uld eat you."

Then the prince turned to the cow: "He may eat you," answered the
cow: "the tree is right, see how men treat cattle; you drive away our
calves from us and take our milk and you beat us and make us work hard;
for all this ill treatment the snake shall eat you."

Then the prince asked the water what it had to say: "I agree with the
other two" said the water: "to return evil for good is the justice of
mankind, it is by drinking water that your very lives are preserved;
yet you spit into it and wash dirty things in it; shall not the snake
return you evil for good?" So judgment was delivered, and the snake
wanted to eat the prince; but the prince asked the tree and the cow
and the water to listen while he made one prayer; he told them how
he had been married when he was too young to know anything about it,
and how he was going for the first time to see his wife, when this
misfortune befell him; so he begged that he might be allowed to go and
see his bride and then be eaten on his way back; the banyan tree asked
what the snake thought about this proposal and the snake said that it
would make no objection if the tree and the cow and the water would be
sureties for the return of the prince within three days. So the prince
promised them faithfully that he would return and they let him go.

The prince rode on to his father-in-law's house, and when he arrived,
a bed was brought out for him to sit on and he was asked where he
came from. When he explained who he was, they at once brought water
and washed his feet and then gave him oil and a tooth stick and took
him to bathe; then they brought him curds and dried rice to eat and
afterwards killed a goat and made a feast and showed him every honour.

That evening as his wife was rubbing his arms and legs, the
prince remained silent and downcast and showed none of the joy of
a bridegroom; and when his bride asked what was the matter, he told
her that he had only come to see her for one day and that afterwards
she must try and forget all about him. At first he would not tell
her more, but when she urged him, he told her how he had to go and
surrender himself to the snake on the next day. When she heard this
she vowed that she would go with him and die with him.

The next morning came and the prince said that he must return, and
his wife said that she was going with him; so they made everything
ready and set out on their way. When they came within sight of the
banyan