a_ went outside and brought in the rice and putting it down,
said: "It is I who do it. Come, wash your hands and I will give you
your dinner," but he said: "First tell me what all this means," and
she said: "It means that I want to live with you." He objected. "How
can I marry you when my brothers are not married?" She answered that
if he married her, they would soon find wives for his brothers. Then
she urged him to eat, but he said that if he ate one plateful, his
brothers would question him, so the _bonga_ girl went and brought an
extra dish and he ate that. And as they talked together, he soon fell
deeply in love with her, and promised to consult his brothers about
her living with them; but he saw a difficulty which would arise if
she married him, for his elder brothers would not care even to ask
her for water, and thus she would be really of very little use in the
house; so with some hesitation he proposed that she should marry the
eldest brother and then they could all talk freely to her; but the
girl would not agree to this and said that there would be no harm at
all in their talking to her, provided that they did not touch her,
and she would not mind giving his elder brothers water.

So they plighted their troth to each other, subject to the consent of
the brothers, and towards evening the _bonga_ girl left, promising
to return on the morrow. When the brothers returned they discussed
the matter and agreed that the youngest should marry the girl,
provided that she promised to keep house for them. So the next day
the girl came back and stayed with them; and they found wives for
the other brothers, and got cattle and buffaloes and broke up land
for cultivation and though the brothers did not altogether give up
hunting, they became rich.

A certain jogi found out where they lived and once every year he came
to ask for alms; one year he came just after the _bonga_ girl had
borne a child, so as she was doing no work, it was her sisters-in-law
who brought out food for the jogi. But at this he was displeased, and
said that he would only eat at the hands of the girl, who had given
him food the year before. They told him that she was in child-bed and
could not come out. Then he said: "Go and tell her that the Jhades Jogi
has come and wants her arm tassel." So she sent out her arm tassel
to him and he put it in his bag and got up and went away. Thereupon
the _bonga_ girl arose and left her baby, and followed him, and neve