"That is a strange thing," said the Prince. "In all the years I have
been living here, the gates have never been unlocked before."

"But do you live here alone?" asked the girl.

"Yes, all alone. Yours is the first face I have seen for years, and
yet I am a Prince, and the son of a great Rajah."

"Then why are you here?"

"I am here because my life was bound up in a golden necklace that lay
buried under the roots of a tree in the jungle. I told the secret to a
Ranee who was my enemy, though I did not know it at the time. She must
in some way have gained possession of the necklace, and now she is
using it for my harm. All day I lie there in the temple as though
dead; no sound reaches me, nothing arouses me; only at night can I
arise and come forth. I, a great prince, am as one both dead and
alive."

When Dalim Kumar pronounced these words Surai Bai could not refrain
from giving a loud cry. She was overcome with amazement and confusion.

The Prince at once wished to know what had moved her so. "Why do you
cry out and change color?" he asked. "And why do you tremble and look
at me so strangely?"

At first Surai Bai would not tell him, but he was so urgent in his
questioning that finally she was obliged to recount to him the
prophecy made at the time of her birth;--that it had been foretold of
her that she was to marry a Prince who was both alive and dead.

Dalim Kumar listened to her attentively. "That is a strange thing,"
said he. "I do not suppose in all the world there is another prince
beside myself who is both alive and dead. If this saying is true, it
must be that I am the one you are to marry. If so, I am very happy,
for already I love you, and if you will stay here with me we will be
married by the ceremony of Grandharva, and I will be a true and loving
husband to you."

To this Surai Bai willingly consented, for already she loved the
prince so dearly that she felt she could not live without him. That
very night she and the Prince presented each other with garlands of
flowers, for that is the ceremony of Grandharva, and so they became
man and wife.

After that they lived together in great happiness, and nothing could
exceed their love for each other. By day, while Dalim Kumar lay
lifeless in the temple, his bride slept also, and at evening they
awoke and talked together and walked through the garden.

But after a while a son was born to the young couple, and after that
Surai Bai was no longer gay