mes the story.[37]--Possibly the original form of the
story is that found in the _Katha Manjari_, an ancient Indian
story-book: There was a king who used to inquire of all the learned men
who came to his court whether they knew any stories, and when they had
related all they knew, in order to avoid rewarding them, he abused them
for knowing so few, and sent them away. A shrewd and clever man, hearing
of this, presented himself before the king, who asked his name. He
replied that his name was Ocean of Stories. The king then inquired how
many stories he knew, to which he answered that the name of Ocean had
been conferred on him because he knew an endless number. On being
desired to relate one, he thus began: "O King, there was a tank 36,000
miles in breadth, and 54,000 in length. This was densely filled with
lotus plants, and millions upon millions of birds with golden wings
[called Hamsa] perched on those flowers. One day a hurricane arose,
accompanied with rain, which the birds were not able to endure, and they
entered a cave under a rock, which was in the vicinity of the tank." The
king asked what happened next, and he replied that one of the birds flew
away. The king again inquired what else occurred, and he answered:
"Another flew away"; and to every question of the king he continued to
give the same answer. At this the king felt ashamed, and, seeing it was
impossible to outwit the man, he dismissed him with a handsome present.

[36] Pedro Alfonso (the Spanish form of his adopted name) was
originally a Jewish Rabbi, and was born in 1062, at
Huesca, in the kingdom of Arragon. He was reputed a man
of very great learning, and on his being baptised (at
the age of 44) was appointed by Alfonso XV, king of
Castile and Leon, physician to the royal household. His
work, above referred to, is written in Latin, and has
been translated into French, but not as yet into
English. An outline of the tales, by Douce, will be
found prefixed to Ellis' _Early English Metrical
Romances_.

[37] This is also the subject of one of the _Fabliaux_.--In
a form similar to the story in Alfonsus it is current
among the Milanese, and a Sicilian version is as
follows: Once upon a time there was a prince who studied
and racked his brains so much that he learned magic and
the art of finding hidden treasures. One day he