can I send
away the man empty-handed who hath been whipped by me.' And having said
this the king gave unto that Brahmana the entire proceeds of that day and
that was more than the value of a thousand horses.'"

SECTION CLXLVI

"Markandeya said, 'One day it was resolved by the gods that they should
descend on the earth and try the goodness and virtue of king Sivi, the
son of Usinara. And addressing each other,--'Well'--Agni and Indra came
to the earth. And Agni took the form of a pigeon flying away from Indra
who pursued him in the form of a hawk, and that pigeon fell upon the lap
of king Sivi who was seated on an excellent seat. And the priest
thereupon addressing the king said, 'Afraid of the hawk and desirous of
saving its life, this pigeon hath come to thee for safety. The learned
have said that the falling of a pigeon upon one's body forebodeth a great
danger. Let the king that understands omens give away wealth for saving
himself from the danger indicated.' And the pigeon also addressed the
king and said, 'Afraid of the hawk and desirous of saving my life I have
come to thee for protection. I am a Muni. Having assumed the form of a
pigeon, I come to thee as a seeker of thy protection. Indeed, I seek thee
as my life. Know me as one possessed of Vedic lore, as one leading the
Brahmacharya mode of life, as one possessed also of self-control and
ascetic virtues. And know me further as one that has never spoken
disagreeably unto his preceptor, as one possessed of every virtue indeed,
as one that is sinless. I repeat the Vedas, I know their prosody; indeed,
I have studied all the Vedas letter by letter. I am not a pigeon. Oh, do
not yield me up to the hawk. The giving up of a learned and pure Brahmana
can never be a good gift.' And after the pigeon said so, the hawk
addressed the king, and said, 'Creatures do not come into the world in
the same particular order. In the order of creation, thou mayst, in a
former birth, have been begotten by this pigeon. It is not proper for
thee, O king, to interfere with my food by protecting this pigeon (even
though he might have been thy father).' And thus addressed, the king
said, 'Hath any one, before this, seen birds thus speak the pure speech
of man? Knowing what this pigeon sayeth, and this hawk also, how can we
act to-day according to virtue? He that giveth up an affrighted creature
seeking protection, unto its foe, doth not obtain protection when he is
in need of it himself