ecame king he was not happy. He had trouble
all the time. It is true he had his brother's riches, that he rode the
royal elephants, wore the royal robes, and lived in the royal palace,
but he had trouble with his _amats_, with his soldiers, and his people,
and therefore instead of being happy as he expected he would be, he was
unhappy and miserable.
If he had only known what was happening in the jungle he would have been
more anxious still. His brother was not dead as he thought. The fall to
the bottom of the hole did not kill him and he was only a prisoner. His
followers had all gone back to the city with his wicked brother. He
called, but called in vain. He heard nothing but the echo of his own
cries, and he was about to give up in despair, when it happened that the
mighty Lord Sa Kyah coming through the jungle heard his cries and
inquired the cause. The king did not know that this was the Lord Sa
Kyah, but told him all that had happened. Lord Sa Kyah was very angry
with the king's heartless brother and created at the bottom of the hole
a lily of the kind that has a very long stalk. The king sat upon the
blossom of the lily which then began to grow very rapidly, and as it
grew carried the king up toward the mouth of the hole.
As he gradually rose toward daylight he saw that a tree was growing at
the very edge of the pit, and that some of the branches hung over. He
saw also that a monkey was busily engaged in feeding on the leaves and
fruit. The lily, of course, made no noise as it pursued its upward path;
the king also kept quiet so as not to frighten the monkey, and when he
was near enough suddenly put forth his hand and caught it by the tail.
The monkey screamed and kicked, fought and scratched, but in vain; the
king held on, and at last the monkey climbed down the tree taking the
king with him, and the latter was speedily standing once more on solid
ground and able to offer up his thanks to the mighty Lord Sa Kyah.
The king was not long in reaching the city and when he arrived, to his
great sorrow he saw, as he expected, his ungrateful brother reigning,
while the people all sorrowed for their old king. He determined to wait
awhile before he declared himself, feeling that the Lord Sa Kyah who had
already once helped him when in trouble and danger would aid him in
regaining his lost kingdom; so he went into the poorest part of the
city, put on the poorest and most ragged clothes that he could find, and
sat near
|