et girl thought, and said: "My dear, you did wrong not to
tell me before. Your friend is a real brother to me. I ought to have
sent him some nuts and other nice things at the very first."
Then she let him go, and he went to his friend by night by the same
road, and told all that his wife had said. But the counsellor's son
said: "That is foolish," and did not think much of it. So they spent
the night talking.
Then when the time for the twilight sacrifice came, a friend of Lily's
came there with cooked rice and nuts in her hand. She came and asked
the counsellor's son about his health and gave him the present. And she
cleverly tried to keep the prince from eating. "Your wife is expecting
you to dinner," she said, and a moment later she went away.
Then the counsellor's son said to the prince: "Look, your Majesty. I
will show you something curious." So he took a little of the cooked
rice and gave it to a dog that was there. And the moment he ate it, the
dog died. And the prince asked the counsellor's son what this strange
thing could mean.
And he replied: "Your Majesty, she knew that I was clever because I
understood her signs, and she wanted to kill me out of love for you.
For she thought the prince would not be all her own while I was alive,
but would leave her for my sake and go back to his own city. So she
sent me poisoned food to eat. But you must not be angry with her. I
will think up some scheme."
Then the prince praised the counsellor's son, and said: "You are truly
the body of wisdom." And then suddenly a great wailing of
grief-stricken people was heard: "Alas! Alas! The king's little son is
dead."
When he heard this, the counsellor's son was delighted, and said: "Your
Majesty, go to-night to Lily's house, and make her drink wine until she
loses her senses and seems to be dead. Then as she lies there, make a
mark on her hip with a red-hot fork, steal her jewels, and come back
the old way through the window. After that I will do the right thing."
Then he made a three-pronged fork and gave it to the prince. And the
prince took the crooked, cruel thing, hard as the weapon of Death, and
went by night as before to Lily's house. "A king," he thought, "ought
not to disregard the words of a high-minded counsellor." So when he had
stupefied her with wine, he branded her hip with the fork, stole her
jewels, returned to his friend, and told him everything, showing him
the jewels.
Then the counsellor's son fe
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