eed; and the woman has the
thatching grass stuck to her head because when she saw a friend with
straw sticking in her hair she did not tell her about it; let her do
so in future and she will be freed; and the woman has the pai measure
stuck to her throat because, when her neighbour wanted to borrow her
measure, she would not lend it; let her do so in future and she will
be freed." And Karam Gosain asked whether they had seen an elephant
and a horse and a buffalo and a cow and money and mangoes and figs and
Dharmu said "Yes," but that he had not been able to catch the animals
and the fruit was bad. Karam Gosain promised them that on their way
back they should take possession of all; and they did so and mounted
on the elephant and returned to their home with great wealth. On their
way they met the four women and told them how they could be saved from
their troubles. The villagers welcomed Dharmu and he arranged a great
feast and gave paddy to all the villagers to husk; but when they had
boiled it the weather became cloudy so that they could not dry it,
so they prayed to the sun and he at once shone out and dried the paddy.

Then a day was fixed and they prepared rice beer, and worshipped
Karam Gosain and they danced all night and got very drunk and enjoyed
themselves.

VI. The Jealous Stepmother.

There was once a man whose wife died leaving him with one son and
after a year he married again. The second wife was very jealous of the
son and she told her husband that she would not stay with him unless
he killed the boy; at first he refused but she insisted and then he
said that he was frightened to do the deed, but she might kill the
boy herself if she liked. She said, "No: he is your son and you must
kill him; if he were mine I would do it. You need not be frightened;
when you take him out ploughing make him drive the front plough, and
you sharpen your plough pole to a point and drive it into him from
behind and kill him and then it will seem to be an accident." So the
man promised and made a sharp point to his plough pole but whenever
they ploughed, the son drove his plough so fast that the father could
not catch him up and so the boy was not killed; then the woman abused
her husband and said that he was deceiving her. So he promised to
finish the business the next day and told her to give the boy a good
hot breakfast before they started, so that he might receive one last
kindness, and he said that they must find