amusement, and spent my time among gamblers and disreputable
characters. My father and brother did all they could to restrain me;
but, impatient of their control, I left my home and friends, and
wandered about the world. One day I came to this city, Benares, and
not long after my arrival, I made acquaintance with the king's
daughter, who, with her female friends, was playing at ball in a park
outside the town. We fell in love with each other; and I contrived, by
disguising myself as a woman, to enter her private apartments and to
have many secret meetings with her; the result of which was the birth
of a child.

"'The devoted attendants kept the whole affair secret, removed the
infant as soon as it was born, and telling the mother it was dead,
gave it to a savari woman, who carried it to the public cemetery and
left it there.

"'As she was returning; she was stopped by the watchmen, and in her
fright told them what she had done. Information was given to the king,
and further inquiry being made, my offence was discovered, and one
night I was arrested, while quietly sleeping unsuspicious of danger.
Being condemned to death, I was led to execution outside the city. By
a fortunate chance I got my hands free, and snatching the sword from
the executioner, laid about me so vigorously that all the men fell
back, and I made my escape to the forest. There I wandered about for
some time, subsisting on wild fruits and roots, and sleeping in the
trees.

"'While living this precarious life, I was one day astonished at
meeting a young lady, with many female attendants. She addressed me by
my name, and desired me to sit down with her, under a large tree.

"'When, with much surprise, I asked who she was, and how she came to
be in that wild forest, with such a retinue, and why I was so favoured
by her, she told me the reason of her coming, saying: My name is
Taravali. I am the daughter of a chief Yaksha. A short time ago I
went to visit a friend, living on the Malaya Mountains, and while
flying through the air on my return, as I passed over the cemetery of
Benares, I heard the cry of a child.

"'Moved with compassion, I alighted on the ground, took it up and
carried it to my father. He took it to our master, the god Kuvera, who
sent for me, and asked, "What induced you to bring this child?" "A
strong feeling of compassion," I answered, as if it had been my own.

"'You are right,' he replied; 'there is good reason for what you have