k the mangoes
home and gave one to each of his wives.

The youngest Rani happened at the time to be sweeping out a room and so
she put her mango in a niche in the wall. Just then a neighbour sent
a mongoose, who was her servant, to ask for a light. While the Rani
was fetching a firebrand from the hearth the mongoose saw the mango
and climbing up nibbled part of it without being seen. After this the
Rani ate the mango. In due time the seven Ranis each gave birth to
a son: but the son of the youngest Rani was the most beautiful with
a face like a mongoose. The eldest Rani was jealous of the beauty
of the youngest Rani's son so one day she sent the youngest Rani to
fetch some water: and during her absence took up the mongoose boy
and putting a stone and a broom in its place took the child away and
buried it in the pit from which the potters dig their earth. When
the Raja heard that his youngest wife had given birth to nothing but
a stone and a broom he was very angry and turned her out of the palace.

Meanwhile a potter had found the mongoose boy still alive and had
taken him to his home. There the child grew up and became a strong
boy. One day he asked the potter to make him an earthenware horse. On
this horse he used to ride about, for directly he mounted it, it
was endowed with life. One day the mongoose boy took his earthenware
horse to water it at a tank near the palace and there his six brothers
saw it and insisted that they also should have earthenware horses to
ride. Horses were accordingly made for them but when they mounted,
the horses would not budge an inch. Enraged at this the princes
complained to their mothers. The Ranis at once suspected the identity
of the potter's boy and told their sons to kill him.

So one day when the young princes met him at the tank they killed
the mongoose boy and buried his body. At the place where the body
was buried there grew up a bamboo of extraordinary size and a bush
with sweet and beautiful flowers: many people tried to cut down the
big bamboo and to pluck the beautiful flowers but every arm that was
raised to do so was restrained by some unseen power. Eventually the
news of this portent reached the ears of the Raja who went to see
what was happening. When the Raja tried to pluck a flower he succeeded
at the first attempt. The Raja then cut down the bamboo and out of
it stepped the mongoose boy who told of the illtreatment which he
had received at the hands of the six Ran