offering into the lake.  Then they both turned to go home.  But as she was turning homewards, she felt some one pull her by the legs.  She looked down and saw that it was her missing son.  When she saw him she dragged him with all her might to the bank, and then she and her brother walked home with him.  When the king heard that she was coming, together with her missing son, he wondered greatly, and going to her he fell at her feet and said, “O my daughter, I offered your son to the water-goddesses; how has he come back again?” She said, “I worshipped the water-goddesses and made offerings to them.  Then my son came out of the water, and I lifted him up and drew him to the shore.”  The king was overjoyed and showed the greatest favour to his daughter-in-law.  And she and her little son lived happily ever afterwards.

CHAPTER XVIII

The Lid of the Sacred Casket

Once upon a time there was a town called Atpat.  In it there lived a Brahman who had two twin sons.  While they were still quite young, the twins’ parents died, and their relatives stole from them all their property and then turned them out of the house.  The twins wandered along until they came to a town.  It was then noon, and the boys were weary with walking and were tortured with hunger and thirst.  As they entered the town, a Brahman came out of his door to throw food to the crows.  He saw the two boys and called them in, fed them, and then made them tell him their story.  When he heard it he resolved to provide for them, and he lodged them in his house and taught them to recite the Vedas.  On Lalita Panchmi Day the Brahman began to perform certain ceremonies.  His pupils asked him why he did so.  The sage replied that by doing so one could attain to wealth, knowledge, and to the wish of one’s heart.  The boys begged him to instruct them, and they quickly learnt how to worship the goddess Parwati.  Not long afterwards the Brahman provided them with wives, and they returned to their own city, acquired wealth, and were very happy.  A year or two later the twins separated.  But the elder was a wise boy and never forgot to worship the goddess Parwati on Lalita Panchmi Day.  So he retained the riches which he had gained.  But the younger was foolish and forgot all about it, so the goddess began to dislike him, and he lost all his money.  And at last he became so poor that he and his wife had to give up their house and go and live on the charity of his elder brother.  One day the elder brother’s wife spoke so crossly and said such nasty things to the younger twin, that he felt that he could not stay in the house any longer.  And he remembered then that of recent years he had entirely forgotten to worship Parwati.  He felt very penitent, and he decided that somehow or other he would win back the goddess’s favour.  Taking his wife with him, he left his brother’s house and journeyed to a distant country.  At last he came near a town,