uffalo, a man, a "crocodile," and a
stag.

And then, he lay down on the sand, covering his head with his upper
garment, and slept and waited all day long, till the sun was going down.
And then he rose, and eat and drank a very little, and taking with him
his skin and corn, he walked on after the sun, which sank to his rest in
the western mountain. But Aja followed him all night long, with the moon
for his only companion. And as he went, he saw the bones of men and
camels, lying along the sand, and grinning at him as it were with white
and silent laughter, as though to say: Anticipate thy fate: for but a
little further on, and thou shalt be what we are now. But he went on
with nimble feet, like one that hurries through the den of a sleeping
hungry lion, till the sun rose at last behind him. And then again he lay
down, and rested all day long, and started again at night. And so he
proceeded for many days, till all his water and corn was gone. And as he
threw away the skin, he set his teeth, and said: No matter. I will reach
the end of this hideous sand, which like the dress of Draupadi[5], seems
to roll itself out as I go across it, though I should have to go walking
on long after I am dead.

[5] When she was lost in the gambling match, and Duhshasana
tried to strip her, still as he pulled off one dress,
another appeared below it, refusing to leave her naked.

And night after night he went on, growing every night a little weaker.
And then at last there came a night when as he toiled along with heavy
steps that flagged as it were with loaded feet, faint with hunger and
burning thirst, he said to himself: I am nearly spent, and now the end
is coming near, either of the sand, or me. And then the sun rose behind
him, and he looked up, and lo! it was reflected from the wall of a city
before him, which resembled another sun of hope rising in the west to
cheer him. And he rubbed his eyes, and looked again, saying to himself:
Is it a delusion of the desert, to mock me as I perish, or is it really
a true city? And he said again: Ha! it is a real city. And his ebbing
strength came back to him with a flood of joy. And he stooped, and took
up a little sand, and turned, and threw it back, exclaiming: Out upon
thee, abode of death![6] Now, then, I have beaten thee, and thy victim
will after all escape. And he hurried on towards the city, half afraid
to take his eyes away from it for a single instant, lest it should
disap