awk, or the woman who gave him the food, or
her husband? This was discussed in the presence of the god of death,
but they could not decide. Therefore, O King, do you say. Who killed
the Brahman? Remember the curse, if you know and do not tell the truth."

Then the king broke silence and said: "Who did the murder? The snake
cannot be blamed, because he was being eaten by his enemy and could not
help himself. The hawk was hungry and saw nothing. He was not to blame.
And how can you blame either or both of the charitable people who gave
food to a guest who arrived unexpectedly? They were quite virtuous, and
cannot be blamed. I should say that the dead man himself was to blame,
for he dared to accuse one of the others."

When the goblin heard this, he jumped from the king's shoulder and
escaped to the sissoo tree. And the king ran after him again,
determined to catch him.

THIRTEENTH GOBLIN

_The Girl who showed Great Devotion to the Thief. Did he weep or laugh?_

Then the king went back to the sissoo tree, put the goblin on his
shoulder, and started. And as he walked along, the goblin said to him:
"O King, I will tell you another story. Listen."

There is a city called Ayodhya, which was once the capital of Rama the
exterminator of giants. In this city lived a strong-armed king named
Hero-banner who protected the world as a wall protects a city. During
his reign a great merchant named Jewel lived in the city. His wife was
named Pleasing, and a daughter named Pearl was given to her prayers.

As the girl grew up in her father's house, her natural virtues grew
too: beauty, charm, and modesty. And thus she became a young woman. Now
in her young womanhood she was asked in marriage not only by great
merchants, but even by kings. But she was prudent and did not like men.
She would not have loved a god if he had been her husband. She was
ready to die at merely hearing talk of her marriage. So her father was
silent on the subject, though his tender love for her made him sad. And
the story was known everywhere in Ayodhya.

At this time all the citizens were being plundered by thieves, and they
petitioned King Hero-banner in these words: "O King, we are plundered
every night by thieves, and cannot catch them. Your Majesty must decide
what to do." So the king stationed night-watchmen in hiding about the
city, to search out the thieves.

When the watchmen failed to catch the thieves for all their searching,
the king him