ever her twelve wicked old mistresses ordered.
So when they said to her, "Can you kill these children?" she answered,
"Nothing is easier; I will throw them out upon the dust-heap behind
the palace, where the rats and hawks and vultures will have left none
of them remaining by to-morrow morning."

"So be it," said the Ranees. Then the nurse took the hundred and one
little innocent children--the hundred little boys and the one little
girl--and threw them behind the palace on the dust-heap, close to some
large rat-holes; and after that, she and the twelve Ranees placed a
very large stone in each of the babies' cradles, and said to Guzra
Bai, "Oh, you evil witch in disguise, do not hope any longer to impose
by your arts on the Rajah's credulity. See, your children have all
turned into stones. See these, your pretty babies!"--and with that
they tumbled the hundred and one stones down in a great heap on the
floor. Then Guzra Bai began to cry, for she knew it was not true; but
what could one poor woman do against thirteen? At the Rajah's return
the twelve Ranees accused Guzra Bai of being a witch, and the nurse
testified that the hundred and one children she had charge of had
turned into stones, and the Rajah believed them rather than Guzra Bai,
and he ordered her to be imprisoned for life.

Meanwhile a Bandicote had heard the pitiful cries of the children, and
taking pity on them, dragged them all, one by one, into her hole, out
of the way of kites and vultures. She assembled all the Bandicotes
from far and near, and told them what she had done, begging them to
assist in finding food for the children. Then every day a hundred and
one Bandicotes would come, each bringing a little bit of food in his
mouth, and give it to one of the children; and so day by day they grew
stronger and stronger, until they were able to run about, and then
they used to play of a morning at the mouth of the Bandicote's hole,
running in there to sleep every night. But one fine day who should
come by but the wicked old nurse! Fortunately all the boys were in the
hole, and the little girl, who was playing outside, on seeing her ran
in there too, but not before the nurse had seen her. She immediately
went to the twelve Ranees and related this, saying, "I cannot help
thinking some of the children may still be living in those rat-holes.
You had better send and have them dug out and killed."

"We dare not do that," answered they, "for fear of causing susp