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MAY, 1888.]
FOLKLORE IN WESTERN INDIA.
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see whole herds of deer and cattle running grave look, shunned the society of all her male about in a mad frenzy at their inability to friends, and declared to her parents her firm find their way out of what seemed to them to determination never to enter the bonds of be certain death, and birds of strange and matrimony. This caused the old people great varied plumage, suffocated by the thick smoke grief, and they implored her to tell them what and unable to fly in the heavy atmosphere, had made her form so unwise a resolution. charged with flying embers from the great fires But the princess remained silent and would around, uttering piercing screams of anguish give them no explanation, so at last everybody before yielding to their inevitable doom. came to believe that the king's daughter was
In the midst of all this scene of woe the good not for marriage, and the number of suitors princess was deeply moved to see a pair of for her hand consequently fell off. wild geese straining every nerve to save One day it happened that a great and their young ones from the clutches of the renowned artist paid a visit to the great Raja's fire. Their difficulty was enhanced by the court, and by His Majesty's command executed facts that the poor little creatures had as yet some very rare paintings for the royal palace, no wings, and were therefore totally unable to and when the time came for his departure he take care of themselves, and that it was beyond begged of the beautiful Princess to give him a the old birds' strength to carry them in their few sittings, to which she agreed after great beaks, as they tried hard to do, away from the hesitation, and allowed him to draw upon closely pressing flames. So they flew about canvas a faithful likeness of her fairy face distractedly here and there, not knowing what and figure. In a few days the picture was to do, till the fire came too near to leave them finished, but the artist, instead of handing it any hopes of saving either themselves or their over to the princess, quietly went out of the young ones. Just, however, as the flames were city with it. about to catch the nest, the old male bird, not Now, the artist knew of an old Rajâ, who was wishing to sacrifice his own life, since he was a great connoisseur of paintings, so he went unable to save those of his family, made a last straight up to him with the princess's pordesperate attempt, and with one effort found trait, and sold it to him for a large sum of himself safe out of the reach of danger; money. The pictare was daly hung up in the while at the self-same moment the poor great ball of audience, where it soon became mother goose, as if resenting his selfish the cynosure of all eyes and the topic of conduct, threw herself like a canopy over her universal admiration, and all who looked upon unfortunate brood, and, with a wild scream of it were struck with the enchanting beauty of anguish, suffered herself to be burnt in the the fair subject, and wondered very much who flames that just then closed over her and her the original could be. innocent offspring.
A few days after this it happened that the The princess, who had watched all this with king's only son and the heir to his throne, growing interest, was deeply touched at the who was away hunting when the picture was sight. "Ah," said she to herself," how selfish purchased, returned to the capital, and as soon and false these males are ! I am sure they are as he saw the picture fell heels over head the same all the world over, whether they be in love with the lovely image on the canvas, birds, beasts or men! I shall therefore neither without even taking the trouble of inquiring have anything to do with them, nor trust who the original was. He gave up all enjoythem; nay I shall continue single all my life ment, shunned all pleasure, and moped away in rather than marry one of them."
silence in a corner of the palace, to the great Hardly had the princess formed this rather grief of his aged father, who, when he learned rash resolve when she perceived her attendants the cause of his son's sorrow, felt very anxious coming towards her. They had come there to about his health, and sent messengers in search look for her, and when she got down and of the artist, with a view to find out who joined them they were highly delighted, for was the subject of his picture. But all search they had given her up for lost.
proved fruitless, for the artist had long left tho But from this day forth our heroine wore a country and gone away, nobody knew where.
