THE WAZIR'S DAUGHTER 234

NOTES 237

GLOSSARY 295

LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO 297

INDEX 299

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INDIAN FAIRY TALES.

I.

PHULMATI RANI.

There were once a Raja and a Rani who had an only daughter called the
Phulmati Rani, or the Pink-rose Queen. She was so beautiful that if
she went into a very dark room it was all lighted up by her beauty. On
her head was the sun; on her hands, moons; and her face was covered
with stars. She had hair that reached to the ground, and it was made
of pure gold.

Every day after she had had her bath, her father and mother used to
weigh her in a pair of scales. She only weighed one flower. She ate
very, very little food. This made her father most unhappy, and he
said, "I cannot let my daughter marry any one who weighs more than one
flower." Now, God loved this girl dearly, so he went down under the
ground to see if any of the fairy Rajas was fit to be the Phulmati
Rani's husband, and he thought none of them good enough. So he went in
the form of a Fakir to see the great Indrasan Raja who ruled over all
the other fairy Rajas. This Raja was exceedingly beautiful. On his
head was the sun; and on his hands, moons; and on his face, stars. God
made him weigh very little. Then he said to the Raja, "Come up with
me, and we will go to the palace of the Phulmati Rani." God had told
the Raja that he was God and not a Fakir, for he loved the Indrasan
Raja. "Very well," said the Indrasan Raja. So they travelled on until
they came to the Phulmati Rani's palace. When they arrived there they
pitched a tent in her compound, and they used to walk about, and
whenever they saw the Phulmati Rani they looked at her. One day they
saw her having her hair combed, so God said to the Indrasan Raja, "Get
a horse and ride where the Phulmati Rani can see you, and if any one
asks you who you are, say, 'Oh, it's only a poor Fakir, and I am his
son. We have come to stay here a little while just to see the country.
We will go away very soon.'" Well, he got a horse and rode about, and
Phulmati Rani, who was having her hair combed in the verandah, said,
"I am sure that must be some Raja; only see how beautiful he is." And
she sent one of her servant