"What is this?" he said; "my daughter only loves me as much as she
does salt!" Then he called some of his servants, and said to them,
"Get a palanquin ready, and carry my youngest daughter away to the
jungle."

The servants did as they were bid; and when they got to the jungle,
they put the palanquin down under a tree and went away. The princess
called to them, "Where are you going? Stay here; my father did not
tell you to leave me alone in the jungle." "We will come back," said
the servants; "we are only going to drink some water." But they
returned to her father's palace.

The princess waited in the palanquin under the tree, and it was now
evening, and the servants had not come back. She was very much
frightened and cried bitterly. "The tigers and wild beasts will eat
me," she said to herself. At last she went to sleep, and slept for a
little while. When she awoke she found in her palanquin some food on a
plate, and a little water, that God had sent her while she slept. She
ate the food and drank the water, and then she felt happier, for she
thought, "God must have sent me this food and water." She decided that
as it was now night she had better stay in her palanquin, and go to
sleep. "Perhaps the tigers and wild beasts will come and eat me," she
thought; "but if they don't, I will try to-morrow to get out of this
jungle, and go to another country."

The next morning she left her palanquin and set out. She walked on,
till, deep in the jungle, she came to a beautiful palace, which did
not belong to her father, but to another king. The gate was shut, but
she opened it, and went in. She looked all about, and thought, "What a
beautiful house this is, and what a pretty garden and tank!"

Everything was beautiful, only there were no servants nor anybody else
to be seen. She went into the house, and through all the rooms. In one
room she saw a dinner ready to be eaten, but there was no one to eat
it. At last she came to a room in which was a splendid bed, and on it
lay a king's son covered with a shawl. She took the shawl off, and
then she saw he was very beautiful, and that he was dead. His body was
stuck full of needles.

She sat down on the bed, and there she sat for one week, without
eating, or drinking, or sleeping, pulling out the needles. Then a man
came by who said to her, "I have here a girl I wish to sell." "I have
no rupees," said the princess; "but if you will sell her to me for my
gold bangles, I will buy