________________
162
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JUNE, 1894.
One day, while going about on her errand, she placed her empty basket on a large stone, and went into a thicket in search of dry sticks, when a gust of wind suddenly swept the basket away. The poor thing beat her breast for fear lest she might lose it and incur her step-mother's displeasure, and ran eagerly in pursuit of it. But the wind was too strong for her, and it carried the basket further and further away, till at last she found herself in quite a strange place, and saw it roll up to the feet of a pions Brahman engaged in his devotions. As the basket touched his feet, he took it up to the great dismay of our little heroine, who cried piteonsly and begged him to give it back to her.
Now the Brahman was no other than Isvara himself, who had come upon earth in this guise for some purpose of his own. He smiled graciously on the poor child, and said as he flung the basket back to her: “Here, Devki Rani, take back thy basket. The sun and the inoon shall adorn thy brow, and Padam deck thy feet. Thou shalt cast thy radiance wherever thou goest, shed pearls for tears, and throw out rubies with thy laughter!”
The young creature hardly comprehended the meaning of these strange words. To recover her basket was all that she desired, and away she flew home with it. But when she went into the presence of her step-mother, what an ejaculation of surprise she was greeted with! What could have worked that transformation in her poor despised step daughter! Her beauty sparkled like lightning and almost blinded the eye of the beholder! What could have brought about such a change in her! Surely the poor girl herself could not tell. But by threats and coaxing administered by tarns, her step-mother got out of her the whole story of her adventure in the jungle, and persuaded her to take her half-sister with ber to the woods the next morning, and get the same wonderful change worked in her, for be it mentioned the half-sister was as plain as plain could be, greatly to the detriment of her mother's pride. So the next morning our heroine started forth with her basket, accompanied by the younger girl, and duly placed it on the same stone. Presently a high wind arose and carried away the basket, and the younger girl ran after it till it reached the same Brahman impersonation of Isvara. He caught hold of it as before, but when the girl cried and begged it back, he called her Mutkull Rani, and tossed the basket back towards her with a curse! The words had a terrible effect upon the girl, for there and then she was transformed into a disgustingly ugly creature, with a horrible squint in her eye, and a frightful hump on her back!
Her elder sister, when she saw this, wept both for pity at her sister's misfortune, and for fear of her mother's resentment, and went up to the Brahmaņ to entrent him to restore her to her original shape, but to her great dismay he had disappeared! So the two wended their way homewards, and what was the disappointment and chagrin of the mother to see her muchloved daughter many degrees aglier than she had been ! She rushed upon our little heroine, and would have killed her on the spot, had she not run away and hid herself for the night.
The next morning she rose betimes, and went to the place where she had buried some of the cow's flesh, for the prescribed period of thirty-one days had now passed. Upon removing the earth that she had piled upon the flesh, she, to her great surprise, discovered a flight of steps leading downwards, and when she came to the end of them, she found herself dragged into the passage by some unseen hand. Lower down and still lower she went, till at last she saw around her a large palaco very richly and handsomely furnished, the presiding divinity of which was a middle aged motherly lady, who introduced herself to her as her old friend the cow. This good creature rejoiced greatly to see our young heroine there, and welcoming her cordially, invited her to stay with her for the rest of her life, which she was only too glad to do.
After some days the fame of the marvellous beauty of the cow's protégé reached the ears of the Raja of those subterranean regions, handsome young man, and he sent messengers to ask the cow to give him her adopted daughter in marriage.
1 The lotus.
