ving in that neighbourhood. "What do you want with wise men?",
asked the ploughman. The Prince said that he was travelling to get
wisdom. The ploughman said that he would give him instruction if
he were paid. Then the Prince promised to give him one gold piece
for each piece of wisdom. The ploughman agreed and said. "Listen
attentively! My first maxim is this: You are the son of a Raja;
whenever you go to visit a friend or one of your subjects and they
offer you a bedstead, or stool, or mat to sit on, do not sit down
at once but move the stool or mat a little to one side; this is
one maxim: give me my gold coin." So the Prince paid him. Then the
ploughman said. "The second maxim is this: You are the son of a Raja;
whenever you go to bathe, do not bathe at the common bathing place,
but at a place by yourself; give me my coin," and the Prince did
so. Then he continued, "My third maxim is this: You are the son of a
Raja; when men come to you for advice or to have a dispute decided,
listen to what the majority of those present say and do not follow
your own fancy, now pay me;" and the Prince gave him his last gold
coin, and said that he had no more. "Well," said the ploughman, "your
lesson is finished but still I will give you one more piece of advice
free and it is this: You are the son of a Raja; Restrain your anger,
if anything you see or hear makes you angry, still do not at once take
action; hear the explanation and weigh it well, then if you find cause
you can give rein to your anger and if not, let the offender off."

After this the prince set his face homewards as he had spent all
his money; and he began to repent of having spent his gold pieces
on advice that seemed worthless. However on his way he turned into
a bazar to buy some food and the shopkeepers on all sides called out
"Buy, buy," so he went to a shop and the shopkeeper invited him to sit
on a rug; he was just about to do so when he remembered the maxim of
his instructor and pulled the rug to one side; and when he did so he
saw that it had been spread over the mouth of a well and that if he
had sat on it he would have been killed[1]; so he began to believe
in the wisdom of his teacher. Then he went on his way and on the
road he turned aside to a tank to bathe, and remembering the maxim
of his teacher he did not bathe at the common place but went to a
place apart; then having eaten his lunch he continued his journey,
but he had not gone far when he found th