Indian Antiquary Vol 09

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 12

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JANUARY, 1880.
of his intention, and ordered him to take care of the kingdom while he was away, and he further ordered him to kill a jackal and give it to him. The diwân ordered the sepoys to bring a jackal, and they went into the wood and brought one and gave it to the prince, who sent for a skinner, who took out the inside and dried the skin in the sun. Then the prince put inside the jackal's skin many kinds of gold, pearls, and jewelled ornaments, and a beautifully embroidered dress, and sewed it up. He then gave the diwân authority to manage his kingdom, and taking the jackal's skin, some elephants, and horses, and many soldiers with much treasure, he started to find a wife. He went from the court of one king to the court of another, till at last he reached the country of a king who had a very beautiful daughter. She was twelve years old and unmarried; this he learnt from the talk of the people, and he determined on staying there. At the same time he thought if he appeared at the king's court in such state, the princess could not refuse to marry him, so, in order that he might discover whether she were virtuous or good for nothing, he determined to put her to the test before marrying her. He then concealed his soldiers, elephants, and horses, and rabbed ashes on his body, putting on only a small piece of cloth and the jackal skin on his shoulders, and wore the dress of a madman. He ordered his soldiers to come and protect him whenever he should call out and say "Forward," and having made these arrangements, he went away, and began to wander about like a madman. After wandering in this state for two or three days, the people of the city began to say, "Whence has this madman come ?" and the rumour reached the ears of the king. Now the people of that country had never seen a madman before, so the king wished to look at him, and ordered a messenger to go and bring him into his presence. When he was come, the king heard what he had to say, and the king and all his court began to laugh at him. Then the madman did still more mad things, and began to joke with the king; and the servants saw him and told the princess about him, so that she became very anxious to see him. At noon when the king came into the palace to eat his breakfast, she began to cry, and said she wanted to see the madman. The
In a little while the prince woke up, and believing in what had been told him in the dream, he borrowed a spade from a neighbour and began to dig under the champak tree. After digging for some time he found the tin box, and inside was the bond for seven crores of rupees; he read it through, and saw that it was all correct. He then took the bond to the house of his diwân and showed it to him, telling him to provide 500 sepoys and 500 carts, that they might take the bond to his father-in-law's house and bring back seven crores of rupees, and if he would not give the money, the sepoys were to take him prisoner. When the diwân saw the bond he was very much pleased, and provided sepoys and carts and sent them to the king's palace with a letter and the bond; and after they had shown it him, they said, "If you do not give us the money, we will seize you and take you away." When the king saw the letter and the bond, he thought a little, and then went to the queen and showed them to her, and calling his daughter he said to her, "Child, why did you tell me your husband was dead? He has just written to me, and sent for seven crores of rupees. Why did you give this false account of his death ?" Both the king and queen began to abuse her, and when the princess learnt her husband was alive and heard all the abuse which was bestowed on her, she was very much troubled, and began to think the man who had been cut in pieces and whose blood she had given to the crow, could not have been her husband but some one else. So the princess kept thinking over the best thing to be done. At last the king with a great deal of trouble collected four crores of rupees and gave them to the sepoys, and promised to give the other three crores in a month's time. After some persuasion the sepoys took the four crores and an answer to the letter, and gave them to the prince. The prince then restored the old diwân to his office, and ordered him to buy a kingdom and palace like the former ones. According to the orders he received the diwân, in a month's time, bought a palace and estate, and they began to rule the kingdom happily. In the course of a month the sepoys brought the remaining three crores of rupees, and the prince bought a still larger estate than before.
Some time after this, the prince thought he would like to be married, so he told the diwân