ause he felt the strain of his misery to such an extent. He made
a flute upon which to play a pathetic and mournful tune. By day
he used to work as a ploughman, whenever he was called upon to do
so. If nobody called him, he used to sit inactive at home, weeping
and groaning and smearing his rags with dust and ashes. At night he
used to bathe and dress himself well, and, after having eaten his
food, he used to take his flute and play on it till morning. This
was always his practice. He was a very skilful player. He had twelve
principal tunes. There lived in the same village a queen. Her husband,
the Siem, used to be absent from home for long intervals in connection
with his public duties. One night, when the queen heard the strains
of U Raitong's flute, she listened to them with very great pleasure,
and she felt so much compassion for him that she arose from her
couch at midnight and went to visit him. When she reached his house,
she asked him to open the door, so that she might pay him a call. U
Raitong said "I can't open the door, as this is not the time to pay
visits," and he went on playing his flute and dancing to the music,
with tears in his eyes. Then the queen peeped through one of the chinks
of the wall and saw him, and she was beside herself, and breaking
open the door she entered in. Then U Raitong, having stopped playing,
was annoyed that, to add to his misfortunes, this woman had come to
trouble him thus. When she tried to beguile him, U Raitong admonished
her and sent her away. She departed just before daybreak. U Raitong
then took off his fine clothes, and putting on his rags, sprinkled
himself with dust and ashes, and went to plough as was his wont. The
queen, however, ensnared him by another device, and whilst the king
was still away in the plains, she gave birth to a male child. When
the Siem returned, he was much surprised to find that she had borne a
child during his absence, and however much he asked her to confess,
she would not do so. So the king called the elders and young men to
judge the case, and when no proof was found concerning this business,
the king appointed another day, when all the males (in the State)
should appear, each man holding a plantain. On the appointed day,
all the males of the State having appeared, the king told them all
to sit in a circle and to show their plantains, and said, "We will
place this child in the midst, and to whomsoever the child goes,
he is his father, and the