he is a poor, common-looking, and ugly man. "

"But I am he, " answered the prince; only no one would believe him. 

"Tell us the truth, " said the servants; "who are you?"

"Perhaps you cannot recognise me, " said the young prince, "but call theyoungest princess here. I wish to speak to her. " The servants calledher, and she came. "That man is not my husband, " she said at once. "Myhusband is not nearly as handsome as that man. This must be a princefrom another country. "

Then she said to him, "Who are you? Why do you say you are my husband?"

"Because I am your husband. I am telling you the truth, " answered theyoung prince. 

"No you are not, you are not telling me the truth, " said the littleprincess. "My husband is not a handsome man like you. I married a verypoor, common-looking man. "

"That is true, " he answered, "but nevertheless I am your husband. I wasthe grain merchant's servant; and one hot night I went into yourfather's garden and sang, and you heard me, and came and asked me who Iwas and where I came from, and I would not answer you. And the samething happened the next night, and the next, and on the fourth I toldyou I was a very poor man, and had come from my country to seek servicein yours, and that I was the grain merchant's servant. Then you toldyour father you wished to marry, but must choose your own husband; andwhen all the Kings and Rajas were seated in your father's garden, yousat on an elephant and went round and looked at them all; and thentwice hung your gold necklace round my neck, and chose me. See, here isyour necklace, and here are the ring and the handkerchief you gave meon our wedding day. "

Then she believed him, and was very glad that her husband was such abeautiful young prince. "What a strange man you are!" she said to him. "Till now you have been poor, and ugly, and common-looking. Now you arebeautiful and look like a prince; I never saw such a handsome man asyou are before; and yet I know you must be my husband. " Then sheworshipped God and thanked him for letting her have such a husband. "Ihave, " she said, "a beautiful husband. There is no one like him in thiscountry. He has a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin. " Thenshe took him into the palace, and showed him to her father and motherand to every one. They all said they had never seen any one like him, and were all very happy. And the young prince lived as before in theKing's palace with his wife, and Katar lived in the King's stables. 

One day, when the King and his seven sons-in-law were in his court-house, and it was full of people, the young prince said to him, "Thereare six thieves here in your court-house. " "Six thieves!" said theKing. "Where are they? Show them to me. " "There they are, " said theyoung prince, pointing to his six brothers-in-law. The King and everyone else in the court-house were very much astonished, and would notbelieve the young prince. "Take off their coats, " he said, "and thenyou will see for yourselves that each of them has the mark of a thiefon his back. " So their coats were taken off the six princes, and theKing and everybody in the court-house saw the mark of the red-hot pice. The six princes were very much ashamed, but the young prince was veryglad. He had not forgotten how his brothers-in-law had laughed at himand mocked him when he seemed a poor, common man. 

Now, when Katar was still in the jungle, before the prince was married, he had told the boy the whole story of his birth, and all that hadhappened to him and his mother. "When you are married, " he said to him, "I will take you back to your father's country. " So two months afterthe young prince had revenged himself on his brothers-in-law, Katarsaid to him, "It is time for you to return to your father. Get the Kingto let you go to your own country, and I will tell you what to do whenwe get there. "

The prince always did what his horse told him to do; so he went to hiswife and said to her, "I wish very much to go to my own country to seemy father and mother. " "Very well, " said his wife; "I will tell myfather and mother, and ask them to let us go. " Then she went to them, and told them, and they consented to let her and her husband leavethem. The King gave his daughter and the young prince a great manyhorses, and elephants, and all sorts of presents, and also a great manysepoys to guard them. In this grand state they travelled to theprince's country, which was not a great many miles off. When theyreached it they pitched their tents on the same plain in which theprince had been left in his box by the nurse, where Shankar and Surihad swallowed him so often. 

When the King, his father, the gardener's daughter's husband, saw theprince's camp, he was very much alarmed, and thought a great King hadcome to make war on him. He sent one of his servants, therefore, to askwhose camp it was. The young prince then wrote him a letter, in whichhe said, "You are a great King. Do not fear me. I am not come to makewar on you. I am as if I were your son. I am a prince who has come tosee your country and to speak with you. I wish to give you a grandfeast, to which every one in your country must come--men and women, oldand young, rich and poor, of all castes; all the children, fakirs, andsepoys. You must bring them all here to me for a week, and I will feastthem all. "

The King was delighted with this letter, and ordered all the men, women, and children of all castes, fakirs, and sepoys, in his countryto go to the prince's camp to a grand feast the prince would give them. So they all came, and the King brought his four wives too. All came, atleast all but the gardener's daughter. No one had told her to go to thefeast, for no one had thought of her. 

When all the people were assembled, the prince saw his mother was notthere, and he asked the King, "Has every one in your country come to myfeast?"

"Yes, every one, " said the King. 

"Are you sure of that?" asked the prince. 

"Quite sure, " answered the King. 

"I am sure one woman has not come, " said the prince. "She is yourgardener's daughter, who was once your wife and is now a servant inyour palace. "

"True, " said the King, "I had forgotten her. " Then the prince told hisservants to take his finest palanquin and to fetch the gardener'sdaughter. They were to bathe her, dress her in beautiful clothes andhandsome jewels, and then bring her to him in the palanquin. 

While the servants were bringing the gardener's daughter, the Kingthought how handsome the young prince was; and he noticed particularlythe moon on his forehead and the star on his chin, and he wondered inwhat country the young prince was born. 

And now the palanquin arrived bringing the gardener's daughter, and theyoung prince went himself and took her out of it, and brought her intothe tent. He made her a great many salaams. The four wicked wiveslooked on and were very much surprised and very angry. They rememberedthat, when they arrived, the prince had made them no salaams, and sincethen had not taken the least notice of them; whereas he could not doenough for the gardener's daughter, and seemed very glad to see her. 

When they were all at dinner, the prince again made the gardener'sdaughter a great many salaams, and gave her food from all the nicestdishes. She wondered at his kindness to her, and thought, "Who is thishandsome prince, with a moon on his forehead and a star on his chin? Inever saw any one so beautiful. What country does he come from?"

Two or three days were thus passed in feasting, and all that time theKing and his people were talking about the prince's beauty, andwondering who he was. 

One day the prince asked the King if he had any children. "None, " heanswered. 

"Do you know who I am?" asked the prince. 

"No, " said the King. "Tell me who you are. "

"I am your son, " answered the prince, "and the gardener's daughter ismy mother. "

The King shook his head sadly. "How can you be my son, " he said, "whenI have never had any children?"

"But I am your son, " answered the prince. "Your four wicked Queens toldyou the gardener's daughter had given you a stone and not a son; but itwas they who put the stone in my little bed, and then they tried tokill me. "

The King did not believe him. "I wish you were my son, " he said; "but asI never had a child, you cannot be my son. " "Do you remember your dogShankar, and how you had him killed? And do you remember your cow Suri, and how you had her killed too? Your wives made you kill them becauseof me. And, " he said, taking the King to Katar, "do you know whosehorse that is?"

The King looked at Katar, and then said, "That is my horse, Katar. ""Yes, " said the prince. "Do you not remember how he rushed past you outof his stable with me on his back?" Then Katar told the King the princewas really his son, and told him all the story of his birth, and of hislife up to that moment; and when the King found the beautiful princewas indeed his son, he was so glad, so glad. He put his arms round himand kissed him and cried for joy. 

"Now, " said the King, "you must come with me to my palace, and livewith me always. "

"No, " said the prince, "that I cannot do. I cannot go to your palace. Ionly came here to fetch my mother; and now that I have found her, Iwill take her with me to my father-in-law's palace. I have married aKing's daughter, and we live with her father. "

"But now that I have found you, I cannot let you go, " said his father. You and your wife must come and live with your mother and me in mypalace. "

"That we will never do, " said the prince, "unless you will kill yourfour wicked Queens with your own hand. If you will do that, we willcome and live with you. "

So the King killed his Queens, and then he and his wife, the gardener'sdaughter, and the prince and his wife, all went to live in the King'spalace, and lived there happily together for ever after; and the Kingthanked God for giving him such a beautiful son, and for ridding him ofhis four wicked wives. 

Katar did not return to the fairies' country, but stayed always withthe young prince, and never left him. 

THE PRINCE AND THE FAKIR

There was once upon a time a King who had no children. Now this Kingwent and laid him down to rest at a place where four roads met, so thatevery one who passed had to step over him. 

At last a Fakir came along, and he said to the King, "Man, why are youlying here?"

He replied, "Fakir, a thousand men have come and passed by; you pass ontoo. "

But the Fakir said, "Who are you, man?"

The King replied, "I am a King, Fakir. Of goods and gold I have nolack, but I have lived long and have no children. So I have come here, and have laid me down at the cross-roads. My sins and offences havebeen very many, so I have come and am lying here that men may pass overme, and perchance my sins may be forgiven me, and God may be merciful, and I may have a son. "

The Fakir answered him, "Oh King! If you have children, what will yougive me?"

"Whatever you ask, Fakir, " answered the King. The Fakir said, "Of goodsand gold I have no lack, but I will say a prayer for you, and you willhave two sons; one of those sons will be mine. "

Then he took out two sweetmeats and handed them to the King, and said, "King! take these two sweetmeats and give them to your wives; give themto the wives you love best. "

The King took the sweetmeats and put them in his bosom. 

Then the Fakir said, "King! in a year I will return, and of the twosons who will be born to you one is mine and one yours. "

The King said, "Well, I agree. "

Then the Fakir went on his way, and the King came home and gave onesweetmeat to each of his two wives. After some time two sons were bornto the King. Then what did the King do but place those two sons in anunderground room, which he had built in the earth. 

Some time passed, and one day the Fakir appeared, and said, "King!bring me that son of yours!"

What did the King do but bring two slave-girls' sons and present themto the Fakir. While the Fakir was sitting there the King's sons weresitting down below in their cellar eating their food. Just then ahungry ant had carried away a grain of rice from their food, and wasgoing along with it to her children. Another stronger ant came up andattacked her in order to get this grain of rice. The first ant said, "Oant, why do you drag this away from me? I have long been lame in myfeet, and I have got just one grain, and am carrying it to my children. The King's sons are sitting in the cellar eating their food; you go andfetch a grain from there; why should you take mine from me?" On thisthe second ant let go and did not rob the first, but went off to wherethe King's sons were eating their food. 

On hearing this the Fakir said, "King! these are not your sons; go andbring those children who are eating their food in the cellar. "

Then the King went and brought his own sons. The Fakir chose the eldestson and took him away, and set off with him on his journey, When he gothome he told the King's son to go out to gather fuel. 

So the King's son went out to gather cow-dung, and when he hadcollected some he brought it in. 

Then the Fakir looked at the King's son and put on a great pot, andsaid, "Come round here, my pupil. "

But the King's son said, "Master first, and pupil after. "

The Fakir told him to come once, he told him twice, he told him threetimes, and each time the King's son answered, "Master first, and pupilafter. "

Then the Fakir made a dash at the King's son, thinking to catch him andthrow him into the caldron. There were about a hundred gallons of oilin this caldron, and the fire was burning beneath it. Then the King'sson, lifting the Fakir, gave him a jerk and threw him into the caldron, and he was burnt, and became roast meat. He then saw a key of theFakir's lying there; he took this key and opened the door of theFakir's house. Now many men were locked up in this house; two horseswere standing there in a hut of the Fakir's; two greyhounds were tiedup there; two simurgs were imprisoned, and two tigers also stood there. So the King's son let all the creatures go, and took them out of thehouse, and they all returned thanks to God. Next he let out all the menwho were in prison. He took away with him the two horses, and he tookaway the two tigers, and he took away the two hounds, and he took awaythe two simurgs, and with them he set out for another country. 

As he went along the road he saw above him a bald man, grazing a herdof calves, and this bald man called out to him, "Fellow! can you fightat all?"

The King's son replied, "When I was little I could fight a bit, andnow, if any one wants to fight, I am not so unmanly as to turn my back. Come, I will fight you. "

The bald man said, "If I throw you, you shall be my slave; and if youthrow me, I will be your slave. " So they got ready and began to fight, and the King's son threw him. 

On this the King's son said, "I will leave my beasts here, my simurgs, tigers, and dogs, and horses; they will all stay here while I go to thecity to see the sights. I appoint the tiger as guard over my property. And you are my slave, you, too, must stay here with my belongings. " Sothe King's son started off to the city to see the sights, and arrivedat a pool. 

He saw that it was a pleasant pool, and thought he would stop and bathethere, and therewith he began to strip off his clothes. 

Now the King's daughter, who was sitting on the roof of the palace, sawhis royal marks, and she said, "This man is a king; when I marry, Iwill marry him and no other. " So she said to her father, "My father; Iwish to marry. "

"Good, " said her father. 

Then the King made a proclamation: "Let all men, great and small, attend to-day in the hall of audience, for the King's daughter will to-day take a husband. "

All the men of the land assembled, and the traveller Prince also came, dressed in the Fakir's clothes, saying to himself, "I must see thisceremony to-day. " He went in and sat down. 

The King's daughter came out and sat in the balcony, and cast herglance round all the assembly. She noticed that the traveller Princewas sitting in the assembly in Fakir's attire. 

The Princess said to her handmaiden, "Take this dish of henna, go tothat traveller dressed like a Fakir, and sprinkle scent on him from thedish. "

The handmaiden obeyed the Princess's order, went to him, and sprinkledthe scent over him. 

Then the people said, "The slave-girl has made a mistake. "

But she replied, "The slave-girl has made no mistake, 'tis her mistresshas made the mistake. "

On this the King married his daughter to the Fakir, who was really noFakir, but a Prince. 

What fate had decreed came to pass in that country, and they weremarried. But the King of that city became very sad in his heart, because when so many chiefs and nobles were sitting there his daughterhad chosen none of them, but had chosen that Fakir; but he kept thesethoughts concealed in his heart. 

One day the traveller Prince said, "Let all the King's sons-in-law comeout with me to-day to hunt. "

People said, "What is this Fakir that he should go a-hunting?"

However, they all set out for the hunt, and fixed their meeting-placeat a certain pool. 

The newly married Prince went to his tigers, and told his tigers andhounds to kill and bring in a great number of gazelles and hog-deer andmarkhor. Instantly they killed and brought in a great number. Thentaking with him these spoils of the chase, the Prince came to the poolsettled on as a meeting-place. The other Princes, sons-in-law of theKing of that city, also assembled there; but they had brought in nogame, and the new Prince had brought a great deal. Thence they returnedhome to the town, and went to the King their father-in-law, to presenttheir game. 

Now that King had no son. Then the new Prince told him that in fact he, too, was a Prince. At this the King, his father-in-law, was greatlydelighted and took him by the hand and embraced him. He seated him byhimself, saying, "O Prince, I return thanks that you have come here andbecome my son-in-law; I am very happy at this, and I make over mykingdom to you. "

WHY THE FISH LAUGHED

As a certain fisherwoman passed by a palace crying her fish, the queenappeared at one of the windows and beckoned her to come near and showwhat she had. At that moment a very big fish jumped about in the bottomof the basket. 

"Is it a he or a she?" inquired the queen. "I wish to purchase a shefish. "

On hearing this the fish laughed aloud. 

"It's a he, " replied the fisherwoman, and proceeded on her rounds. 

The queen returned to her room in a great rage; and on coming to seeher in the evening, the king noticed that something had disturbed her. 

"Are you indisposed?" he said. 

"No; but I am very much annoyed at the strange behaviour of a fish. Awoman brought me one to-day, and on my inquiring whether it was a maleor female, the fish laughed most rudely. "

"A fish laugh! Impossible! You must be dreaming. "

"I am not a fool. I speak of what I have seen with my own eyes and haveheard with my own ears. "

"Passing strange! Be it so. I will inquire concerning it. "

On the morrow the king repeated to his vizier what his wife had toldhim, and bade him investigate the matter, and be ready with asatisfactory answer within six months, on pain of death. The vizierpromised to do his best, though he felt almost certain of failure. Forfive months he laboured indefatigably to find a reason for the laughterof the fish. He sought everywhere and from every one. The wise andlearned, and they who were skilled in magic and in all manner oftrickery, were consulted. Nobody, however, could explain the matter;and so he returned broken-hearted to his house, and began to arrangehis affairs in prospect of certain death, for he had had sufficientexperience of the king to know that His Majesty would not go back fromhis threat. Amongst other things, he advised his son to travel for atime, until the king's anger should have somewhat cooled. 

The young fellow, who was both clever and handsome, started offwhithersoever Kismat might lead him. He had been gone some days, whenhe fell in with an old farmer, who also was on a journey to a certainvillage. Finding the old man very pleasant, he asked him if he mightaccompany him, professing to be on a visit to the same place. The oldfarmer agreed, and they walked along together. The day was hot, and theway was long and weary. 

"Don't you think it would be pleasanter if you and I sometimes gave oneanother a lift?" said the youth. 

"What a fool the man is!" thought the old farmer. 

Presently they passed through a field of corn ready for the sickle, andlooking like a sea of gold as it waved to and fro in the breeze. 

"Is this eaten or not?" said the young man. 

Not understanding his meaning, the old man replied, "I don't know. "

After a little while the two travellers arrived at a big village, wherethe young man gave his companion a clasp-knife, and said, "Take this, friend, and get two horses with it; but mind and bring it back, for itis very precious. "

The old man, looking half amused and half angry, pushed back the knife, muttering something to the effect that his friend was either a foolhimself or else trying to play the fool with him. The young manpretended not to notice his reply, and remained almost silent till theyreached the city, a short distance outside which was the old farmer'shouse. They walked about the bazar and went to the mosque, but nobodysaluted them or invited them to come in and rest. 

"What a large cemetery!" exclaimed the young man. 

"What does the man mean, " thought the old farmer, "calling this largelypopulated city a cemetery?"

On leaving the city their way led through a cemetery where a few peoplewere praying beside a grave and distributing chapatis and kulchas topassers-by, in the name of their beloved dead. They beckoned to the twotravellers and gave them as much as they would. 

"What a splendid city this is!" said the young man. 

"Now, the man must surely be demented!" thought the old farmer. "Iwonder what he will do next? He will be calling the land water, and thewater land; and be speaking of light where there is darkness, and ofdarkness when it is light. " However, he kept his thoughts to himself. 

Presently they had to wade through a stream that ran along the edge ofthe cemetery. The water was rather deep, so the old farmer took of hisshoes and paijamas and crossed over; but the young man waded through itwith his shoes and paijamas on. 

"Well! I never did see such a perfect fool, both in word and in deed, "said the old man to himself. 

However, he liked the fellow; and thinking that he would amuse his wifeand daughter, he invited him to come and stay at his house as long ashe had occasion to remain in the village. 

"Thank you very much, " the young man replied; "but let me firstinquire, if you please, whether the beam of your house is strong. "

The old farmer left him in despair, and entered his house laughing. 

"There is a man in yonder field, " he said, after returning theirgreetings. "He has come the greater part of the way with me, and Iwanted him to put up here as long as he had to stay in this village. But the fellow is such a fool that I cannot make anything out of him. He wants to know if the beam of this house is all right. The man mustbe mad!" and saying this, he burst into a fit of laughter. 

"Father, " said the farmer's daughter, who was a very sharp and wisegirl, "this man, whosoever he is, is no fool, as you deem him. He onlywishes to know if you can afford to entertain him. "

"Oh! of course, " replied the farmer. "I see. Well perhaps you can helpme to solve some of his other mysteries. While we were walking togetherhe asked whether he should carry me or I should carry him, as hethought that would be a pleasanter mode of proceeding. "

"Most assuredly, " said the girl. "He meant that one of you should tella story to beguile the time. "

"Oh yes. Well, we were passing through a corn-field, when he asked mewhether it was eaten or not. "

"And didn't you know the meaning of this, father? He simply wished toknow if the man was in debt or not; because, if the owner of the fieldwas in debt, then the produce of the field was as good as eaten to him;that is, it would have to go to his creditors. "

"Yes, yes, yes; of course! Then, on entering a certain village, he bademe take his clasp knife and get two horses with it, and bring back theknife again to him. "

"Are not two stout sticks as good as two horses for helping one alongon the road? He only asked you to cut a couple of sticks and be carefulnot to lose his knife. "

"I see, " said the farmer. "While we were walking over the city we didnot see anybody that we knew, and not a soul gave us a scrap ofanything to eat, till we were passing the cemetery; but there somepeople called to us and put into our hands some chapatis and kulchas;so my companion called the city a cemetery, and the cemetery a city. "

"This also is to be understood, father, if one thinks of the city asthe place where everything is to be obtained, and of inhospitablepeople as worse than the dead. The city, though crowded with people, was as if dead, as far as you were concerned; while, in the cemetery, which is crowded with the dead, you were saluted by kind friends andprovided with bread. "

"True, true!" said the astonished farmer. "Then, just now, when we werecrossing the stream, he waded through it without taking off his shoesand paijamas. "

"I admire his wisdom, " replied the girl. "I have often thought howstupid people were to venture into that swiftly flowing stream and overthose sharp stones with bare feet. The slightest stumble and they wouldfall, and be wetted from head to foot. This friend of yours is a mostwise man. I should like to see him and speak to him. "

"Very well, " said the farmer; "I will go and find him, and bring himin. "

"Tell him, father, that our beams are strong enough, and then he willcome in. I'll send on ahead a present to the man, to show him that wecan afford to have him for our guest. "

Accordingly she called a servant and sent him to the young man with apresent of a basin of ghee, twelve chapatis, and a jar of milk, and thefollowing message:--"O friend, the moon is full; twelve months make ayear, and the sea is overflowing with water. "

Half-way the bearer of this present and message met his little son, who, seeing what was in the basket, begged his father to give him someof the food. His father foolishly complied. Presently he saw the youngman, and gave him the rest of the present and the message. 

"Give your mistress my salam, " he replied, "and tell her that the moonis new, and that I can only find eleven months in the year, and the seais by no means full. "

Not understanding the meaning of these words, the servant repeated themword for word, as he had heard them, to his mistress; and thus histheft was discovered, and he was severely punished. After a littlewhile the young man appeared with the old farmer. Great attention wasshown to him, and he was treated in every way as if he were the son ofa great man, although his humble host knew nothing of his origin. Atlength he told them everything--about the laughing of the fish, hisfather's threatened execution, and his own banishment--and asked theiradvice as to what he should do. 

"The laughing of the fish, " said the girl, "which seems to have beenthe cause of all this trouble, indicates that there is a man in thepalace who is plotting against the king's life. "

"Joy, joy!" exclaimed the vizier's son. "There is yet time for me toreturn and save my father from an ignominious and unjust death, and theking from danger. "

The following day he hastened back to his own country, taking with himthe farmer's daughter. Immediately on arrival he ran to the palace andinformed his father of what he had heard. The poor vizier, now almostdead from the expectation of death, was at once carried to the king, towhom he repeated the news that his son had just brought. 

"Never!" said the king. 

"But it must be so, Your Majesty, " replied the vizier; "and in order toprove the truth of what I have heard, I pray you to call together allthe maids in your palace, and order them to jump over a pit, which mustbe dug. We'll soon find out whether there is any man there. "

The king had the pit dug, and commanded all the maids belonging to thepalace to try to jump it. All of them tried, but only one succeeded. That one was found to be a man!!

Thus was the queen satisfied, and the faithful old vizier saved. 

Afterwards, as soon as could be, the vizier's son married the oldfarmer's daughter; and a most happy marriage it was. 

THE DEMON WITH THE MATTED HAIR

_This story the Teacher told in Jetavana about a Brother who hadceased striving after righteousness. Said the Teacher to him: "Is itreally true that you have ceased all striving?"--"Yes, Blessed One, " hereplied. Then the Teacher said: "O Brother, in former days wise menmade effort in the place where effort should be made, and so attainedunto royal power. " And he told a story of long ago. _

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was King of Benares, the Bodhisattawas born as son of his chief queen. On his name-day they asked 800Brahmans, having satisfied them with all their desires, about his luckymarks. The Brahmans who had skill in divining from such marks beheldthe excellence of his, and made answer:

"Full of goodness, great King, is your son, and when you die he willbecome king; he shall be famous and renowned for his skill with thefive weapons, and shall be the chief man in all India. " On hearing whatthe Brahmans had to say, they gave him the name of the Prince of theFive Weapons, sword, spear, bow, battle-axe, and shield. 

When he came to years of discretion, and had attained the measure ofsixteen years, the King said to him:

"My son, go and complete your education. "

"Who shall be my teacher?" the lad asked. 

"Go, my son; in the kingdom of Candahar, in the city of Takkasila, is afar-famed teacher from whom I wish you to learn. Take this, and give ithim for a fee. " With that he gave him a thousand pieces of money, anddismissed him. 

The lad departed, and was educated by this teacher; he received theFive Weapons from him as a gift, bade him farewell, and leavingTakkasila, he began his journey to Benares, armed with the FiveWeapons. 

On his way he came to a forest inhabited by the Demon with the MattedHair. At the entering in of the forest some men saw him, and cried out:

"Hullo, young sir, keep clear of that wood! There's a Demon in itcalled he of the Matted Hair: he kills every man he sees!" And theytried to stop him. But the Bodhisatta, having confidence in himself, went straight on, fearless as a maned lion. 

When he reached mid-forest the Demon showed himself. He made himself astall as a palm tree; his head was the size of a pagoda, his eyes as bigas saucers, and he had two tusks all over knobs and bulbs; he had theface of a hawk, a variegated belly, and blue hands and feet. 

"Where are you going?" he shouted. "Stop! You'll make a meal for me!"

Said the Bodhisatta: "Demon, I came here trusting in myself. I adviseyou to be careful how you come near me. Here's a poisoned arrow, whichI'll shoot at you and knock you down!" With this menace, he fitted tohis bow an arrow dipped in deadly poison, and let fly. The arrow stuckfast in the Demon's hair. Then he shot and shot, till he had shot awayfifty arrows; and they all stuck in the Demon's hair. The Demon snappedthem all off short, and threw them down at his feet; then came up tothe Bodhisatta, who drew his sword and struck the Demon, threateninghim the while. His sword--it was three-and-thirty inches long--stuck inthe Demon's hair! The Bodhisatta struck him with his spear--that stucktoo! He struck him with his club--and that stuck too!

When the Bodhisatta saw that this had stuck fast, he addressed theDemon. "You, Demon!" said he, "did you never hear of me before--thePrince of the Five Weapons? When I came into the forest which you livein I did not trust to my bow and other weapons. This day will I poundyou and grind you to powder!" Thus did he declare his resolve, and witha shout he hit at the Demon with his right hand. It stuck fast in hishair! He hit him with his left hand--that stuck too! With his rightfoot he kicked him--that stuck too; then with his left--and that stucktoo! Then he butted at him with his head, crying, "I'll pound you topowder!" and his head stuck fast like the rest. 

Thus the Bodhisatta was five times snared, caught fast in five places, hanging suspended: yet he felt no fear--was not even nervous. 

Thought the Demon to himself: "Here's a lion of a man! A noble man!More than man is he! Here he is, caught by a Demon like me; yet he willnot fear a bit. Since I have ravaged this road, I never saw such a man. Now, why is it that he does not fear?" He was powerless to eat the man, but asked him: "Why is it, young sir, that you are not frightened todeath?"

"Why should I fear, Demon?" replied he. "In one life a man can die butonce. Besides, in my belly is a thunderbolt; if you eat me, you willnever be able to digest it; this will tear your inwards into littlebits, and kill you: so we shall both perish. That is why I fearnothing. " (By this, the Bodhisatta meant the weapon of knowledge whichhe had within him. )

When he heard this, the Demon thought: "This young man speaks thetruth. A piece of the flesh of such a lion-man as he would be too muchfor me to digest, if it were no bigger than a kidney-bean. I'll let himgo!" So, being frightened to death, he let go the Bodhisatta, saying"Young sir, you are a lion of a man! I will not eat you up. I set youfree from my hands, as the moon is disgorged from the jaws of Rahuafter the eclipse. Go back to the company of your friends andrelations!"

And the Bodhisatta said: "Demon, I will go, as you say. You were born aDemon, cruel, blood-bibbing, devourer of the flesh and gore of others, because you did wickedly in former lives. If you still go on doingwickedly, you will go from darkness to darkness. But now that you haveseen me you will find it impossible to do wickedly. Taking the life ofliving creatures causes birth, as an animal, in the world of Petas, orin the body of an Asura, or, if one is reborn as a man, it makes hislife short. " With this and the like monition he told him thedisadvantage of the five kinds of wickedness, and the profit of thefive kinds of virtue, and frightened the Demon in various ways, discoursing to him until he subdued him and made him self-denying, andestablished him in the five kinds of virtue; he made him worship thedeity to whom offerings were made in that wood; and having carefullyadmonished him, departed out of it. 

At the entrance of the forest he told all to the people thereabout; andwent on to Benares, armed with his five weapons. Afterwards he becameking, and ruled righteously; and after giving alms and doing good hepassed away according to his deeds. 

_And the Teacher, when this tale was ended, became perfectlyenlightened, and repeated this verse:

 Whose mind and heart from all desire is free, Who seeks for peace by living virtuously, He in due time will sever all the bonds That bind him fast to life, and cease to be. 

Thus the Teacher reached the summit, through sainthood and the teachingof the law, and thereupon he declared the Four Truths. At the end ofthe declaring of the Truths, this Brother also attained to sainthood. Then the Teacher made the connexion, and gave the key to the birth-tale, saying: "At that time Angulimala was the Demon, but the Prance ofthe Five Weapons was I myself. "_

THE IVORY CITY AND ITS FAIRY PRINCESS

One day a young prince was out practising archery with the son of hisfather's chief vizier, when one of the arrows accidentally struck thewife of a merchant, who was walking about in an upper room of a houseclose by. The prince aimed at a bird that was perched on the window-sill of that room, and had not the slightest idea that anybody was athand, or he would not have shot in that direction. Consequently, notknowing what had happened, he and the vizier's son walked away, thevizier's son chaffing him because he had missed the bird. 

Presently the merchant went to ask his wife about something, and foundher lying, to all appearance, dead in the middle of the room, and anarrow fixed in the ground within half a yard of her head. Supposingthat she was dead, he rushed to the window and shrieked, "Thievesthieves! They have killed my wife. " The neighbours quickly gathered, and the servants came running upstairs to see what was the matter. Ithappened that the woman had fainted, and that there was only a veryslight wound in her breast where the arrow had grazed. 

As soon as the woman recovered her senses she told them that two youngmen had passed by the place with their bows and arrows, and that one ofthem had most deliberately aimed at her as she stood by the window. 

On hearing this the merchant went to the king, and told him what hadtaken place. His Majesty was much enraged at such audacious wickedness, and swore that most terrible punishment should be visited on theoffender if he could be discovered. He ordered the merchant to go backand ascertain whether his wife could recognise the young men if she sawthem again. 

"Oh yes, " replied the woman, "I should know them again among all thepeople in the city. "

"Then, " said the king, when the merchant brought back this reply, "to-morrow I will cause all the male inhabitants of this city to passbefore your house, and your wife will stand at the window and watch forthe man who did this wanton deed. "

A royal proclamation was issued to this effect. So the next day all themen and boys of the city, from the age of ten years upwards, assembledand marched by the house of the merchant. By chance (for they both hadbeen excused from obeying this order) the king's son and the vizier'sson were also in the company, and passed by in the crowd. They came tosee the tamasha. 

As soon as these two appeared in front of the merchant's window theywere recognised by the merchant's wife, and at once reported to theking. 

"My own son and the son of my chief vizier!" exclaimed the king, whohad been present from the commencement. "What examples for the people!Let them both be executed. "

"Not so, your Majesty, " said the vizier, "I beseech you Let the factsof the case be thoroughly investigated. How is it?" he continued, turning to the two young men. "Why have you done this cruel thing?"

"I shot an arrow at a bird that was sitting on the sill of an openwindow in yonder house, and missed, " answered the prince. "I supposethe arrow struck the merchant's wife. Had I known that she or anybodyhad been near I should not have shot in that direction. "

"We will speak of this later on, " said the king, on hearing thisanswer. "Dismiss the people. Their presence is no longer needed. "

In the evening his Majesty and the vizier had a long and earnest talkabout their two sons. The king wished both of them to be executed; butthe vizier suggested that the prince should be banished from thecountry. This was finally agreed to. 

Accordingly, on the following morning, a little company of soldiersescorted the prince out of the city. When they reached the last custom-house the vizier's son overtook them. He had come with all haste, bringing with him four bags of muhrs on four horses. "I am come, " hesaid, throwing his arms round the prince's neck, "because I cannot letyou go alone. We have lived together, we will be exiled together, andwe will die together. Turn me not back, if you love me. "

"Consider, " the prince answered, "what you are doing. All kinds oftrial may be before me. Why should you leave your home and country tobe with me?"

"Because I love you, " he said, "and shall never be happy without you. "

So the two friends walked along hand in hand as fast as they could toget out of the country, and behind them marched the soldiers and thehorses with their valuable burdens. On reaching a place on the bordersof the king's dominions the prince gave the soldiers some gold, andordered them to return. The soldiers took the money and left; they didnot, however, go very far, but hid themselves behind rocks and stones, and waited till they were quite sure that the prince did not intend tocome back. 

On and on the exiles walked, till they arrived at a certain village, where they determined to spend the night under one of the big trees ofthe place. The prince made preparations for a fire, and arranged thefew articles of bedding that they had with them, while the vizier's sonwent to the baniya and the baker and the butcher to get something fortheir dinner. For some reason he was delayed; perhaps the tsut was notquite ready, or the baniya had not got all the spices prepared. Afterwaiting half an hour the prince became impatient, and rose up andwalked about. 

He saw a pretty, clear little brook running along not far from theirresting-place, and hearing that its source was not far distant, hestarted off to find it. The source was a beautiful lake, which at thattime was covered with the magnificent lotus flower and other waterplants. The prince sat down on the bank, and being thirsty took up someof the water in his hand. Fortunately he looked into his hand beforedrinking, and there, to his great astonishment, he saw reflected wholeand clear the image of a beautiful fairy. He looked round, hoping tosee the reality; but seeing no person, he drank the water, and put outhis hand to take some more. Again he saw the reflection in the waterwhich was in his palm. He looked around as before, and this timediscovered a fairy sitting by the bank on the opposite side of thelake. On seeing her he fell so madly in love with her that he droppeddown in a swoon. 

When the vizier's son returned, and found the fire lighted, the horsessecurely fastened, and the bags of muhrs lying altogether in a heap, but no prince, he did not know what to think. He waited a little while, and then shouted; but not getting any reply, he got up and went to thebrook. There he came across the footmarks of his friend. Seeing these, he went back at once for the money and the horses, and bringing themwith him, he tracked the prince to the lake, where he found him lyingto all appearance dead. 

"Alas! alas!" he cried, and lifting up the prince, he poured some waterover his head and face. "Alas! my brother, what is this? Oh! do not dieand leave me thus. Speak, speak! I cannot bear this!"

In a few minutes the prince, revived by the water, opened his eyes, andlooked about wildly. 

"Thank God!" exclaimed the vizier's son. "But what is the matter, brother?"

"Go away, " replied the prince. "I don't want to say anything to you, orto see you. Go away. "

"Come, come; let us leave this place. Look, I have brought some foodfor you, and horses, and everything. Let us eat and depart. "

"Go alone, " replied the prince. 

"Never, " said the vizier's son. "What has happened to suddenly estrangeyou from me? A little while ago we were brethren, but now you detestthe sight of me. "

"I have looked upon a fairy, " the prince said. "But a moment I saw herface; for when she noticed that I was looking at her she covered herface with lotus petals. Oh, how beautiful she was! And while I gazedshe took out of her bosom an ivory box, and held it up to me. Then Ifainted. Oh! if you can get me that fairy for my wife, I will goanywhere with you. "

"Oh, brother, " said the vizier's son, "you have indeed seen a fairy. She is a fairy of the fairies. This is none other than Gulizar of theIvory City. I know this from the signs that she gave you. From hercovering her face with lotus petals I learn her name, and from hershowing you the ivory box I learn where she lives. Be patient, and restassured that I will arrange your marriage with her. "

When the prince heard these encouraging words he felt much comforted, rose up, and ate, and then went away gladly with his friend. 

On the way they met two men. These two men belonged to a family ofrobbers. There were eleven of them altogether. One, an elder sister, stayed at home and cooked the food, and the other ten--all brothers--went out, two and two, and walked about the four different ways thatran through that part of the country, robbing those travellers whocould not resist them, and inviting others, who were too powerful fortwo of them to manage, to come and rest at their house, where the wholefamily attacked them and stole their goods. These thieves lived in akind of tower, which had several strong-rooms in it, and under it was agreat pit, wherein they threw the corpses of the poor unfortunates whochanced to fall into their power. 

The two men came forward, and, politely accosting them, begged them tocome and stay at their house for the night. "It is late, " they said, "and there is not another village within several miles. "

"Shall we accept this good man's invitation, brother?" asked theprince. 

The vizier's son frowned slightly in token of disapproval; but theprince was tired, and thinking that it was only a whim of his friend's, he said to the men, "Very well. It is very kind of you to ask us. "

So they all four went to the robbers' tower. 

Seated in a room, with the door fastened on the outside, the twotravellers bemoaned their fate. 

"It is no good groaning, " said the vizier's son. "I will climb to thewindow, and see whether there are any means of escape. Yes! yes!" hewhispered, when he had reached the window-hole. "Below there is a ditchsurrounded by a high wall. I will jump down and reconnoitre. You stayhere, and wait till I return. "

Presently he came back and told the prince that he had seen a most uglywoman, whom he supposed was the robbers' housekeeper. She had agreed torelease them on the promise of her marriage with the prince. 

So the woman led the way out of the enclosure by a secret door. 

"But where are the horses and the goods?" the vizier's son inquired. 

"You cannot bring them, " the woman said. "To go out by any other waywould be to thrust oneself into the grave. "

"All right, then; they also shall go out by this door. I have a charm, whereby I can make them thin or fat. " So the vizier's son fetched thehorses without any person knowing it, and repeating the charm, he madethem pass through the narrow doorway like pieces of cloth, and whenthey were all outside restored them to their former condition. He atonce mounted his horse and laid hold of the halter of one of the otherhorses, and then beckoning to the prince to do likewise, he rode off. The prince saw his opportunity, and in a moment was riding after him, having the woman behind him. 

Now the robbers heard the galloping of the horses, and ran out and shottheir arrows at the prince and his companions. And one of the arrowskilled the woman, so they had to leave her behind. 

On, on they rode, until they reached a village where they stayed thenight. The following morning they were off again, and asked for IvoryCity from every passer-by. At length they came to this famous city, andput up at a little hut that belonged to an old woman, from whom theyfeared no harm, and with whom, therefore, they could abide in peace andcomfort. At first the old woman did not like the idea of thesetravellers staying in her house, but the sight of a muhr, which theprince dropped in the bottom of a cup in which she had given him water, and a present of another muhr from the vizier's son, quickly made herchange her mind. She agreed to let them stay there for a few days. 

As soon as her work was over the old woman came and sat down with herlodgers. The vizier's son pretended to be utterly ignorant of the placeand people. "Has this city a name?" he asked the old woman. 

"Of course it has, you stupid. Every little village, much more a city, and such a city as this, has a name. "

"What is the name of this city?"

"Ivory City. Don't you know that? I thought the name was known all overthe world. "

On the mention of the name Ivory City the prince gave a deep sigh. Thevizier's son looked as much as to say "Keep quiet, or you'll discoverthe secret. "

"Is there a king of this country?" continued the vizier's son. 

"Of course there is, and a queen, and a princess. "

"What are their names?"

"The name of the princess is Gulizar, and the name of the queen----"

The vizier's son interrupted the old woman by turning to look at theprince, who was staring like a madman. "Yes, " he said to himafterwards, "we are in the right country. We shall see the beautifulprincess. "

One morning the two travellers noticed the old woman's most carefultoilette: how careful she was in the arrangement of her hair and theset of her kasabah and puts. 

"Who is coming?" said the vizier's son. 

"Nobody, " the old woman replied. 

"Then where are you going?"

"I am going to see my daughter, who is a servant of the PrincessGulizar. I see her and the princess every day. I should have goneyesterday, if you had not been here and taken up all my time. "

"Ah-h-h! Be careful not to say anything about us in the hearing of theprincess. " The vizier's son asked her not to speak about them at thepalace, hoping that, because she had been told not to do so, she wouldmention their arrival, and thus the princess would be informed of theircoming. 

On seeing her mother the girl pretended to be very angry. "Why have younot been for two days?" she asked. 

"Because, my dear, " the old woman answered, "two young travellers, aprince and the son of some great vizier, have taken up their abode inmy hut, and demand so much of my attention. It is nothing but cookingand cleaning, and cleaning and cooking, all day long. I can'tunderstand the men, " she added; "one of them especially appears verystupid. He asked me the name of this country and the name of theking. Now where can these men have come from, that they do not knowthese things? However, they are very great and very rich. They eachgive me a muhr every morning and every evening. "

After this the old woman went and repeated almost the same words to theprincess, on the hearing of which the princess beat her severely; andthreatened her with a severer punishment if she ever again spoke of thestrangers before her. 

In the evening, when the old woman had returned to her hut, she toldthe vizier's son how sorry she was that she could not help breaking herpromise, and how the princess had struck her because she mentionedtheir coming and all about them. 

"Alas! alas!" said the prince, who had eagerly listened to every word. "What, then, will be her anger at the sight of a man?"

"Anger?" said the vizier's son, with an astonished air. "She would beexceedingly glad to see one man. I know this. In this treatment of theold woman I see her request that you will go and see her during thecoming dark fortnight. "

"Heaven be praised!" the prince exclaimed. 

The next time the old woman went to the palace Gulizar called one ofher servants and ordered her to rush into the room while she wasconversing with the old woman; and if the old woman asked what was thematter, she was to say that the king's elephants had gone mad, and wererushing about the city and bazaar in every direction, and destroyingeverything in their way. 

The servant obeyed, and the old woman, fearing lest the elephantsshould go and push down her hut and kill the prince and his friend, begged the princess to let her depart. Now Gulizar had obtained acharmed swing, that landed whoever sat on it at the place wherever theywished to be. "Get the swing, " she said to one of the servants standingby. When it was brought she bade the old woman step into it and desireto be at home. 

The old woman did so, and was at once carried through the air quicklyand safely to her hut, where she found her two lodgers safe and sound. "Oh!" she cried, "I thought that both of you would be killed by thistime. The royal elephants have got loose and are running about wildly. When I heard this I was anxious about you. So the princess gave me thischarmed swing to return in. But come, let us get outside before theelephants arrive and batter down the place. "

"Don't believe this, " said the vizier's son. "It is a mere hoax. Theyhave been playing tricks with you. "

"You will soon have your heart's desire, " he whispered aside to theprince. "These things are signs. "

Two days of the dark fortnight had elapsed, when the prince and thevizier's son seated themselves in the swing, and wished themselveswithin the grounds of the palace. In a moment they were there, andthere too was the object of their search standing by one of the palacegates, and longing to see the prince quite as much as he was longing tosee her. 

Oh, what a happy meeting it was!

"At last, " said Gulizar, "I have seen my beloved, my husband. "

"A thousand thanks to Heaven for bringing me to you, " said the prince. 

Then the prince and Gulizar betrothed themselves to one another andparted, the one for the hut and the other for the palace, both of themfeeling happier than they had ever been before. 

Henceforth the prince visited Gulizar every day and returned to the hutevery night. One morning Gulizar begged him to stay with her always. She was constantly afraid of some evil happening to him--perhapsrobbers would slay him, or sickness attack him, and then she would bedeprived of him. She could not live without seeing him. The princeshowed her that there was no real cause for fear, and said that he felthe ought to return to his friend at night, because he had left his homeand country and risked his life for him; and, moreover, if it had notbeen for his friend's help he would never have met with her. 

Gulizar for the time assented, but she determined in her heart to getrid of the vizier's son as soon as possible. A few days after thisconversation she ordered one of her maids to make a pilaw. She gavespecial directions that a certain poison was to be mixed into it whilecooking, and as soon as it was ready the cover was to be placed on thesaucepan, so that the poisonous steam might not escape. When the pilawwas ready she sent it at once by the hand of a servant to the vizier'sson with this message "Gulizar, the princess, sends you an offering inthe name of her dead uncle. "

On receiving the present the vizier's son thought that the prince hadspoken gratefully of him to the princess, and therefore she had thusremembered him. Accordingly he sent back his salam and expressions ofthankfulness. 

When it was dinner-time he took the saucepan of pilaw and went out toeat it by the stream. Taking off the lid, he threw it aside on thegrass and then washed his hands. During the minute or so that he wasperforming these ablutions, the green grass under the cover of thesaucepan turned quite yellow. He was astonished, and suspecting thatthere was poison in the pilaw, he took a little and threw it to somecrows that were hopping about. The moment the crows ate what was thrownto them they fell down dead. 

"Heaven be praised, " exclaimed the vizier's son, "who has preserved mefrom death at this time!"

On the return of the prince that evening the vizier's son was veryreticent and depressed. The prince noticed this change in him, andasked what was the reason. "Is it because I am away so much at thepalace?" The vizier's son saw that the prince had nothing to do withthe sending of the pilaw, and therefore told him everything. 

"Look here, " he said, "in this handkerchief is some pilaw that theprincess sent me this morning in the name of her deceased uncle. It issaturated with poison. Thank Heaven, I discovered it in time!"

"Oh, brother! who could have done this thing? Who is there thatentertains enmity against you?"

"The Princess Gulizar. Listen. The next time you go to see her, Ientreat you to take some snow with you; and just before seeing theprincess put a little of it into both your eyes. It will provoke tears, and Gulizar will ask you why you are crying. Tell her that you weep forthe loss of your friend, who died suddenly this morning. Look! take, too, this wine and this shovel, and when you have feigned intense griefat the death of your friend, bid the princess to drink a little of thewine. It is strong, and will immediately send her into a deep sleep. Then, while she is asleep, heat the shovel and mark her back with it. Remember to bring back the shovel again, and also to take her pearlnecklace. This done, return. Now fear not to execute theseinstructions, because on the fulfilment of them depends your fortuneand happiness. I will arrange that your marriage with the princessshall be accepted by the king, her father, and all the court. "

The prince promised that he would do everything as the vizier's son hadadvised him; and he kept his promise. 

The following night, on the return of the prince from his visit toGulizar, he and the vizier's son, taking the horses and bags of muhrs, went to a graveyard about a mile or so distant. It was arranged thatthe vizier's son should act the part of a fakir and the prince the partof the fakir's disciple and servant. 

In the morning, when Gulizar had returned to her senses, she felt asmarting pain in her back, and noticed that her pearl necklace wasgone. She went at once and informed the king of the loss of hernecklace, but said nothing to him about the pain in her back. 

The king was very angry when he heard of the theft, and causedproclamation concerning it to be made throughout all the city andsurrounding country. 

"It is well, " said the vizier's son, when he heard of thisproclamation. "Fear not, my brother, but go and take this necklace, andtry to sell it in the bazaar. "

The prince took it to a goldsmith and asked him to buy it. 

"How much do you want for it?" asked the man. 

"Fifty thousand rupees, " the prince replied. 

"All right, " said the man; "wait here while I go and fetch the money. "

The prince waited and waited, till at last the goldsmith returned, andwith him the kotwal, who at once took the prince into custody on thecharge of stealing the princess's necklace. 

"How did you get the necklace?" the kotwal asked. 

"A fakir, whose servant I am, gave it to me to sell in the bazaar, " theprince replied. "Permit me, and I will show you where he is. "

The prince directed the kotwal and the policeman to the place where hehad left the vizier's son, and there they found the fakir with his eyesshut and engaged in prayer. Presently, when he had finished hisdevotions, the kotwal asked him to explain how he had obtainedpossession of the princess's necklace. 

"Call the king hither, " he replied, "and then I will tell his Majestyface to face. "

On this some men went to the king and told him what the fakir had said. His Majesty came, and seeing the fakir so solemn and earnest in hisdevotions, he was afraid to rouse his anger, lest peradventure thedispleasure of Heaven should descend on him, and so he placed his handstogether in the attitude of a supplicant, and asked, "How did you getmy daughter's necklace?"

"Last night, " replied the fakir, "we were sitting here by this tombworshipping Khuda, when a ghoul, dressed as a princess, came andexhumed a body that had been buried a few days ago, and began to eatit. On seeing this I was filled with anger, and beat her back with ashovel, which lay on the fire at the time. While running away from meher necklace got loose and dropped. You wonder at these words, but theyare not difficult to prove. Examine your daughter, and you will findthe marks of the burn on her back. Go, and if it is as I say, send theprincess to me, and I will punish her. "

The king went back to the palace, and at once ordered the princess'sback to be examined. 

"It is so, " said the maid-servant; "the burn is there. "

"Then let the girl be slain immediately, " the king shouted. 

"No, no, your Majesty, " they replied. "Let us send her to the fakir whodiscovered this thing, that he may do whatever he wishes with her. "

The king agreed, and so the princess was taken to the graveyard. 

"Let her be shut up in a cage, and be kept near the grave whence shetook out the corpse, " said the fakir. 

This was done, and in a little while the fakir and his disciple and theprincess were left alone in the graveyard. Night had not long cast itsdark mantle over the scene when the fakir and his disciple threw offtheir disguise, and taking their horses and luggage, appeared beforethe cage. They released the princess, rubbed some ointment over thescars on her back, and then sat her upon one of their horses behind theprince. Away they rode fast and far, and by the morning were able torest and talk over their plans in safety. The vizier's son showed theprincess some of the poisoned pilaw that she had sent him, and askedwhether she had repented of her ingratitude. The princess wept, andacknowledged that he was her greatest helper and friend. 

A letter was sent to the chief vizier telling him of all that hadhappened to the prince and the vizier's son since they had left theircountry. When the vizier read the letter he went and informed the king. The king caused a reply to be sent to the two exiles, in which heordered them not to return, but to send a letter to Gulizar's father, and inform him of everything. Accordingly they did this; the princewrote the letter at the vizier's son's dictation. 

On reading the letter Gulizar's father was much enraged with hisviziers and other officials for not discovering the presence in hiscountry of these illustrious visitors, as he was especially anxious toingratiate himself in the favour of the prince and the vizier's son. Heordered the execution of some of the viziers on a certain date. 

"Come, " he wrote back to the vizier's son, "and stay at the palace. Andif the prince desires it, I will arrange for his marriage with Gulizaras soon as possible. "

The prince and the vizier's son most gladly accepted the invitation, and received a right noble welcome from the king. The marriage soontook place, and then after a few weeks the king gave them presents ofhorses and elephants, and jewels and rich cloths, and bade them startfor their own land; for he was sure that the king would now receivethem. The night before they left the viziers and others, whom the kingintended to have executed as soon as his visitors had left, came andbesought the vizier's son to plead for them, and promised that theyeach would give him a daughter in marriage. He agreed to do so, andsucceeded in obtaining their pardon. 

Then the prince, with his beautiful bride Gulizar, and the vizier'sson, attended by a troop of soldiers, and a large number of camels andhorses bearing very much treasure, left for their own land. In themidst of the way they passed the tower of the robbers, and with thehelp of the soldiers they razed it to the ground, slew all its inmates, and seized the treasure which they had been amassing there for severalyears. 

At length they reached their own country, and when the king saw hisson's beautiful wife and his magnificent retinue he was at oncereconciled, and ordered him to enter the city and take up his abodethere. 

Henceforth all was sunshine on the path of the prince. He became agreat favourite, and in due time succeeded to the throne, and ruled thecountry for many, many years in peace and happiness. 

HOW SUN, MOON, AND WIND WENT OUT TO DINNER

One day Sun, Moon, and Wind went out to dine with their uncle and auntsThunder and Lightning. Their mother (one of the most distant Stars yousee far up in the sky) waited alone for her children's return. 

Now both Sun and Wind were greedy and selfish. They enjoyed the greatfeast that had been prepared for them, without a thought of saving anyof it to take home to their mother--but the gentle Moon did not forgether. Of every dainty dish that was brought round, she placed a smallportion under one of her beautiful long finger-nails, that Star mightalso have a share in the treat. 

On their return, their mother, who had kept watch for them all nightlong with her little bright eye, said, "Well, children, what have youbrought home for me?" Then Sun (who was eldest) said, "I have broughtnothing home for you. I went out to enjoy myself with my friends--notto fetch a dinner for my mother!" And Wind said, "Neither have Ibrought anything home for you, mother. You could hardly expect me tobring a collection of good things for you, when I merely went out formy own pleasure. " But Moon said, "Mother, fetch a plate, see what Ihave brought you. " And shaking her hands she showered down such achoice dinner as never was seen before. 

Then Star turned to Sun and spoke thus, "Because you went out to amuseyourself with your friends, and feasted and enjoyed yourself, withoutany thought of your mother at home--you shall be cursed. Henceforth, your rays shall ever be hot and scorching, and shall burn all that theytouch. And men shall hate you, and cover their heads when you appear. "

(And that is why the Sun is so hot to this day. )

Then she turned to Wind and said, "You also who forgot your mother inthe midst of your selfish pleasures--hear your doom. You shall alwaysblow in the hot dry weather, and shall parch and shrivel all livingthings. And men shall detest and avoid you from this very time. "

(And that is why the Wind in the hot weather is still so disagreeable. )

But to Moon she said, "Daughter, because you remembered your mother, and kept for her a share in your own enjoyment, from henceforth youshall be ever cool, and calm, and bright. No noxious glare shallaccompany your pure rays, and men shall always call you 'blessed. "'

(And that is why the moon's light is so soft, and cool, and beautifuleven to this day. )

HOW THE WICKED SONS WERE DUPED

A very wealthy old man, imagining that he was on the point of death, sent for his sons and divided his property among them. However, he didnot die for several years afterwards; and miserable years many of themwere. Besides the weariness of old age, the old fellow had to bear withmuch abuse and cruelty from his sons. Wretched, selfish ingrates!Previously they vied with one another in trying to please their father, hoping thus to receive more money, but now they had received theirpatrimony, they cared not how soon he left them--nay, the sooner thebetter, because he was only a needless trouble and expense. And theylet the poor old man know what they felt. 

One day he met a friend and related to him all his troubles. The friendsympathised very much with him, and promised to think over the matter, and call in a little while and tell him what to do. He did so; in afew days he visited the old man and put down four bags full of stonesand gravel before him. 

"Look here, friend, " said he. "Your sons will get to know of my cominghere to-day, and will inquire about it. You must pretend that I came todischarge a long-standing debt with you, and that you are severalthousands of rupees richer than you thought you were. Keep these bagsin your own hands, and on no account let your sons get to them as longas you are alive. You will soon find them change their conduct towardsyou. Salaam. I will come again soon to see how you are getting on. "

When the young men got to hear of this further increase of wealth theybegan to be more attentive and pleasing to their father than everbefore. And thus they continued to the day of the old man's demise, when the bags were greedily opened, and found to contain only stonesand gravel!

THE PIGEON AND THE CROW

Once upon a time the Bodhisatta was a Pigeon, and lived in a nest-basket which a rich man's cook had hung up in the kitchen, in order toearn merit by it. A greedy Crow, flying near, saw all sorts of delicatefood lying about in the kitchen, and fell a-hungering after it. "How inthe world can I get some?" thought he? At last he hit upon a plan. 

When the Pigeon went to search for food, behind him, following, following, came the Crow. 

"What do you want, Mr. Crow? You and I don't feed alike. "

"Ah, but I like you and your ways! Let me be your chum, and let us feedtogether. "

The Pigeon agreed, and they went on in company. The Crow pretended tofeed along with the Pigeon, but ever and anon he would turn back, peckto bits some heap of cow-dung, and eat a fat worm. When he had got abellyful of them, up he flies, as pert as you like:

"Hullo, Mr. Pigeon, what a time you take over your meal! One ought todraw the line somewhere. Let's be going home before it is too late. "And so they did. 

The cook saw that his Pigeon had brought a friend, and hung up anotherbasket for him. 

A few days afterwards there was a great purchase of fish which came tothe rich man's kitchen. How the Crow longed for some! So there he lay, from early morn, groaning and making a great noise. Says the Pigeon tothe Crow:

"Come, Sir Crow, and get your breakfast!"'

"Oh dear! oh dear! I have such a fit of indigestion!" says he. 

"Nonsense! Crows never have indigestion, " said the Pigeon. "If you eata lamp-wick, that stays in your stomach a little while; but anythingelse is digested in a trice, as soon as you eat it. Now do what I tellyou; don't behave in this way just for seeing a little fish. "

"Why do you say that, master? I have indigestion. "

"Well, be careful, " said the Pigeon, and flew away. 

The cook prepared all the dishes, and then stood at the kitchen door, wiping the sweat off his body. "Now's my time!" thought Mr. Crow, andalighted on a dish containing some dainty food. Click! The cook heardit, and looked round. Ah! he caught the Crow, and plucked all thefeathers out of his head, all but one tuft; he powdered ginger andcummin, mixed it up with butter-milk, and rubbed it well all over thebird's body. 

"That's for spoiling my master's dinner and making me throw it away!"said he, and threw him into his basket. Oh, how it hurt!

By-and-by the Pigeon came in, and saw the Crow lying there, making agreat noise. He made great game of him, and repeated a verse of poetry:

 "Who is this tufted crane I see Lying where he's no right to be? Come out! my friend, the crow is near, And he may do you harm, I fear!"

To this the Crow answered with another:

 "No tufted crane am I--no, no! I'm nothing but a greedy crow. I would not do as I was told, So now I'm plucked, as you behold. "

And the Pigeon rejoined with a third verse:

 "You'll come to grief again, I know-- It is your nature to do so; If people make a dish of meat, 'Tis not for little birds to eat. "

Then the Pigeon flew away, saying: "I can't live with this creature anylonger. " And the Crow lay there groaning till he died. 

NOTES AND REFERENCES

The story literature of India is in a large measure the outcome of themoral revolution of the peninsula connected with the name of GautamaBuddha. As the influence of his life and doctrines grew, a tendencyarose to connect all the popular stories of India round the greatteacher. This could be easily effected owing to the wide spread of thebelief in metempsychosis. All that was told of the sages of the pastcould be interpreted of the Buddha by representing them as pre-incarnations of him. Even with Fables, or beast-tales, this could bedone, for the Hindoos were Darwinists long before Darwin, and regardedbeasts as cousins of men and stages of development in the progress ofthe soul through the ages. Thus, by identifying the Buddha with theheroes of all folk-tales and the chief characters in the beast-drolls, the Buddhists were enabled to incorporate the whole of the story-storeof Hindostan in their sacred books, and enlist on their side the tale-telling instincts of men. 

In making Buddha the centre figure of the popular literature of India, his followers also invented the Frame as a method of literary art. Theidea of connecting a number of disconnected stories familiar to us from_The Arabian Nights_, Boccaccio's _Decamerone_, Chaucer's _CanterburyTales_, or even _Pickwick_, is directly traceable to the plan ofmaking Buddha the central figure of India folk-literature. Curiouslyenough, the earliest instance of this in Buddhist literature was intendedto be a Decameron, ten tales of Buddha's previous births, told of eachof the ten Perfections. Asvagosha, the earlier Boccaccio, died when hehad completed thirty-four of the Birth-Tales. But other collections weremade, and at last a corpus of the JATAKAS, or Birth-Tales of the Buddha, was carried over to Ceylon, possibly as early as the first introduction ofBuddhism, 241 B. C. There they have remained till the present day, andhave at last been made accessible in a complete edition in the originalPali by Prof. Fausböll. 

These JATAKAS, as we now have them, are enshrined in a commentary onthe _gathas_, or moral verses, written in Ceylon by one ofBuddhaghosa's school in the fifth century A. D. They invariably beginwith a "Story of the Present, " an incident in Buddha's life whichcalls up to him a "Story of the Past, " a folk-tale in which he hadplayed a part during one of his former incarnations. Thus the fable ofthe Lion and the Crane, which opens the present collection, isintroduced by a "Story of the Present" in the following words:--

"A service have we done thee" [the opening words of the _gatha_ ormoral verse]. "This the Master told while living at Jetavana concerningDevadatta's treachery. Not only now, O Bhickkus, but in a formerexistence was Devadatta ungrateful. And having said this he told atale" Then follows the tale as given above, and the commentaryconcludes: "The Master, having given the lesson, summed up the Jatakathus: 'At that time, the Lion was Devadatta, and the Crane was Imyself. '" Similarly, with each story of the past the Buddha identifieshimself, or is mentioned as identical with, the virtuous hero of thefolk-tale. These Jatakas are 550 in number, and have been reckoned toinclude some 2000 tales. Some of these had been translated by Mr. Rhys-Davids (_Buddhist Birth Stories, I. _, Trübner's OrientalLibrary, 1880), Prof. Fausböll (_Five Jatakas_, Copenhagen), and Dr. R. Morris (_Folk-Lore Journal_, vols. Ii. -v. ). A few exist sculpturedon the earliest Buddhist Stupas. Thus several of the circular figuredesigns on the reliefs from Amaravati, now on the grand staircase of theBritish Museum, represent Jatakas, or previous births of the Buddha. 

Some of the Jatakas bear a remarkable resemblance to some of the mostfamiliar FABLES OF AESOP. So close is the resemblance, indeed, that itis impossible not to surmise an historical relation between the two. What this relation is I have discussed at considerable length in the"History of the Aesopic Fable, " which forms the introductory volume tomy edition of Caxton's _Esope_ (London, D. Nutt, "Bibliothèque deCarabas, " 1889). In this place I can only roughly summarise my results. I conjecture that a collection of fables existed in India before Buddhaand independently of the Jatakas, and connected with the name ofKasyapa, who was afterwards made by the Buddhists into the latest ofthe twenty-seven pre-incarnations of the Buddha. This collection of theFables of Kasyapa was brought to Europe with a deputation from theCingalese King Chandra Muka Siwa (obiit 52 A. D. ) to the EmperorClaudius about 50 A. D. , and was done into Greek as the [Greek: LogoiLubikoi] of "Kybises. " These were utilised by Babrius (from whom theGreek Aesop is derived) and Avian, and so came into the European Aesop. I have discussed all those that are to be found in the Jatakas in the"History" before mentioned, i. Pp. 54-72 (see Notes i. Xv. Xx. ). Inthese Notes henceforth I refer to this "History" as my _Aesop_. 

There were probably other Buddhist collections of a similar nature tothe Jatakas with a framework. When the Hindu reaction against Buddhismcame, the Brahmins adapted these, with the omission of Buddha as thecentral figure. There is scarcely any doubt that the so-called FABLESOF BIDPAI were thus derived from Buddhistic sources. In its Indian formthis is now extant as a _Panchatantra_ or Pentateuch, five booksof tales connected by a Frame. This collection is of special interestto us in the present connection, as it has come to Europe in variousforms and shapes. I have edited Sir Thomas North's English version ofan Italian adaptation of a Spanish translation of a Latin version of aHebrew translation of an Arabic adaptation of the Pehlevi version ofthe Indian original (_Fables of Bidpai_, London, D. Nutt, "Bibliothèque de Carabas, " 1888). In this I give a genealogical tableof the various versions, from which I calculate that the tales havebeen translated into thirty-eight languages in 112 different versions, twenty different ones in English alone. Their influence on Europeanfolk-tales has been very great: it is probable that nearly one-tenth ofthese can be traced to the Bidpai literature. (See Notes v. Ix. X. Xiii. Xv. )

Other collections of a similar character, arranged in a frame, andderived ultimately from Buddhistic sources, also reached Europe andformed popular reading in the Middle Ages. Among these may be mentionedTHE TALES OF SINDIBAD, known to Europe as _The Seven Sages ofRome:_ from this we get the Gellert story (_cf. Celtic FairyTales_), though it also occurs in the Bidpai. Another popularcollection was that associated with the life of St. Buddha, who hasbeen canonised as St. Josaphat: BARLAAM AND JOSAPHAT tells of hisconversion and much else besides, including the tale of the ThreeCaskets, used by Shakespeare in the _Merchant of Venice_. 

Some of the Indian tales reached Europe at the time of the Crusades, either orally or in collections no longer extant. The earliestselection of these was the _Disciplina Clericalis_ of PetrusAlphonsi, a Spanish Jew converted about 1106: his tales were to be usedas seasoning for sermons, and strong seasoning they must have proved. Another Spanish collection of considerably later date was entitled_El Conde Lucanor_ (Eng. Trans. By W. York): this contains thefable of _The Man, his Son, and their Ass_, which they ride orcarry as the popular voice decides. But the most famous collection ofthis kind was that known as GESTA ROMANORUM, much of which wascertainly derived from Oriental and ultimately Indian sources, and somight more appropriately be termed _Gesta Indorum_. 

All these collections, which reached Europe in the twelfth andthirteenth centuries, became very popular, and were used by monks andfriars to enliven their sermons as EXEMPLA. Prof. Crane has given afull account of this very curious phenomenon in his erudite edition ofthe _Exempla of Jacques de Vitry_ (Folk Lore Society, 1890). TheIndian stories were also used by the Italian _Novellieri_, much ofBoccaccio and his school being derived from this source. As these againgave material for the Elizabethan Drama, chiefly in W. Painter's_Palace of Pleasure_, a collection of translated _Novelle_ whichI have edited (Lond. , 3 vols. 1890), it is not surprising that we can attimes trace portions of Shakespeare back to India. It should also bementioned that one-half of La Fontaine's Fables (Bks. Vii. -xii. ) arederived from Indian sources. (_See_ Note on No. V. )

In India itself the collection of stories in frames went on and stillgoes on. Besides those already mentioned there are the stories of_Vikram and the Vampire_ (Vetala), translated among others by thelate Sir Richard Burton, and the seventy stories of a parrot (_SukaSaptati_. ) The whole of this literature was summed up by Somnadeva, c. 1200 A. D. In a huge compilation entitled _Katha Sarit Sagara_("Ocean of the Stream of Stories"). Of this work, written in veryflorid style, Mr. Tawney has produced a translation in two volumes inthe _Bibliotheca Indica_. Unfortunately, there is a Divorce Courtatmosphere about the whole book, and my selections from it have beenaccordingly restricted. (Notes, No. Xi. )

So much for a short sketch of Indian folk-tales so far as they havebeen reduced to writing in the native literature. [Footnote: Anadmirable and full account of this literature was given by M. A. Barthin _Mélusine_, t. Iv. No. 12, and t. V. No. 1. See also Table i. Of Prof. Rhys-Davids' _Birth Stories_. ] The Jatakas are probablythe oldest collection of such tales in literature, and the greater partof the rest are demonstrably more than a thousand years old. It iscertain that much (perhaps one-fifth) of the popular literature ofmodern Europe is derived from those portions of this large bulk whichcame west with the Crusades through the medium of Arabs and Jews. Inhis elaborate _Einleitung_ to the _Pantschatantra_, the Indianversion of the Fables of Bidpai, Prof. Benfey contended with enormouserudition that the majority of folk-tale incidents were to be found in theBidpai literature. His introduction consisted of over 200 monographs onthe spread of Indian tales to Europe. He wrote in 1859, before the greatoutburst of folk-tale collection in Europe, and he had not thus adequatematerials to go about in determining the extent of Indian influence onthe popular mind of Europe. But he made it clear that for beast-tales andfor drolls, the majority of those current in the mouths of occidentalpeople were derived from Eastern and mainly Indian sources. He wasnot successful, in my opinion, in tracing the serious fairy tale to India. Few of the tales in the Indian literary collections could be dignified bythe name of fairy tales, and it was clear that if these were to be tracedto India, an examination of the contemporary folk-tales of the peninsulawould have to be attempted. 

The collection of current Indian folk-tales has been the work of thelast quarter of a century, a work, even after what has been achieved, still in its initial stages. The credit of having begun the process isdue to Miss Frere, who, while her father was Governor of the BombayPresidency, took down from the lips of her _ayah_, Anna de Souza, one of a Lingaet family from Goa who had been Christian for threegenerations, the tales she afterwards published with Mr. Murray in1868, under the title, "_Old Deccan Days, or, Indian Fairy Legendscurrent in Southern India, collected from oral tradition by M. Frere, with an introduction and notes by Sir Bartle Frere_. " Her examplewas followed by Miss Stokes in her _Indian Fairy Tales_ (London, Ellis & White, 1880), who took down her tales from two _ayahs_ anda _Khitmatgar_, all of them Bengalese--the _ayahs_ Hindus, andthe man a Mohammedan. Mr. Ralston introduced the volume with someremarks which dealt too much with sun-myths for present-day taste. Another collection from Bengal was that of Lal Behari Day, a Hindugentleman, in his _Folk-Tales of Bengal_ (London, Macmillan, 1883). The Panjab and the Kashmir then had their turn: Mrs. Steelcollected, and Captain (now Major) Temple edited and annotated, their_Wideawake Stories_ (London, Trübner, 1884), stories capitallytold and admirably annotated. Captain Temple increased the value ofthis collection by a remarkable analysis of all the incidents containedin the two hundred Indian folk-tales collected up to this date. It isnot too much to say that this analysis marks an onward step in thescientific study of the folk-tale: there is such a thing, derided as itmay be. I have throughout the Notes been able to draw attention toIndian parallels by a simple reference to Major Temple's Analysis. 

Major Temple has not alone himself collected: he has been the causethat many others have collected. In the pages of the _IndianAntiquary_, edited by him, there have appeared from time to timefolk-tales collected from all parts of India. Some of these have beenissued separately. Sets of tales from Southern India, collected by thePandit Natesa Sastri, have been issued under the title _Folk-Lore ofSouthern India_, three fascicules of which have been recently re-issued by Mrs. Kingscote under the title, _Tales of the Sun_ (W. H. Allen, 1891): it would have been well if the identity of the twoworks had been clearly explained. The largest addition to our knowledgeof the Indian folk-tale that has been made since _WideawakeStories_ is that contained in Mr. Knowles' _Folk-Tales ofKashmir_ (Trübner's Oriental Library, 1887), sixty-three stories, some of great length. These, with Mr. Campbell's _Santal Tales_(1892); Ramaswami Raju's _Indian Fables_ (London, Sonnenschein, n. D. ); M. Thornhill, _Indian Fairy Tales_ (London, 1889); and E. J. Robinson, _Tales of S. India_ (1885), together with thosecontained in books of travel like Thornton's _Bannu_ or Smeaton's_Karens of Burmah_ bring up the list of printed Indian folk-talesto over 350--a respectable total indeed, but a mere drop in theocean of the stream of stories that must exist in such a hugepopulation as that of India: the Central Provinces in particular arepractically unexplored. There are doubtless many collections stillunpublished. Col. Lewin has large numbers, besides the few published inhis _Lushai Grammar_; and Mr. M. L. Dames has a number of Baluchitales which I have been privileged to use. Altogether, India now ranksamong the best represented countries for printed folk-tales, comingonly after Russia (1500), Germany (1200), Italy and France (1000 each. )[Footnote: Finland boasts of 12, 000 but most of these lie unprintedamong the archives of the Helsingfors Literary Society. ] Counting theancient with the modern, India has probably some 600 to 700 folk-talesprinted and translated in accessible form. There should be enoughmaterial to determine the vexed question of the relations between theEuropean and the Indian collections. 

This question has taken a new departure with the researches of M. Emanuel Cosquin in his _Contes populaires de Lorraine_ (Paris, 1886, 2° tirage, 1890), undoubtedly the most important contributionto the scientific study of the folk-tale since the Grimms. M. Cosquingives in the annotations to the eighty-four tales which he hascollected in Lorraine a mass of information as to the various formswhich the tales take in other countries of Europe and in the East. Inmy opinion, the work he has done for the European folk-tale is evenmore valuable than the conclusions he draws from it as to the relationswith India. He has taken up the work which Wilhelm Grimm dropped in1859, and shown from the huge accumulations of folk-tales that haveappeared during the last thirty years that there is a common fund offolk-tales which every country of Europe without exception possesses, though this does not of course preclude them from possessing othersthat are not shared by the rest. M. Cosquin further contends that thewhole of these have come from the East, ultimately from India, not byliterary transmission, as Benfey contended, but by oral transmission. He has certainly shown that very many of the most striking incidentscommon to European folk-tales are also to be found in Eastern_mährchen_. What, however, he has failed to show is that some ofthese may not have been carried out to the Eastern world by Europeans. Borrowing tales is a mutual process, and when Indian meets European, European meets Indian; which borrowed from which, is a question whichwe have very few criteria to decide. It should be added that Mr W. A. Clouston has in England collected with exemplary industry a largenumber of parallels between Indian and European folk-tale incidents inhis _Popular Tales and Fictions_ (Edinburgh, 2 vols. , 1887) and_Book of Noodles_ (London, 1888). Mr Clouston has not openlyexpressed his conviction that all folk-tales are Indian in origin: heprefers to convince us _non vi sed saepe cadendo_. He has certainlymade out a good case for tracing all European drolls, or comic folk-tales, from the East. 

With the fairy tale strictly so called--_i. E. _, the serious folk-tale of romantic adventure--I am more doubtful. It is mainly a modernproduct in India as in Europe, so far as literary evidence goes. Thevast bulk of the Jatakas does not contain a single example worthy thename, nor does the Bidpai literature. Some of Somadeva's tales, however, approach the nature of fairy tales, but there are severalCeltic tales which can be traced to an earlier date than his (1200A. D. ) and are equally near to fairy tales. Yet it is dangerous to trustto mere non-appearance in literature as proof of non-existence amongthe folk. To take our own tales here in England, there is not a singleinstance of a reference to _Jack and the Beanstalk_ for the lastthree hundred years, yet it is undoubtedly a true folk-tale. And it isindeed remarkable how many of the _formulae_ of fairy tales havebeen found of recent years in India. Thus, the _Magic Fiddle_, found among the Santals by Mr. Campbell in two variants (see Notes onvi. ), contains the germ idea of the wide-spread story represented inGreat Britain by the ballad of _Binnorie_ (see _English FairyTales_, No. Ix. ). Similarly, Mr. Knowles' collection has addedconsiderably to the number of Indian variants of European "formulae"beyond those noted by M. Cosquin. 

It is still more striking as regards _incidents_. In a paper readbefore the Folk-Lore Congress of 1891, and reprinted in the_Transactions_, pp. 76 _seq. _, I have drawn up a list of some630 incidents found in common among European folk-tales (includingdrolls). Of these, I reckon that about 250 have been already foundamong Indian folk-tales, and the number is increased by each newcollection that is made or printed. The moral of this is, that Indiabelongs to a group of peoples who have a common store of stories; Indiabelongs to Europe for purposes of comparative folk-tales. 

Can we go further and say that India is the source of all the incidentsthat are held in common by European children? I think we may answer"Yes" as regards droll incidents, the travels of many of which we cantrace, and we have the curious result that European children owe theirearliest laughter to Hindu wags. As regards the serious incidentsfurther inquiry is needed. Thus, we find the incident of an "externalsoul" (Life Index, Captain Temple very appropriately named it) inAsbjörnsen's _Norse Tales_ and in Miss Frere's _Old DeccanDays_ (see Notes on _Punchkin_). Yet the latter is a verysuspicious source, since Miss Frere derived her tales from a Christian_ayah_ whose family had been in Portuguese Goa for a hundredyears. May they not have got the story of the giant with his souloutside his body from some European sailor touching at Goa? This is toa certain extent negatived by the fact of the frequent occurrence ofthe incident in Indian folk-tales (Captain Temple gave a large numberof instances in _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 404-5). On the otherhand, Mr. Frazer in his _Golden Bough_ has shown the wide spreadof the idea among all savage or semi-savage tribes. (See Note on No. Iv. )

In this particular case we may be doubtful; but in others, again--asthe incident of the rat's tail up nose (see Notes on _The CharmedRing_)--there can be little doubt of the Indian origin. Andgenerally, so far as the incidents are marvellous and of true fairy-tale character, the presumption is in favour of India, because of thevitality of animism or metempsychosis in India throughout all historictime. No Hindu would doubt the fact of animals speaking or of mentransformed into plants and animals. The European may once have hadthese beliefs, and may still hold them implicitly as "survivals"; butin the "survival" stage they cannot afford material for artisticcreation, and the fact that the higher minds of Europe for the lastthousand years have discountenanced these beliefs has not been entirelywithout influence. Of one thing there is practical certainty: the fairytales that are common to the Indo-European world were invented once forall in a certain locality; and thence spread to all the countries inculture contact with the original source. The mere fact that contiguouscountries have more similarities in their story store than distant onesis sufficient to prove this: indeed, the fact that any single countryhas spread throughout it a definite set of folk-tales as distinctive asits flora and fauna, is sufficient to prove it. It is equally certainthat not all folk-tales have come from one source, for each country hastales peculiar to itself. The question is as to the source of the talesthat are common to all European children, and increasing evidence seemsto show that this common nucleus is derived from India and India alone. The Hindus have been more successful than others, because of two facts:they have had the appropriate "atmosphere" of metempsychosis, and theyhave also had spread among the people sufficient literary training andmental grip to invent plots. The Hindu tales have ousted the nativeEuropean, which undoubtedly existed independently; indeed, many stillsurvive, especially in Celtic lands. Exactly in the same way, Perrault's tales have ousted the older English folk-tales, and it iswith the utmost difficulty that one can get true English fairy talesbecause _Red Riding Hood_, _Cinderella_, _Blue Beard_, _Puss inBoots_ and the rest, have survived in the struggle for existenceamong English folk-tales. So far as Europe has a common store of fairytales, it owes this to India. 

I do not wish to be misunderstood. I do not hold with Benfey that allEuropean folk-tales are derived from the Bidpai literature and similarliterary products, nor with M. Cosquin that they are all derived fromIndia. The latter scholar has proved that there is a nucleus of storiesin every European land which is common to all. I calculate that thisincludes from 30 to 50 per cent. Of the whole, and it is this commonstock of Europe that I regard as coming from India mainly at the timeof the Crusades, and chiefly by oral transmission. It includes all thebeast tales and most of the drolls, but evidence is still lacking aboutthe more serious fairy tales, though it is increasing with every freshcollection of folk-tales in India, the great importance of which isobvious from the above considerations. 

In the following Notes I give, as on the two previous occasions, the_source_ whence I derived the tale, then _parallels_, and finally_remarks_. For Indian _parallels_ I have been able to refer toMajor Temple's remarkable Analysis of Indian Folk-tale incidents at theend of _Wide-awake Stories_ (pp. 386-436), for European ones tomy alphabetical List of Incidents, with bibliographical references, in_Transactions of Folk-Lore Congress_, 1892, pp. 87-98. My _remarks_have been mainly devoted to tracing the relation between the Indianand the European tales, with the object of showing that the latterhave been derived from the former. I have, however, to some extenthandicapped myself, as I have avoided giving again the Indian versionsof stories already given in _English Fairy Tales_ or _Celtic Fairy Tales_. 

I. THE LION AND THE CRANE. 

_Source_. --V. Fausböll, _Five Jatakas_; Copenhagen, 1861, pp. 35-8, text and translation of the _Javasakuna Jataka_. I haveventured to English Prof. Fausböll's version, which was only intended asa "crib" to the Pali. For the omitted Introduction, see _supra_. 

_Parallels_. --I have given a rather full collection of parallels, running to about a hundred numbers, in my _Aesop_, pp. 232-4. Thechief of these are: (i) for the East, the Midrashic version ("Lion andEgyptian Partridge"), in the great Rabbinic commentary on Genesis(_Bereshith-rabba_, c. 64); (2) in classical antiquity, Phaedrus, i. 8 ("Wolf and Crane"), and Babrius, 94 ("Wolf and Heron"), and theGreek proverb Suidas, ii. 248 ("Out of the Wolf's Mouth"); (3) in theMiddle Ages, the so-called Greek Aesop, ed. Halm, 276 _b_, reallyprose versions of Babrius and "Romulus, " or prose of Phaedrus, i. 8, also the Romulus of Ademar (fl. 1030), 64; it occurs also on the BayeuxTapestry, in Marie de France, 7, and in Benedict of Oxford's _MishleShualim_ (Heb. ), 8; (4) Stainhöwel took it from the "Romulus" intohis German Aesop (1480), whence all the modern European Aesops arederived. 

_Remarks_. --I have selected _The Wolf and the Crane_ as mytypical example in my "History of the Aesopic Fable, " and can only givehere a rough summary of the results I there arrived at concerning thefable, merely premising that these results are at present no more thanhypotheses. The similarity of the Jataka form with that familiar to us, and derived by us in the last resort from Phaedrus, is so striking thatfew will deny some historical relation between them. I conjecture thatthe Fable originated in India, and came West by two different routes. First, it came by oral tradition to Egypt, as one of the Libyan Fableswhich the ancients themselves distinguished from the Aesopic Fables. Itwas, however, included by Demetrius Phalereus, tyrant of Athens, andfounder of the Alexandrian library c. 300 B. C. , in his _Assemblies ofAesopic Fables_, which I have shown to be the source of Phaedrus'Fables c. 30 A. D. Besides this, it came from Ceylon in the Fables ofKybises--i. E. , Kasyapa the Buddha--c. 50 A. D. , was adapted into Hebrew, and used for political purposes, by Rabbi Joshua ben Chananyah in aharangue to the Jews c. 120 A. D. , begging them to be patient whilewithin the jaws of Rome. The Hebrew form uses the lion, not the wolf, as the ingrate, which enables us to decide on the Indian _provenance_of the Midrashic version. It may be remarked that the use of the lionin this and other Jatakas is indirectly a testimony to their great age, as the lion has become rarer and rarer in India during historic times, and is now confined to the Gir forest of Kathiáwar, where only a dozenspecimens exist, and are strictly preserved. 

The verses at the end are the earliest parts of the Jataka, being inmore archaic Pali than the rest: the story is told by the commentator(c. 400 A. D. ) to illustrate them. It is probable that they were broughtover on the first introduction of Buddhism into Ceylon, c. 241 B. C. This would give them an age of over two thousand years, nearly threehundred years earlier than Phaedrus, from whom comes our _Wolf andCrane_. 

II. PRINCESS LABAM. 

_Source_. --Miss Stokes, _Indian Fairy Tales_, No. Xxii. Pp. 153-63, told by Múniyá, one of the ayahs. I have left it unaltered, except that I have replaced "God" by "Khuda, " the word originally used(see Notes _l. C. _, p 237). 

_Parallels_. --The tabu, as to a particular direction, occurs inother Indian stories as well as in European folk-tales (see notes onStokes, p. 286). The _grateful animals_ theme occurs in "TheSoothsayer's Son" (_infra_, No. X. ), and frequently in Indianfolk-tales (see Temple's Analysis, III. I. 5-7; _WideawakeStories_, pp. 412-3). The thorn in the tiger's foot is especiallycommon (Temple, _l. C. _, 6, 9), and recalls the story of Androclus, which occurs in the derivates of Phaedrus, and may thus beIndian in origin (see Benfey, _Panschatantra_, i. 211, and theparallels given in my _Aesop_, Ro. Iii. 1. P. 243). The theme is, however, equally frequent in European folk-tales: see my List ofIncidents, _Proc. Folk-Lore Congress_, p. 91, s. V. "GratefulAnimals" and "Gifts by Grateful Animals. " Similarly, the "Bride Wager"incident at the end is common to a large number of Indian and Europeanfolk-tales (Temple, Analysis, p. 430; my List, _l. C. Sub voce_). The tasks are also equally common (_cf. _ "Battle of the Birds" in_Celtic Fairy Tales_), though the exact forms as given in"Princess Labam" are not known in Europe. 

_Remarks_. --We have here a concrete instance of the relation ofIndian and European fairy-tales. The human mind may be the sameeverywhere, but it is not likely to hit upon the sequence of incidents, _Direction tabu_--_Grateful Animals_--_Bride-wager_--_Tasks_, byaccident, or independently: Europe must have borrowed from India, orIndia from Europe. As this must have occurred within historic times, indeed within the last thousand years, when even European peasantsare not likely to have _invented_, even if they believed, in the incidentof the grateful animals, the probability is in favour of borrowing fromIndia, possibly through the intermediation of Arabs at the time of theCrusades. It is only a probability, but we cannot in any case reach morethan probability in this matter, just at present. 

III. LAMBIKIN. 

_Source_. --Steel-Temple, _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 69-72, originally published in _Indian Antiquary_, xii. 175. The droll iscommon throughout the Panjab. 

_Parallels_. --The similarity of the concluding episode with thefinish of the "Three Little Pigs" (Eng. Fairy Tales, No. Xiv. ) In mynotes on that droll I have pointed out that the pigs were once goats orkids with "hair on their chinny chin chin. " This brings the tale astage nearer to the Lambikin. 

_Remarks_. --The similarity of Pig No. 3 rolling down hill in thechurn and the Lambikin in the Drumikin can scarcely be accidental, though, it must be confessed, the tale has undergone considerablemodification before it reached England. 

IV. PUNCHKIN. 

_Source_. --Miss Frere, _Old Deccan Days_, pp. 1-16, from herayah, Anna de Souza, of a Lingaet family settled and Christianised atGoa for three generations. I should perhaps add that a Prudhan is aPrime Minister, or Vizier; Punts are the same, and Sirdars, nobles. 

_Parallels_. --The son of seven mothers is a characteristic Indianconception, for which see Notes on "The Son of Seven Queens" in thiscollection, No. Xvi. The mother transformed, envious stepmother, ringrecognition, are all incidents common to East and West; bibliographicalreferences for parallels may be found under these titles in my List ofIncidents. The external soul of the ogre has been studied by Mr. E. Clodd in _Folk-Lore Journal_, vol. Ii. , "The Philosophy ofPunchkin, " and still more elaborately in the section, "The ExternalSoul in Folk-tales, " in Mr. Frazer's _Golden Bough_, ii. Pp. 296-326. See also Major Temple's Analysis, II. Iii. , _WideawakeStories_, pp. 404-5, who there gives the Indian parallels. 

_Remarks_. --Both Mr. Clodd and Mr. Frazer regard the essence ofthe tale to consist in the conception of an external soul or "life-index, " and they both trace in this a "survival" of savage philosophy, which they consider occurs among all men at a certain stage of culture. But the most cursory examination of the sets of tales containing theseincidents in Mr. Frazer's analyses shows that many, indeed themajority, of these tales cannot be independent of one another; for theycontain not alone the incident of an external materialised soul, butthe further point that this is contained in something else, which isenclosed in another thing, which is again surrounded by a wrapper. ThisChinese ball arrangement is found in the Deccan ("Punchkin"); in Bengal(Day, _Folk-Tales of Bengal_); in Russia (Ralston, p. 103_seq. _, "Koschkei the Deathless, " also in Mr. Lang's _Red FairyBook_); in Servia (Mijatovics, _Servian Folk-Lore, _ p. 172); inSouth Slavonia (Wratislaw, p. 225); in Rome (Miss Busk, p. 164); inAlbania (Dozon, p. 132 _seq. _); in Transylvania (Haltrich, No. 34); in Schleswig-Holstein (Müllenhoff, p. 404); in Norway(Asbjörnsen, No. 36, _ap. _ Dasent, _Pop. Tales_, p. 55, "TheGiant who had no Heart in his Body"); and finally, in the Hebrides(Campbell, _Pop. Tales_, p. 10, _cf. Celtic Fairy Tales_, No. Xvii. , "Sea Maiden"). Here we have the track of this remarkable idea ofan external soul enclosed in a succession of wrappings, which we cantrace from Hindostan to the Hebrides. 

It is difficult to imagine that we have not here the actual migrationof the tale from East to West. In Bengal we have the soul "in anecklace, in a box, in the heart of a _boal_ fish, in a tank"; inAlbania "it is in a pigeon, in a hare, in the silver tusk of a wildboar"; in Rome it is "in a stone, in the head of a bird, in the head ofa leveret, in the middle head of a seven-headed hydra"; in Russia "itis in an egg, in a duck, in a hare, in a casket, in an oak"; in Serviait is "in a board, in the heart of a fox, in a mountain"; inTransylvania "it is in a light, in an egg, in a duck, in a pond, in amountain;" in Norway it is "in an egg, in a duck, in a well, in achurch, on an island, in a lake"; in the Hebrides it is "in an egg, inthe belly of a duck, in the belly of a wether, under a flagstone on thethreshold. " It is impossible to imagine the human mind independentlyimagining such bizarre convolutions. They were borrowed from one nationto the other, and till we have reason shown to the contrary, theoriginal lender was a Hindu. I should add that the mere conception ofan external soul occurs in the oldest Egyptian tale of "The TwoBrothers, " but the wrappings are absent. 

V. THE BROKEN POT. 

_Source. --Pantschatantra_, V. Ix. , tr. Benfey, ii. 345-6. 

_Parallels. _--Benfey, in § 209 of his _Einleitung_, givesbibliographical references to most of those which are given at length inProf. M. Müller's brilliant essay on "The Migration of Fables"(_Selected Essays_, i. 500-76), which is entirely devoted to thetravels of the fable from India to La Fontaine. See also Mr. Clouston, _Pop. Tales_, ii. 432 _seq. _ I have translated the Hebrew versionin my essay, "Jewish Influence on the Diffusion of Folk-Tales, " pp. 6-7. Our proverb, "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched, " isultimately to be derived from India. 

_Remarks--The stories of Alnaschar, the Barber's fifth brother in the_Arabian Nights_, and of La Perette, who counted her chickensbefore they were hatched, in La Fontaine, are demonstrably derived fromthe same Indian original from which our story was obtained. The travelsof the "Fables of Bidpai" from India to Europe are well known anddistinctly traceable. I have given a rough summary of the chiefcritical results in the introduction to my edition of the earliestEnglish version of the _Fables of Bidpai_, by Sir Thomas North, ofPlutarch fame (London, D. Nutt, "Bibliothèque de Carabas, " 1888), whereI have given an elaborate genealogical table of the multitudinousversions. La Fontaine's version, which has rendered the fable sofamiliar to us all, comes from Bonaventure des Periers, _Contes etNouvelles_, who got it from the _Dialogus Creaturarum_ of NicholausPergamenus, who derived it from the _Sermones_ of Jacques de Vitry(see Prof. Crane's edition, No. Li. ), who probably derived it from the_Directorium Humanae Vitae_ of John of Capua, a converted Jew, who translated it from the Hebrew version of the Arabic _Kalilah waDimnah, _ which was itself derived from the old Syriac version of aPehlevi translation of the original Indian work, probably called afterKarataka and Damanaka, the names of two jackals who figure in theearlier stories of the book. Prof. Rhys-Davids informs me that these namesare more akin to Pali than to Sanskrit, which makes it still more probablethat the whole literature is ultimately to be derived from a Buddhistsource. 

The theme of La Perette is of interest as showing the _literary_transmission of tales from Orient to Occident. It also shows thepossibility of an influence of literary on oral tradition, as is shownby our proverb, and by the fact, which Benfey mentions, that LaFontaine's story has had influence on two of Grimm's tales, Nos. 164, 168. 

VI. THE MAGIC FIDDLE. 

_Source_. --A. Campbell, _Santal Folk-Tales_, 1892, pp. 52-6, with some verbal alterations. A Bonga is the presiding spirit of acertain kind of rice land; Doms and Hadis are low-caste aborigines, whose touch is considered polluting. The Santals are a forest tribe, who live in the Santal Parganas, 140 miles N. W. Of Calcutta (Sir W. W. Hunter, _The Indian Empire_, 57-60). 

_Parallels_. --Another version occurs in Campbell, p. 106_seq. _, which shows that the story is popular among the Santals. It is obvious, however, that neither version contains the real finishof the story, which must have contained the denunciation of the magicfiddle of the murderous sisters. This would bring it under the formulaof _The Singing Bone_, which M. Monseur has recently been studyingwith a remarkable collection of European variants in the Bulletin ofthe Wallon Folk-Lore Society of Liège (_cf. Eng. Fairy Tales_, No. Ix. ). There is a singing bone in Steel-Temple's _WideawakeStories_, pp. 127 _seq. _ ("Little Anklebone"). 

_Remarks_. --Here we have another theme of the common store ofEuropean folk-tales found in India. Unfortunately, the form in which itoccurs is mutilated, and we cannot draw any definite conclusion fromit. 

VII. THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED. 

_Source_. --The Baka-Jataka, Fausböll, No. 38, tr. Rhys-Davids, pp. 315-21. The Buddha this time is the Genius of the Tree. 

_Parallels_. --This Jataka got into the Bidpai literature, andoccurs in all its multitudinous offshoots (_see_ Benfey, _Einleitung_, § 60) among others in the earliest English translation by North (myedition, pp. 118-22), where the crane becomes "a great Paragone ofIndia (of those that live a hundredth yeares and never mue theirfeathers). " The crab, on hearing the ill news "called to Parliament all theFishes of the Lake, " and before all are devoured destroys the Paragon, as in the Jataka, and returned to the remaining fishes, who "all with oneconsent gave hir many a thanke. "

_Remarks_. --An interesting point, to which I have drawn attentionin my Introduction to North's Bidpai, is the probability that theillustrations of the tales as well as the tales themselves, weretranslated, so to speak, from one country to another. We can trace themin Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic MSS. , and a few are extant on BuddhistStupas. Under these circumstances, it may be of interest to comparewith Mr. Batten's conception of the Crane and the Crab (_supra_, p. 50) that of the German artist who illustrated the first edition ofthe Latin Bidpai, probably following the traditional representations ofthe MS. , which itself could probably trace back to India. 

VIII. LOVING LAILI

_Source_. --Miss Stokes, _Indian Fairy Tales_, pp. 73-84. Majnun and Laili are conventional names for lovers, the Romeo andJuliet of Hindostan. 

_Parallels_. --Living in animals' bellies occurs elsewhere in MissStokes' book, pp. 66, 124; also in Miss Frere's, 188. The restorationof beauty by fire occurs as a frequent theme (Temple, Analysis, III. Vi. F. P. 418). Readers will be reminded of the _dénouement_ ofMr. Rider Haggard's _She_. Resuscitation from ashes has been usedvery effectively by Mr. Lang in his delightful _Prince Prigio_. 

_Remarks_. --The white skin and blue eyes of Prince Majnun deserveattention. They are possibly a relic of the days of Aryan conquest, when the fair-skinned, fair-haired Aryan conquered the swarthieraboriginals. The name for caste in Sanskrit is _varna_, "colour";and one Hindu cannot insult another more effectually than by callinghim a black man. _Cf. _ Stokes, pp. 238-9, who suggests that thered hair is something solar, and derived from myths of the solar hero. 

IX. THE TIGER, THE BRAHMAN, AND THE JACKAL. 

_Source_. --Steel-Temple, _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 116-20;first published in _Indian Antiquary_, xii. P. 170 _seq. _

_Parallels_. --No less than 94 parallels are given by Prof. K. Krohn in his elaborate discussion of this fable in his dissertation, _Mann und Fuchs_, (Helsingfors, 1891), pp. 38-60; to which may beadded three Indian variants, omitted by him, but mentioned by Capt. Temple, _l. C. _, p. 324, in the _Bhâgavata Purâna_, the _GulBakâoli_ and _Ind. Ant. _ xii. 177; and a couple more in my _Aesop_, p. 253: add Smeaton, _Karens_, p. 126. 

_Remarks_. --Prof. Krohn comes to the conclusion that the majorityof the oral forms of the tale come from literary versions (p. 47), whereas the _Reynard_ form has only had influence on a singlevariant. He reduces the century of variants to three type forms. Thefirst occurs in two Egyptian versions collected in the present day, aswell as in Petrus Alphonsi in the twelfth century, and the _FabulaeExtravagantes_ of the thirteenth or fourteenth: here the ingrateanimal is a crocodile, which asks to be carried away from a river aboutto dry up, and there is only one judge. The second is that current inIndia and represented by the story in the present collection: here thejudges are three. The third is that current among Western Europeans, which has spread to S. Africa and N. And S. America: also three judges. Prof. K. Krohn counts the first the original form, owing to the singlejudge and the naturalness of the opening, by which the criticalsituation is brought about. The further question arises, whether thisform, though found in Egypt now, is indigenous there, and if so, how itgot to the East. Prof. Krohn grants the possibility of the Egyptianform having been invented in India and carried to Egypt, and he allowsthat the European forms have been influenced by the Indian. The"Egyptian" form is found in Burmah (Smeaton, _l. C. _, p. 128), aswell as the Indian, a fact of which Prof. K. Krohn was unaware thoughit turns his whole argument. The evidence we have of other folk-talesof the beast-epic emanating from India improves the chances of thisalso coming from that source. One thing at least is certain: all thesehundred variants come ultimately from one source. The incident "Insideagain" of the _Arabian Nights_ (the Djinn and the bottle) andEuropean tales is also a secondary derivate. 

X. THE SOOTHSAYER'S SON. 

_Source_. --Mrs. Kingscote, _Tales of the Sun_ (p. 11_seq. _), from Pandit Natesa Sastri's _Folk-Lore of SouthernIndia_, pt. Ii. , originally from _Ind. Antiquary_. I have considerablycondensed and modified the somewhat Babu English of the original. 

_Parallels_. --See Benfey, _Pantschatantra_, § 71, i. Pp. 193-222, who quotes the _Karma Jataka_ as the ultimate source: italso occurs in the _Saccankira Jataka_ (Fausböll, No. 73), trans. Rev. R. Morris, _Folk-Lore Jour. _ iii. 348 _seq. _ The storyof the ingratitude of man compared with the gratitude of beasts cameearly to the West, where it occurs in the _Gesta Romanorum_, c. 119. It was possibly from an early form of this collection that RichardCoeur de Lion got the story, and used it to rebuke the ingratitude ofthe English nobles on his return in 1195. Matthew Paris tells thestory, _sub anno_ (it is an addition of his to Ralph Disset), _Hist. Major_, ed. Luard, ii. 413-6, how a lion and a serpent anda Venetian named Vitalis were saved from a pit by a woodman, Vitalispromising him half his fortune, fifty talents. The lion brings hisbenefactor a leveret, the serpent "gemmam pretiosam, " probably "theprecious jewel in his head" to which Shakespeare alludes (_As YouLike It_, ii. 1. , cf. Benfey, _l. C. _, p. 214, _n. _), but Vitalisrefuses to have anything to do with him, and altogether repudiates thefifty talents. "Haec referebat Rex Richardus munificus, ingratosredarguendo. "

_Remarks_. --Apart from the interest of its wide travels, and itsappearance in the standard mediaeval History of England by MatthewParis, the modern story shows the remarkable persistence of folk-talesin the popular mind. Here we have collected from the Hindu peasant ofto-day a tale which was probably told before Buddha, over two thousandyears ago, and certainly included among the Jatakas before theChristian era. The same thing has occurred with _The Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal_ (No. Ix. _supra_). 

XI. HARISARMAN. 

_Source_. --Somadeva, _Katha-Sarit-Sagara_, trans. Tawney(Calcutta, 1880), i. Pp. 272-4. I have slightly toned down the inflatedstyle of the original. 

_Parallels_. --Benfey has collected and discussed a number in_Orient and Occident_, i. 371 _seq. _; see also Tawney, _ad loc. _The most remarkable of the parallels is that afforded by the Grimms'"Doctor Allwissend" (No. 98), which extends even to such a minute pointas his exclamation, "Ach, ich armer Krebs, " whereupon a crab isdiscovered under a dish. The usual form of discovery of the thieves is forthe Dr. Knowall to have so many days given him to discover the thieves, and at the end of the first day he calls out, "There's one of them, "meaning the days, just as one of the thieves peeps through at him. Hence the title and the plot of C. Lever's _One of Them_. 

XII. THE CHARMED RING. 

_Source_. --Knowles, _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_, pp. 20-8. 

_Parallels_. --The incident of the Aiding Animals is frequent infolk-tales: see bibliographical references, _sub voce_, in my Listof Incidents, _Trans. Folk-Lore Congress_, p. 88; also Knowles, 21, _n. _; and Temple, _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 401, 412. TheMagic Ring is also "common form" in folk-tales; _cf. _ Köhler_ap. _ Marie de France, _Lais_, ed. Warncke, p. Lxxxiv. And thewhole story is to be found very widely spread from India (_WideawakeStories_, pp. 196-206) to England (_Eng. Fairy Tales_, No. Xvii, "Jackand his Golden Snuff-box, " _cf. _ Notes, _ibid. _), the most familiarform of it being "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. "

_Remarks_. --M. Cosquin has pointed out (_Contes de Lorraine_, p. Xi. _seq. _) that the incident of the rat's-tail-up-nose to recoverthe ring from the stomach of an ogress, is found among Arabs, Albanians, Bretons, and Russians. It is impossible to imagine thatincident--occurring in the same series of incidents--to have beeninvented more than once, and if that part of the story has beenborrowed from India, there is no reason why the whole of it should nothave arisen in India, and have been spread to the West. The Englishvariant was derived from an English Gipsy, and suggests the possibilitythat for this particular story the medium of transmission has been theGipsies. This contains the incident of the loss of the ring by thefaithful animal, which again could not have been independentlyinvented. 

XIII. THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE. 

_Source_. ---The _Kacchapa Jataka_, Fausböll, No. 215; also inhis _Five Jatakas_, pp. 16, 41, tr. Rhys-Davids, pp. Viii-x. 

_Parallels_. --It occurs also in the Bidpai literature, in nearlyall its multitudinous offshoots. See Benfey, _Einleitung_, § 84;also my _Bidpai_, E, 4 _a_; and North's text, pp. 170-5, where itis the taunts of the other birds that cause the catastrophe: "O here is abrave sight, looke, here is a goodly ieast, what bugge haue we here, "said some. "See, see, she hangeth by the throte, and therefor shespeaketh not, " saide others; "and the beast flieth not like a beast;" soshe opened her mouth and "pashte hir all to pieces. "

_Remarks_. -I have reproduced in my edition the originalillustration of the first English Bidpai, itself derived from theItalian block. A replica of it here may serve to show that it could beused equally well to illustrate the Pali original as its English great-great-great-great-great-great grand-child. 

XIV. LAC OF RUPEES. 

_Source_. --Knowles, _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_, pp. 32-41. Ihave reduced the pieces of advice to three, and curtailed somewhat. 

_Parallels_. --See _Celtic Fairy Tales_, No. Xxii. , _"Taleof Ivan, "_ from the old Cornish, now extinct, and notes _ibid. _Mr. Clouston points out (_Pop. Tales_, ii. 319) that it occurs inBuddhist literature, in "Buddaghoshas Parables, " as "The Story of KullaPauthaka. "

_Remarks_. --It is indeed curious to find the story better told inCornwall than in the land of its birth, but there can be little doubtthat the Buddhist version is the earliest and original form of thestory. The piece of advice was originally a charm, in which a youth wasto say to himself, "Why are you busy? Why are you busy?" He does sowhen thieves are about, and so saves the king's treasures, of which hegets an appropriate share. It would perhaps be as well if many of usshould say to ourselves "_Ghatesa, ghatesa, kim kárana?_"

XV. THE GOLD-GIVING SERPENT. 

_Source_. --_Pantschatantra_, III. V. , tr. Benfey, ii. 244-7. 

_Parallels_ given in my Aesop, Ro. Ii. 10, p. 40. The chief pointsabout them are--(1) though the tale does not exist in either Phaedrus orBabrius, it occurs in prose derivates from the Latin by Ademar, 65, and"Romulus, " ii. 10, and from Greek, in Gabrias, 45, and the prose _Aesop_, ed. Halm, 96; Gitlbauer has restored the Babrian form in his edition ofBabrius, No. 160. (2) The fable occurs among folk-tales, Grimm, 105;Woycicki, _Poln. Mähr. _ 105; Gering, _Islensk. Aevent_ 59, possiblyderived from La Fontaine, x. 12. 

_Remarks_. --Benfey has proved most ingeniously and conclusively(_Einl. _) that the Indian fable is the source of both Latin andGreek fables. I may borrow from my _Aesop_, p. 93, parallel abstractsof the three versions, putting Benfey's results in a graphic form, series of bars indicating the passages where the classical fables havefailed to preserve the original. 

BIDPAI. 

A Brahmin once observed a snake in his field, and thinking it thetutelary spirit of the field, he offered it a libation of milk in abowl. Next day he finds a piece of gold in the bowl, and he receivesthis each day after offering the libation. One day he had to goelsewhere, and he sent his son with the libation. The son sees thegold, and thinking the serpent's hole full of treasure determines toslay the snake. He strikes at its head with a cudgel, and the enragedserpent stings him to death. The Brahmin mourns his son's death, butnext morning as usual brings the libation of milk (in the hope ofgetting the gold as before). The serpent appears after a long delay atthe mouth of its lair, and declares their friendship at an end, as itcould not forget the blow of the Brahmin's son, nor the Brahmin hisson's death from the bite of the snake. 

_Pants_. III. V. (Benf. 244-7). 

PHAEDRINE. 

----A good man had become friendly with the snake, who came into hishouse and brought luck with it, so that the man became rich throughit. ----One day he struck the serpent, which disappeared, and with itthe man's riches. The good man tries to make it up, but the serpentdeclares their friendship at an end, as it could not forget the blow. ----

Phaed. Dressl. VII. 28 (Rom. II. Xi. )

BABRIAN. 

----------------A serpent stung a farmer's son to death. The fatherpursued the serpent with an axe, and struck off part of its tail. Afterwards fearing its vengeance he brought food and honey to its lair, and begged reconciliation. The serpent, however, declares friendshipimpossible, as it could not forget the blow--nor the farmer his son'sdeath from the bite of the snake. 

Aesop; Halm 96b (Babrius-Gitlb. 160). 

In the Indian fable every step of the action is thoroughly justified, whereas the Latin form does not explain why the snake was friendly inthe first instance, or why the good man was enraged afterwards; and theGreek form starts abruptly, without explaining why the serpent hadkilled the farmer's son. Make a composite of the Phaedrine and Babrianforms, and you get the Indian one, which is thus shown to be theoriginal of both. 

XVI. THE SON OF SEVEN QUEENS. 

_Source_. --Steel Temple, _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 98-110, originally published in _Ind. Antiq. _ x. 147 _seq. _

_Parallels_. --A long variant follows in _Ind. Antiq. _, _l. C. _ M. Cosquin refers to several Oriental variants, _l. C. _ p. Xxx. _n. _ For the direction tabu, see Note on Princess Labam, _supra_, No. Ii. The "letter to kill bearer" and "letter substituted"are frequent in both European (see my List _s. V. _) and IndianFolk-Tales (Temple, Analysis, II. Iv. _b_, 6, p. 410). The idea of ason of seven mothers could only arise in a polygamous country. It occursin "Punchkin, " _supra_, No. Iv. ; Day, _Folk-Tales of Bengal_, 117_seq. ; Ind. Antiq. _ i. 170 (Temple, _l. C. _, 398). 

_Remarks. _--M. Cosquin (_Contes de Lorraine_, p. Xxx. )points out how, in a Sicilian story, Gonzenbach (_Sizil. Mähr. _No. 80), the seven co-queens are transformed into seven step-daughtersof the envious witch who causes their eyes to be taken out. It is thusprobable, though M. Cosquin does not point this out, that the "enviousstep-mother" of folk-tales (see my List, _s. V. _) was originallyan envious co-wife. But there can be little doubt of what M. Cosquin_does_ point out--viz. , that the Sicilian story is derived fromthe Indian one. 

XVII. A LESSON FOR KINGS. 

_Source. --Rajovada Jataka_, Fausböll, No. 151, tr. Rhys-Davids, pp. Xxii. -vi. 

_Remarks_. --This is one of the earliest of moral allegories inexistence. The moralising tone of the Jatakas must be conspicuous toall reading them. Why, they can moralise even the Tar Baby (see_infra_, Note on "Demon with the Matted Hair, " No. Xxv. ). 

XVIII. PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL. 

_Source_. --Kingscote, _Tales of the Sun_. I have changed theIndian mercantile numerals into those of English "back-slang, " whichmake a very good parallel. 

XIX. RAJA RASALU. 

_Source_. --Steel-Temple, _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 247-80, omitting "How Raja Rasalu was Born, " "How Raja Rasalu's Friends ForsookHim, " "How Raja Rasalu Killed the Giants, " and "How Raja Rasalu becamea Jogi. " A further version in Temple, _Legends of _Panjab_, vol. I. _Chaupur_, I should explain, is a game played by two playerswith eight men, each on a board in the shape of a cross, four men toeach cross covered with squares. The moves of the men are decided bythe throws of a long form of dice. The object of the game is to seewhich of the players can first move all his men into the black centresquare of the cross (Temple, _l. C. _, p. 344, and _Legends ofPanjab_, i. 243-5) It is sometimes said to be the origin of chess. 

_Parallels_. --Rev. C. Swynnerton, "Four Legends about Raja Rasalu, "in _Folk-Lore Journal_, p. 158 _seq. _, also in separate bookmuch enlarged, _The Adventures of Raja Rasalu_, Calcutta, 1884. Curiously enough, the real interest of the story comes after the end ofour part of it, for Kokilan, when she grows up, is married to RajaRasalu, and behaves as sometimes youthful wives behave to elderlyhusbands. He gives her her lover's heart to eat, _à la_ Decameron, and she dashes herself over the rocks. For the parallels of this partof the legend see my edition of Painter's _Palace of Pleasure_, tom. I. Tale 39, or, better, the _Programm_ of H. Patzig, _ZurGeschichte der Herzmäre_ (Berlin, 1891). Gambling for life occurs inCeltic and other folk-tales; _cf. _ my List of Incidents, _s. V. _ "Gambling for Magic Objects. "

_Remarks_. --Raja Rasalu is possibly a historic personage, according to Capt. Temple, _Calcutta Review_, 1884, p. 397, flourishing in the eighth or ninth century. There is a place calledSirikap ka-kila in the neighbourhood of Sialkot, the traditional seatof Rasalu on the Indus, not far from Atlock. 

Herr Patzig is strongly for the Eastern origin of the romance, andfinds its earliest appearance in the West in the Anglo-Normantroubadour, Thomas' _Lai Guirun_, where it becomes part of theTristan cycle. There is, so far as I know, no proof of the earliestpart of the Rasalu legend (_our_ part) coming to Europe, exceptthe existence of the gambling incidents of the same kind in Celtic andother folk-tales. 

XX. THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN. 

_Source_. --The _Siha Camma Jataka_, Fausböll, No. 189, trans. Rhys-Davids, pp. V. Vi. 

_Parallels_. --It also occurs in Somadeva, _Katha SaritSagara_, ed. Tawney, ii. 65, and _n. _ For Aesopic parallels _cf. _my _Aesop_, Av. Iv. It is in Babrius, ed. Gitlbaur, 218 (from Greek proseAesop, ed. Halm, No. 323), and Avian, ed. Ellis, 5, whence it came intothe modern Aesop. 

_Remarks_. --Avian wrote towards the end of the third century, andput into Latin mainly those portions of Babrius which are unparalleledby Phaedrus. Consequently, as I have shown, he has a much largerproportion of Eastern elements than Phaedrus. There can be little doubtthat the Ass in the Lion's Skin is from India. As Prof. Rhys-Davidsremarks, the Indian form gives a plausible motive for the masqueradewhich is wanting in the ordinary Aesopic version. 

XXI. THE FARMER AND THE MONEY-LENDER. 

_Source_. --Steel-Temple, _Wideawake Stories_, pp. 215-8. 

_Parallels_ enumerated in my _Aesop_, Av. Xvii. See alsoJacques de Vitry, _Exempla_, ed. Crane, No. 196 (see notes, p. 212), and Bozon, _Contes moralisés_, No. 112. It occurs in Avian, ed. Ellis, No. 22. Mr. Kipling has a very similar tale in his _Life'sHandicap_. 

_Remarks_. --Here we have collected in modern India what one cannothelp thinking is the Indian original of a fable of Avian. The precedingnumber showed one of his fables existing among the Jatakas, probablybefore the Christian era. This makes it likely that we shall find anearlier Indian original of the fable of the Avaricious and Envious, perhaps among the Jatakas still untranslated. 

XXII. THE BOY WITH MOON ON FOREHEAD. 

_Source_. --Miss Stokes' _Indian Fairy Tales_, No. 20, pp. 119-137. 

_Parallels_ to heroes and heroines in European fairy tales, withstars on their foreheads, are given with some copiousness in Stokes, _l. C. _, pp. 242-3. This is an essentially Indian trait; almostall Hindus have some tribal or caste mark on their bodies or faces. Thechoice of the hero disguised as a menial is also common property ofIndian and European fairy tales: see Stokes, _l. C. _, p. 231, andmy List of Incidents (_s. V. _ "Menial Disguise. ")

XXIII. THE PRINCE AND THE FAKIR. 

_Source_. --Kindly communicated by Mr. M. L. Dames from hisunpublished collection of Baluchi tales. 

_Remarks_. --Unholy fakirs are rather rare. See Temple, Analysis, I. Ii. _a_, p. 394. 

XXIV. WHY THE FISH LAUGHED. 

_Source_. --Knowles, _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_, pp. 484-90. 

_Parallels_. --The latter part is the formula of the Clever Lasswho guesses riddles. She has been bibliographised by Prof. Child, _Eng. And Scotch Ballads_, i. 485; see also Benfey, _Kl. Schr. _ii. 156 _seq. _ The sex test at the end is different from any of thoseenumerated by Prof. Köhler on Gonzenbach, _Sezil. Mähr. _ ii. 216. 

_Remarks_. --Here we have a further example of a whole formula, orseries of incidents, common to most European collections, found inIndia, and in a quarter, too, where European influence is little likelyto penetrate. Prof. Benfey, in an elaborate dissertation ("Die KlugeDirne, " in _Ausland_, 1859, Nos. 20-25, now reprinted in _Kl. Schr. _ ii. 156 _seq. _), has shown the wide spread of the themeboth in early Indian literature (though probably there derived from thefolk) and in modern European folk literature. 

XXV. THE DEMON WITH THE MATTED HAIR. 

_Source_. --_The Pancavudha Jataka_, Fausböll, No. 55, kindly translated for this book by Mr. W. H. D. Rouse, of Christ'sCollege, Cambridge. There is a brief abstract of the Jataka in Prof. Estlin Carpenter's sermon, _Three Ways of Salvation_, 1884, p. 27, where my attention was first called to this Jataka. 

_Parallels_. --Most readers of these Notes will remember thecentral episode of Mr. J. C. Harris' _Uncle Remus_, in which BrerFox, annoyed at Brer Rabbit's depredations, fits up "a contrapshun, what he calls a Tar Baby. " Brer Rabbit, coming along that way, passesthe time of day with Tar Baby, and, annoyed at its obstinate silence, hits it with right fist and with left, with left fist and with right, which successively stick to the "contrapshun, " till at last he buttswith his head, and that sticks too, whereupon Brer Fox, who all thistime had "lain low, " saunters out, and complains of Brer Rabbit that heis too stuck up. In the sequel Brer Rabbits begs Brer Fox that he may"drown me as deep ez you please, skin me, scratch out my eyeballs, t'arout my years by the roots, en cut off my legs, but do don't fling me indat brier patch;" which, of course, Brer Fox does, only to be informedby the cunning Brer Rabbit that he had been "bred en bawn in a brierpatch. " The story is a favourite one with the negroes: it occurs inCol. Jones' _Negro Myths of the Georgia Coast_ (Uncle Remus isfrom S. Carolina), also among those of Brazil (Romero, _Contos doBrazil_), and in the West Indian Islands (Mr. Lang, "At the Sign ofthe Ship, " _Longman's Magazine_, Feb. 1889). We can trace it toAfrica, where it occurs in Cape Colony (_South African Folk-LoreJournal_, vol. I. ). 

_Remarks_. --The five-fold attack on the Demon and the Tar Baby isso preposterously ludicrous that it cannot have been independentlyinvented, and we must therefore assume that they are causallyconnected, and the existence of the variant in South Africa clinchesthe matter, and gives us a landing-stage between India and America. There can be little doubt that the Jataka of Prince Five-Weapons cameto Africa, possibly by Buddhist missionaries, spread among the negroes, and then took ship in the holds of slavers for the New World, where itis to be found in fuller form than any yet discovered in the home ofits birth. I say Buddhist missionaries, because there is a certainamount of evidence that the negroes have Buddhistic symbols among them, and we can only explain the identification of Brer Rabbit with PrinceFive Weapons, and so with Buddha himself, by supposing the change tohave originated among Buddhists, where it would be quite natural. Forone of the most celebrated metempsychoses of Buddha is that detailed inthe _Sasa Jataka_ (Fausböll, No. 316, tr. R. Morris, _Folk-LoreJournal_, ii. 336), in which the Buddha, as a hare, performs asublime piece of self-sacrifice, and as a reward is translated to themoon, where he can be seen to this day as "the hare in the moon. " EveryBuddhist is reminded of the virtue of self-sacrifice whenever the moonis full, and it is easy to understand how the Buddha became identifiedas the Hare or Rabbit. A striking confirmation of this, in connectionwith our immediate subject, is offered by Mr. Harris' sequel volume, _Nights with Uncle Remus_. Here there is a whole chapter (xxx. ) on"Brer Rabbit and his famous Foot, " and it is well known how the worshipof Buddha's foot developed in later Buddhism. No wonder Brer Rabbit isso 'cute: he is nothing less than an incarnation of Buddha. Among theKarens of Burmah, where Buddhist influence is still active, the Hareholds exactly the same place in their folk-lore as Brer Rabbit amongthe negroes. The sixth chapter of Mr. Smeaton's book on them is devotedto "Fireside Stories, " and is entirely taken up with adventures of theHare, all of which can be paralleled from _Uncle Remus_. 

Curiously enough, the negro form of the five-fold attack--"fightingwith _five_ fists, " Mr. Barr would call it--is probably nearer tothe original legend than that preserved in the Jataka, though 2000years older. For we may be sure that the thunderbolt of Knowledge didnot exist in the original, but was introduced by some Buddhist Mr. Barlow, who, like Alice's Duchess, ended all his tales with: "And themoral of that is----" For no well-bred demon would have been taken inby so simple a "sell" as that indulged in by Prince Five-Weapons in ourJataka, and it is probable, therefore, that _Uncle Remus_ preserves areminiscence of the original Indian reading of the tale. On the otherhand, it is probable that Carlyle's Indian god with the fire in hisbelly was derived from Prince Five-Weapons. 

The negro variant has also suggested to Mr. Batten an explanation ofthe whole story which is extremely plausible, though it introduces amethod of folk-lore exegesis which has been overdriven to death. The_Sasa Jataka_ identifies the Brer Rabbit Buddha with the hare inthe moon. It is well known that Easterns explain an eclipse of the moonas due to its being swallowed up by a Dragon or Demon. May not, asksMr. Batten, the _Pancavudha Jataka_ be an idealised account of aneclipse of the moon? This suggestion receives strong confirmation fromthe Demon's reference to Rahu, who does, in Indian myth swallow themoon at times of eclipse. The Jataka accordingly contains the Buddhistexplanation why the moon--_i. E. _ the hare in the moon, _i. E. _Buddha--is not altogether swallowed up by the Demon of Eclipse, theDemon with the Matted Hair. Mr. Batten adds that in imagining what kindof Demon the Eclipse Demon was, the Jataka writer was probably aided byrecollections of some giant octopus, who has saucer eyes and a kind ofhawk's beak, knobs on its "tusks, " and a very variegated belly(gastropod). It is obviously unfair of Mr. Batten both to illustrateand also to explain so well the Tar Baby Jataka--taking the scientificbread, so to speak, out of a poor folklorist's mouth--but hisexplanations seem to me so convincing that I cannot avoid includingthem in these Notes. 

I am, however, not so much concerned with the original explanation ofthe Jataka as to trace its travels across the continents of Asia, Africa, and America. I think I have done this satisfactorily, and willhave thereby largely strengthened the case for less extensive travelsof other tales. I have sufficient confidence of the method employed toventure on that most hazardous of employments, scientific prophecy. Iventure to predict that the Tar Baby story will be found in Madagascarin a form nearer the Indian than Uncle Remus, and I will go further, and say that it will _not_ be found in the grand Helsingforscollection of folk-tales, though this includes 12, 000, of which 1000are beast-tales. 

XXVI. THE IVORY PALACE. 

_Source_. --Knowles, _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_, pp. 211--25, with some slight omissions. Gulizar is Persian for rosy-cheeked. 

_Parallels_. --Stokes, _Indian Fairy Tales_, No. 27. "Panwpatti Rani, " pp. 208-15, is the same story. Another version in thecollection _Baital Pachisi_, No. 1. 

_Remarks_. --The themes of love by mirror, and the faithful friend, are common European, though the calm attempt at poisoning is perhapscharacteristically Indian, and reads like a page from Mr. Kipling. 

XXVII. SUN, MOON, AND WIND. 

_Source_. --Miss Frere, _Old Deccan Days_, No. 10 pp. 153-5. 

_Remarks_. --Miss Frere observes that she has not altered thetraditional mode of the Moon's conveyance of dinner to her mother theStar, though it must, she fears, impair the value of the story as amoral lesson in the eyes of all instructors of youth. 

XXVIII. HOW WICKED SONS WERE DUPED. 

_Source_. --Knowles, _Folk-Tales of Kashmir_, pp. 241-2. 

_Parallels_. --A Gaelic parallel was given by Campbell in _Trans. Ethnol. Soc. _, ii. P. 336; an Anglo-Latin one from the Middle Agesby T. Wright in _Latin Stories_ (Percy Soc. ), No. 26; and forthese and points of anthropological interest in the Celtic variant seeMr. Gomme's article in _Folk-Lore_, i. Pp. 197-206, "A HighlandFolk-Tale and its Origin in Custom. "

_Remarks_. --Mr. Gomme is of opinion that the tale arose fromcertain rhyming formulae occurring in the Gaelic and Latin tales aswritten on a mallet left by the old man in the box opened after hisdeath. The rhymes are to the effect that a father who gives up hiswealth to his children in his own lifetime deserves to be put to deathwith the mallet. Mr. Gomme gives evidence that it was an archaic customto put oldsters to death after they had become helpless. He also pointsout that it was customary for estates to be divided and surrenderedduring the owners' lifetime, and generally he connects a good deal ofprimitive custom with our story. I have already pointed out in _Folk-Lore_, p. 403, that the existence of the tale in Kashmir without anyreference to the mallet makes it impossible for the rhymes on themallet to be the source of the story. As a matter of fact, it is a veryembarrassing addition to it, since the rhyme tells against the parent, and the story is intended to tell against the ungrateful children. Theexistence of the tale in India renders it likely enough that it is notindigenous to the British Isles, but an Oriental importation. It isobvious, therefore, that it cannot be used as anthropological evidenceof the existence of the primitive customs to be found in it. The wholeincident, indeed, is a striking example of the dangers of theanthropological method of dealing with folk-tales before some attemptis made to settle the questions of origin and diffusion. 

XXIX. THE PIGEON AND THE CROW. 

_Source_. --The _Lola Jataka_, Fausböll, No. 274, kindlytranslated and slightly abridged for this book by Mr. W. H. D. Rouse. 

_Remarks_. --We began with an animal Jataka, and may appropriatelyfinish with one which shows how effectively the writers of the Jatakascould represent animal folk, and how terribly moral they invariablywere in their tales. I should perhaps add that the Bodhisat is notprecisely the Buddha himself but a character which is on its way tobecoming perfectly enlightened, and so may be called a future Buddha.