in this magic chariot, and carried him to the sky. And he
took the delighted father to the camp of the king of the southern
country where he had been on business. Then Hariswami appointed the
marriage for the seventh day.
At this time another Brahman youth in Ujjain came to the girl's brother
and asked him for her. And when he was told that she would marry only a
wise man or a clever man or a brave man, he said he was a brave man.
Then when he had shown his skill with weapons, the brother promised his
sister to the brave man. And without telling his mother, he consulted
the star-gazers and appointed the marriage for the seventh day.
At the same time a third Brahman youth came to the girl's mother and
asked for the girl. And the mother said: "My son, a wise man or a
clever man or a brave man shall marry my daughter but no one else.
Which of these are you? Tell me." And he said: "I am a wise man." So
she asked him about the past and the future, and found that he was a
wise man. Then she promised to give him her daughter on the seventh day.
The next day Hariswami came home and told his wife and his son all that
he had done. And she and he each told him all that she or he had done.
So Hariswami was greatly perplexed, because three bridegrooms had been
invited. Then the seventh day came and the three bridegrooms came to
Hariswami's house.
Strange to say, at that moment Moonlight disappeared. Then the wise man
said: "A giant named Smoke-tail has carried her to his den in the
Vindhya forest."
When Hariswami heard this from the wise man, he was frightened and
asked the clever man to find a remedy for the trouble. And the clever
man made a chariot as before, full of all kinds of weapons, and brought
Hariswami with the wise man and the brave man in a moment to the
Vindhya forest. And the wise man showed them the giant's den.
When the giant saw what had happened, he came out in anger, and the
brave man fought with him. Then came a famous duel with strange weapons
between a man and a giant for the sake of a woman, like the ancient
fight between Rama and Ravana. Though the giant was a terrible fighter,
the brave man presently cut off his head with an arrow shaped like a
half-moon. When the giant was killed, they found Moonlight in the den
and all went back to Ujjain in the clever man's chariot.
Then when the proper time for wedding came, there arose a great dispute
among the three in Hariswami's house.
The wise man
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