________________
deals out most liberally whatever he has, without even caring to see how much it is !”.
A third man put in, “Agreed; they are all incarnations of Karna, but the philanthropic Hathibhai of our town is a veritable philosopher's stone! His generosity knows no bounds. If he were to touch a piece of iron, it would surely turn into gold. I assert, he is a peerless man for generosity; when comes such another?"
A poor woman, named Satara, living in this squalid part of the village, happened to hear this remark. She was one of the most miserable creatures who had ever lived. She had lost two young sons at short intervals and the third was seriously ill. She had no means to get him medicine or nourishment. These repeated blows had brought the unfortunate woman to the brink of the grave, but she lived on to bear her burden. Now she dared not even hope for anything; but what she had just heard about the generosity of the kind-hearted Hathibhai, kindled a ray of hope in her despairing heart. ..
The old woman summoned up her courage, took a staff in one hand to support herself, and with a piece of iron retrieved from the junk in her house, she set out in the direction of the charitable man's house. It was a long way to his wealthy manor. Faint with fatigue, labouring for breath, she at last came before him and knelt on the ground to put the piece of iron near his foot, so that at his touch it would turn into gold, as she had heard.
:
97
