]

'I come from Dur,' said the other, 'and the news is that the king is
dying.'

'Oh,' said the first, 'I'm sorry to hear that, for he is a master hand
at slaying leopards and creatures that ought not to be allowed to
live. What is the matter with him?'

'No man knows,' replied the second monkey, 'but the birds, who see all
and carry all messages, say that he is dying of poisoned glass that
Kupti the king's daughter spread upon his bed.'

'Ah!' said the first monkey, 'that is sad news; but if they only knew
it, the berries of the very tree we sit in, steeped in hot water, will
cure such a disease as that in three days at most.'

'True!' said the other, 'it's a pity that we can't tell some man of a
medicine so simple, and so save a good man's life. But men are so
silly; they go and shut themselves up in stuffy houses in stuffy
cities instead of living in nice airy trees, and so they miss knowing
all the best things.'

Now when Imani heard that Subbar Khan was dying she began to weep
silently; but as she listened she dried her tears and sat up; and as
soon as daylight dawned over the forest she began to gather the
berries from the tree until she had filled her cloth with a load of
them. Then she walked on as fast as she could, and in two days reached
the city of Dur. The first thing she did was to pass through the
market crying:

'Medicine for sale! Are any ill that need my medicine?' And presently
one man said to his neighbour:

'See, there is a young fakir with medicine for sale, perhaps he could
do something for the king.'

'Pooh!' replied the other, 'where so many grey-beards have failed, how
should a lad like that be of any use?'

'Still,' said the first, 'he might try.' And he went up and spoke to
Imani, and together they set out for the palace and announced that
another doctor was come to try and cure the king.

After some delay Imani was admitted to the sick room, and, whilst
_she_ was so well disguised that the king did not recognize her, _he_
was so wasted by illness that she hardly knew _him_. But she began at
once, full of hope, by asking for some apartments all to herself and a
pot in which to boil water. As soon as the water was heated she
steeped some of her berries in it and gave the mixture to the king's
attendants and told them to wash his body with it. The first washing
did so much good that the king slept quietly all the night. Again the
second day she did the same, and this time the kin