silence, till I ended. And then she said, with a sigh of relief: Ah!
is that all? And I exclaimed: All? is it not enough for thee? And she
said: I was terrified, by thy talking of two suns. For I began to
think the Queen had a rival in thy affection. And I laughed, in anger
and derision, and I exclaimed: A rival! Thou little fool! I am sorely
tempted to beat thee, for daring to think anything of the kind, even
in a dream. What! a rival! to Tarawali! Thou art stark mad. How could
she possibly have a rival in the three worlds? But what am I to do?
And she said: It is thy choice, not mine. Only when once a sun has
set, who can tell, if it will ever rise again? And what am I to say to
the Queen?

And as she stood, looking at me, for an answer, there rose into my
recollection the image of Tarawali, leaning towards me in the
moonlight, and saying: To-morrow, at sunset, I will be thy dream. And
suddenly I exclaimed: Go back to her, O Chaturika, and tell her that
my only sun is the sun that sets in a Queen's garden.

And then, to my astonishment, that singular Chaturika suddenly threw
herself into my arms, and kissed me without waiting to be asked. And
seeing me look at her in perplexity, she burst out laughing, and she
said with delight: Ah! ah! So then, after all, there is a difference,
as it seems, between Chaturika and Tarawali. No doubt some kisses are
far sweeter, but the sun must set, ere the lovely digit of the moon
rises, and I must do what I can meanwhile, to help thee to keep alive.
It was her own order. And moreover she will not be jealous, and will
not scold me when I tell her all about it on my return. And I said:
Nay, thou saucy little beauty, tell her with all my heart, and add,
that her drug was efficacious, since sandal-wood and camphor turn
everything that touches them into a little bit of fragrance exactly
like their own. And take her hand, and kiss it, and say I send the
kiss, like her message, by thy mouth, and here it is.

And I caught her in my arms, and kissed her as she struggled, not
willing this time to be kissed at all, exactly on her laughing lips,
and then she went away.

XIV

And I said to myself in ecstasy, as she disappeared: Out on the very
notion of leaving Tarawali in the lurch, and losing the very essence
of the nectar of the lady of my dream, so kind, so clever, and so
wonderful as she is! Well did she understand, how the very sight of
this audacious little _cheti_ would act like