he servants, who were only
fairies, screamed out, "Give me my dress! What are you doing? why do
you take it away?" Then the Raja dropped one by one the yellow dresses
and kept the red one. The fairy servants picked up the dresses, and
forsook the Phulmati Rani and ran away. The Raja came back to her with
her dress in his hand, and she said, "Oh, give me back my dress. If
you keep it I shall die. Three times has God brought me to life, but
he will bring me to life no more." The Raja fell at her feet and
begged her pardon, and they were reconciled. And he gave her back her
dress. Then they went home, and Indrasan Raja had the shoemaker's wife
cut to pieces, and buried in the jungle. And they lived happily ever
after.

Told by Dunkni at Simla, July 25th, 1876.

[Decoration]

[Decoration]

II.

THE POMEGRANATE KING.

There was once a Maharaja, called the Anarbasa, or Pomegranate King;
and a Maharani called the Gulianar, or Pomegranate-flower. The
Maharani died leaving two children: a little girl of four or five
years old, and a little boy of three. The Maharaja was very sorry when
she died, for he loved her dearly. He was exceedingly fond of his two
children, and got for them two servants: a man to cook their dinner,
and an ayah to take care of them. He also had them taught to read and
write. Soon after his wife's death the neighbouring Raja's daughter's
husband died, and she said if any other Raja would marry her, she
would be quite willing to marry him, and she also said she would like
very much to marry the Pomegranate Raja. So her father went to see the
Pomegranate Raja, and told him that his daughter wished to marry him.
"Oh," said the Pomegranate Raja, "I do not want to marry again, for if
I do, the woman I marry will be sure to be unkind to my two children.
She will not take care of them. She will not pet them and comfort them
when they are unhappy." "Oh," said the other Raja, "my daughter will
be very good to them, I assure you." "Very well," said the Maharaja,
"I will marry her." So they were married.

For two or three months everything went on well, but then the new
Rani, who was called the Sunkasi Maharani, began to beat the poor
children, and to scold their servants. One day she gave the boy such
a hard blow on his cheek that it swelled. When the Maharaja came out
of his office to get his tiffin, he saw the boy's swollen face, and,
calling the two servants, he said, "Who did this? how did m