e. The
police officer came and took down the pot and found in it nothing but
a stained cloth. So he fined the headman for troubling him with false
information and went away. Then the man addressed his fellow-villagers
in these words "Listen to me: never tell a secret to a woman and be
careful in your conversation with them; they are sure to let out a
secret and one day will turn your accusers."

From that time we have learnt the lesson that anything which you tell
to a woman will become known.

LXXXIX. The Bridegroom Who Spoke in Riddles.

Once upon a time there were two brothers; the elder was named
Bhagrai and was married, but the younger, named Kora, was still a
bachelor. One day Bhagrai's wife asked her husband when he intended
to look out for a wife for Kora, for people would think it very mean
of them if they did not provide for his marriage. But to his wife's
astonishment Bhagrai flatly refused to have anything to do with the
matter. He said that Kora must find a wife for himself. His wife
protested that that was impossible as Kora had no money of his own,
but Bhagrai would not listen to her and refused even to give Kora
his share in the family property.

Bhagrai's cruel conduct was very distressing to his wife; and one day
as she was sitting picking the lice out of Kora's head, she began to
cry and Kora felt her tears dropping on to his back; he turned round
and asked his sister-in-law why she was crying. She said that she
could not tell him, as it would only make him unhappy, but he would
not be put off and said that she had no right to have any secrets
from him and at last she told him that Bhagrai had said that he must
arrange his own marriage without any help from them. At this cruel
news Kora began to cry too and falling on his sister-in-law's neck
he wept bitterly. Then he went and fetched his clothes and bow and
arrows and flute and what other little property he had, and told his
sister-in-law that he must go out into the world and seek his fortune,
for he would never get a wife by staying at home. So she tied up some
dried rice for him to eat by the way and let him go.

Kora set out and had not travelled far, before he fell in with an
old man who was travelling in the same direction as himself and they
agreed to continue their way together. After walking some miles, Kora
said "I have a proposal to make: let us take it in turns to carry each
other: then we shall neither of us get tired and s