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49. FOOTWEAR AS LUGGAGE
Once a certain king claimed before his friend named Vita that his queen was so healthy that she never broke wind. The friend remarked that was not possible. He further explained that whenever the queen gave to the king fragrant flowers to smell, flowers that she had deliberately crushed a little so that the fragrance should spread quickly, the king should know that she was breaking wind. The next time he went to the queen's apartments and she offered him a few flowers, the king smiled and the queen asked what had made him smile. The king would not easily be persuaded to tell her the reason but since she persisted, he told her about his conversation with Vita. The queen became very angry and demanded from the king Vita's banishment from the country.
Before going out into exile, Vita collected a huge stock of sandals and footwear and with that load on his back he went to the queen to bid farewell. The queen asked what load was that and when told they were all footwear, she asked him why should he be carrying footwear. Vita's reply was that he was going to wander over long periods of time and visit many places, the shoes should last that long, he would, however not forget to mention the queen at all these places. The queen was frightened that he would spread her bad name everywhere. She stopped him and got his exile order cancelled.
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