get a big price for it.

So he went off to the palace, but when he came to the gate the sentry
stopped him and would not let him go in, until he promised to give him
half of what he got, and after some argument he had to promise. So
he was admitted to the Raja's presence and when the Raja asked what
was the price of the fish, the fisherman said "A hundred blows with
a stick."

The Raja was very astonished and asked the meaning of such a
request. Then the fisherman said that the sentry had extorted a
promise that he should get half the price and he wanted him to get
fifty blows. At this the Raja was very angry and he had the sentry
beaten with one hundred stripes and dismissed him.

XLI. The Broken Friendship.

Once upon a time there was a Raja and his Dewan and they each had
one son, and the two boys were great friends, and, when they grew old
enough, they took to hunting and when they became young men they were
so devoted to the sport that they spent their whole time in pursuit of
game; they followed every animal they could find until they killed it,
and they shot every bird in the town.

Their parents were much distressed at this, for they thought that
if their boys spent all their time together hunting they would grow
up unruly and ignorant; so they made up their minds that they must
separate the young men so that they would not be tempted to spend so
much time in sport, but would be able to learn something useful; they
scolded the youths and told them to give up their friendship and their
hunting, but this had no effect. Then the Raja told the villagers
that he would reward any one who would break up the friendship,
and the villagers tried their best but effected nothing.

There was however an old woman in the village who one day said,
"If the Raja gave me ten rupees I would soon put a stop to their
friendship." This came to the ears of the Raja and he exclaimed "What
is ten rupees to me! bring the old woman to me and I will give her
ten rupees, if she can put an end to this friendship." So the old
woman was brought trembling before the Raja and on being questioned
undertook to break up the friendship if she were properly rewarded;
and when this was promised she asked for two men to be given to her
and she took them to her house and there she made them sling a bed
on a pole, such as is used for carrying a man on a journey and she
hung curtains all round it and drew them close and inside, on an old
win