e
opened his handkerchief, and took out a sweetmeat. He found an ant in
it. He took out another. There was an ant in that one too. So he laid
the two sweetmeats on the ground, and he took out another, and
another, and another, until he had taken them all out; but in each he
found an ant. "Never mind," he said, "I won't eat the sweetmeats; the
ants shall eat them." Then the Ant-Raja came and stood before him and
said, "You have been good to us. If ever you are in trouble, think of
me and we will come to you."

The Raja's son thanked him, mounted his horse and continued his
journey. He rode on and on till he came to another jungle, and there
he saw a tiger who had a thorn in his foot, and was roaring loudly
from the pain.

"Why do you roar like that?" said the young Raja. "What is the matter
with you?" "I have had a thorn in my foot for twelve years," answered
the tiger, "and it hurts me so; that is why I roar." "Well," said the
Raja's son, "I will take it out for you. But, perhaps, as you are a
tiger, when I have made you well, you will eat me?" "Oh, no," said the
tiger, "I won't eat you. Do make me well."

Then the prince took a little knife from his pocket, and cut the thorn
out of the tiger's foot; but when he cut, the tiger roared louder than
ever, so loud that his wife heard him in the next jungle, and came
bounding along to see what was the matter. The tiger saw her coming,
and hid the prince in the jungle, so that she should not see him.

"What man hurt you that you roared so loud?" said the wife. "No one
hurt me," answered her husband; "but a Raja's son came and took the
thorn out of my foot." "Where is he? Show him to me," said his wife.
"If you promise not to kill him, I will call him," said the tiger. "I
won't kill him; only let me see him," answered his wife.

Then the tiger called the Raja's son, and when he came the tiger and
his wife made him a great many salaams. Then they gave him a good
dinner, and he stayed with them for three days. Every day he looked at
the tiger's foot, and the third day it was quite healed. Then he said
good-bye to the tigers, and the tiger said to him, "If ever you are in
trouble, think of me, and we will come to you."

The Raja's son rode on and on till he came to a third jungle. Here he
found four fakirs whose teacher and master had died, and had left four
things,--a bed, which carried whoever sat on it whithersoever he
wished to go; a bag, that gave its owner whatever he