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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[NOVEMBER, 1893.
a second time they came to the princess' house and asked to be shewn any girls that there might be in the house. This time, too, the queen produced her daughter, but in vain. The servants again asked if there was no other girl in the house, and the queen again said there was none besides her daughter. The servants were about to go away when, as Providence would have it, they chanced to see the princess in the kitchen, and asked the queen to call her out. But the queen refused to do so, saying she was only a servant in the house, and, therefore, it would not be worth while trying the slipper on her feet. The servants, however, insisted on the girl in the kitchen, whoever she might be, being called out, and the queen was obliged to call her out, which she did with the greatest reluctance. The princess was soon in the presence of the servants, who asked her to wear the slipper which they gave her, and which fitted to her foot exactly; and what wonder, did it not belong to her? The servants next asked for an interview with the king, our princess' father, with whom it was arranged that he should give his daughter in marriage to the prince, the son of their master, the king. The king gave his consent to the marriage, and thus it was decided that the princess should marry the neighbouring king's son, and a day, a few months after, was appointed for the auspicious
occasion.
During the interval from this date, which we may call the day of betrothal of the princess and the prince, and the day of their marriage, preparations were being made on the grandest scale imaginable. Rice was ground for making pôles and ore, and all sorts of provisions were made ready for the great event. In due time the appointed day came, and the marriage of the princess with the prince was celebrated with great èclat and guests were feasted for several days by both parties. This was, of course, an event of great jubilation for the princess, and for two reasons: - firstly, because she had been fortunate in obtaining a prince for her husband, for it must be remembered that, had it not been for the dances that were given by the prince and the timely aid of her godmother, she would never have been married to a prince, as her father never paid the slightest attention to her; secondly, because she had, at length, escaped from the drudgery of the kitchen, and more so from ill-treatment at the hands of her step-mother. On the other hand, it was the greatest mortification to the queen, her step-mother, who was frustrated in her attempts to get her own daughter married to the prince. She could not, however, do anything now, and so she pretended to like what had happened, and shew every possible respect for the princess' husband, and treated him and also the princess with apparent kindness.
After spending a few days at his father-in-law's house, the prince taking his wife went and lived at his own house. When several months had passed after their marriage, the princess became enceinte, and in due time, when nine months had elapsed, she brought forth a beautiful child, a boy.
In the meanwhile the princess' step-mother, who was still bent upon mischief, kept on devising plans to get rid of her, and to get her daughter in her place. With this view, she one day asked her husband, the king, to invite his daughter and son-in-law to spend a few days with them. The king accordingly sent an'invitation, which invitation his son-in-law accepted, and came with his wife and child. The queen treated them with great kindness, and pretended love for the princess like her own daughter. When a few days passed the prince asked permission to go home, but the queen asked him to stay a few days longer. The prince, however, said that he could not stay any longer, as he had to attend his father's darbúr. The queen then said that, if he could not stay, he might at least allow his wife to remain a few days, and asked him also to come again on a certain day, when he could go home with his wife. The prince saw no objection to keeping his wife at her father's house, especially after so much entreaty from the queen, and, little suspecting the mischief she was up to, he allowed his wife to stay
For description of pôlé, sing. pila, see the tale of "Bâpkhadi" ante, Vol. XX. p. 143, note 3. Ore, sing. ora, are described in the tale of "The Ill-treated Daughter-in-law," ante, Vol. XXI. p. 376, note 3.
