her, and going back
to the shore, she sprang into the heavens and over the seven seas and
alighted close to her own door. There all her little daughters-in-law
ran out to meet her and cried, "O Mother-in-law, Mother-in-law, we
have been watching for you. For while you were away your sons, your
husband, and all your sons-in-law died. But just as you told us to do,
we did not burn their corpses, but kept them in the house. And now
they have all suddenly come back to life." Soma questioned the little
daughters-in-law and learnt that her sons and husband and sons-in-law
had all died at the very moment when she gave her merit to Gunvanti,
and that they had come back to life precisely when she finished her
one-hundred-and-eighth turn round the peepul tree. And they were all so
glad to have Soma back with them again, and for ever such a long time
afterwards she and her family lived happily together. And the Brahman
in his joy at his son-in-law's recovery forgave his disobedient sons,
and they too all lived happily together ever afterwards.

CHAPTER XIII

Vasishta and the Four Queens

Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat. In it there ruled
a king who had four wives. They were always quarrelling over the
housework; so, in order to get some peace at home, the king himself
divided the work between them. To the first queen he gave all the
dairy work, to the second queen he gave all the cooking, to the
third he gave the nursery, and he ordered the fourth to look after
the royal wardrobe. At first all went well. But in a little while
the first queen said to the third queen, "Why should you have charge
of the nursery? Why should you not work in the dairy?" The second
queen said to the fourth queen, "Why should I have to do all the
cooking?" The third queen asked, "Why should I have always to look
after the children?" And the fourth queen stamped her foot and said, "I
won't look after the king's clothes." And all day long they quarrelled
and screamed at each other, and the poor king was more uncomfortable
than ever. His face grew sad and careworn, and, from the time he got
up to the time he went to bed, he could think of nothing but the way
that his four queens were squabbling with each other.

One day the rishi, or sage, Vasishta [15] paid the king a visit. The
king prostrated himself before the great sage and gave him a throne
to sit upon. Vasishta looked at the king's face and saw how sad and
careworn it was. He