________________
116
JAINA STORIES
Uttamkumar came forward with the sword in his hand. He challenged the monster The fight continued for a long time. The attacks by the prince made the monster very furious and he rushed on him with double the speed But the prince was very careful and he did not give the monster a single chance to strike on his body The monster was exhausted at last He was feeling somewhat ashamed that he had been vanquished by an ordinary human being who was normally his food But he could not stand for long and took to his heels The danger was thus averted and the passengers heaved a sigh of rehef and showered heaps of praise on the prince
The ships sailed on The weather was fine and the passengers were happy After they had covered a long distance, they found that they were short of drinking water. Ao old. sailor said,
"At not a very great distance from this place, on an island, there is a well of sweet water. If we can go there, our problem will be easily solved » The ships were turned in that direction Soon they reached that place and the well was spotted Poeple proceeded towards the well with their water-jugs in hand. They tried their best to draw water out of the well but all their efforts were in vain On investigation, they found that the water was under a thick cover Efforts were made to remove the cover but it proved too hard to be removed or pierced through People again came back to the prince and invoked his help. The prince agreed at once to help them He jumped into the well and, mobilising all his energy, he removed the cover. The problem. of drinking water was thus solved
Wherever Uttamkumar laid his hand, it turned out to be a success. As he was coming out of the well, he saw a doorway in the wall The door was closed He felt curious as to what might be behing the door He broke it open, but could see nothing So he stepped in and went ahead Suddenly, he saw an old lady. Uttamkumar asked,
"Mother ! Who are you?" The very look of Uttamkumar seemed to please the old.
