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116
JAINA STORIES
him They brought an iron ball and heated it red As. they were about to place it on the bull's head he extended his tongue and gladly held it The people were surprised to see that the bull's tongue remained unburnt, while the ball cooled The bull vas declared innocent and was geatly honoured by the people Dhanasrı was turned outof the city "So, merchant, said the monk, “as you believe not in my words, I am prepared to strear and stand by any test to convince you of my innocence, as the bull had done But something must be speedily done to remove your suspicion"
But the merchant didnt stop repeating his allegation, denouncing the monk's conduct in strong words, and comparing him with a lizard When the monk asked the reason for this comparison, the merchant said,
"A certain lizard had sore in her eyes One night, as she was asleep, lots of pus came out of her eyes, and in the morning, inspite of her best effort, she could not open them Now, many flies started moving round her eyes and ate the pus clean, which opened the eyes at once But the . lizard ate a large number of flies You have done like that, oh monk I gave you shelter during the rainy season, and yor have removed my treasure"- The merchant continued, "For a confirmed criminal like you, swcaring is just useless You have a stiff heart, and so the story of the bull you narrated a little while ago has no impact on me"
The monk felt hurt at these words, but he said
"Have you, by any chance a proof to establish my guilt ? It's just a suspicion that haunts your mind, and that should not be the basis of so grare a charge You are intelligent enough to distinguish truth from falsehood, as was the case with the minister Subuddhi"
"Pray, who was this minister, and how did he distinguish truth from falsehood ?"
