. The queen went away very sadly, wondering to herself what
she could do to prove to her dear lord that she loved him as much as
ever. She took care never to go outside the palace gardens, but she
longed very much for her old freedom, and began to grow pale and thin.

The wicked woman who had tried to do her harm was very much
disappointed that she had only succeeded in making her unhappy; so
she went again to Asoka-Mala, and promised her more money if only she
would think of some plan to get the king to send his wife away. The
wise woman considered a long time, and then she said: "You must use
the barber again. He goes from house to house, and he must tell the
king that the beautiful woman, who used to roam about in the forest
collecting herbs, has been seen there again in the dead of the night,
when she could be sure no one would find out what she was doing."

Now it so happened that Kadali-Garbha was often unable to sleep because
of her grief that the king did not love her so much as he used to
do. One night she got so tired of lying awake that she got up very
quietly, so as not to disturb her husband, and putting on her sari,
she went out into the gardens, hoping that the fresh air might help
her to sleep. Presently the king too woke up, and finding that his
wife was no longer beside him, he became very uneasy, and was about to
go and seek her, when she came back. He asked her where she had been;
and she told him exactly what had happened, but she did not explain
why she could not sleep.

13. What mistake did the queen make in her treatment of the king?

14. Do you think it is more hurtful to yourself and to others to talk
too much or too little?

CHAPTER VIII

When the barber was shaving the king the next morning, he told him he
had heard that people were saying the beautiful woman had been seen
again one night, gathering herbs and muttering to herself. "They talk,
my lord," said the man, "of your own name having been on her lips;
and those who love and honour you are anxious for your safety. Maybe
the woman is indeed a witch, who for some reason of her own will try
to poison you."

Now Dridha-Varman remembered that Kadali-Garbha had left him the
night before, "and perhaps," he thought, "at other times when I was
asleep." He could scarcely wait until the barber had finished shaving
him, so eager was he to find out the truth. He hurried to his wife's
private room, but she was not there; and her ladies to