er of the twelve
wicked Ranees, they sacrilegiously destroyed the little temple. But
they found no children there, either. However, the Dhobee's
mischievous little daughter had gone with her father to witness the
work of destruction, and as they were looking on, she said, "Father,
do look at all those funny little trees; I never remember noticing
them here before." And being very inquisitive, she started off to have
a nearer look at them. There in a circle grew the hundred little mango
trees, and in the centre of all the little rose bush, bearing the red
and white roses.

The girl rushed by the mango trees, who uttered no words, and running
up to the rose bush, began gathering some of the flowers. At this the
rose bush trembled very much, and sighed and said, "I am a little girl
as well as you; how can you be so cruel? You are breaking all my
ribs."

Then the child ran back to her father and said, "Come and listen to
what the rose bush says." And the father repeated the news to the
twelve Ranees, who ordered that a great fire should be made, and the
hundred and one little trees be burned in it, root and branch, till
not a stick remained.

The fire was made, and the hundred and one little trees were dug up
and just going to be put into it, when Gunputti, taking pity on them,
caused a tremendous storm to come on, which put out the fire and
flooded the country and swept the hundred and one trees into the
river, where they were carried down a long, long way by the torrent,
until at last the children were landed, restored to their own shapes,
on the river bank, in the midst of a wild jungle, very far from any
human habitation.

Here these children lived for ten years, happy in their mutual love
and affection. Generally every day fifty of the boys would go out to
collect roots and berries for their food, leaving fifty at home to
take care of their little sister; but sometimes they put her in some
safe place, and all would go out together for the day; nor were they
ever molested in their excursions by bear, panther, snake, scorpion,
or other noxious creature. One day all the brothers put their little
sister safely up in a fine shady tree, and went out together to hunt.
After rambling on for some time they came to the hut of a savage
Rakshas, who in the disguise of an old woman had lived for many years
in the jungle.

The Rakshas, angry at this invasion of her domain, no sooner saw them
than she changed them all into cr