When the king heard about the brooch, he was greatly pleased; and instead of ordering the lady to be punished, he told her that, when the man who had dared to approach his daughter was found, he would give her a great reward.  He then sent forth hundreds of spies to hunt for the man with a brooch in his turban, and Putraka was very soon found, strolling quietly about in the market-place.  He was so taken by surprise that, though he had his staff in his hand and his shoes and bowl in the pocket of his robes, he had no time to write his wishes with the staff, or to put on the shoes, so he was obliged to submit to be dragged to the palace.  He did all he could to persuade those who had found him to let him go, telling them he was a king and would reward them well.  They only laughed at him and dragged him along with them to the palace, where he was at once taken before the king, who was sitting on his throne, surrounded by his court, in a great hall lined with soldiers.  The big windows were wide open; and noticing this, Putraka did not feel at all afraid, for he knew he had only to slip on his shoes and fly out of one of the windows, if he could not persuade the king to let him marry Patala.  So he stood quietly at the foot of the throne, and looked bravely into the face of his dear one’s father.

This only made the king more angry, and he began calling Putraka all manner of names and asking him how he dared to enter the room of his daughter.  Putraka answered quietly that he loved Patala and wished to marry her.  He was himself a king, and would give her all she had been used to.  But it was all no good, for it only made the king more angry.  He rose from his throne, and stretching out his hand, he cried: 

“Let him be scourged and placed in close confinement!”

Then Putraka with his staff wrote rapidly on the ground his wish that no one should be able to touch him, and stooping down slipped on his magic shoes.  The king, the courtiers and the soldiers all remained exactly as they were, staring at him in astonishment, as he rose up in the air and flew out of one of the windows.  Straight away he sped to the palace of Patala and into her room, where she was pacing to and fro in an agony of anxiety about him; for she had heard of his having been taken prisoner and feared that her father would order him to be killed.

29.  What do you think would have been the best thing for the king to do when Putraka was brought before him?

30.  If Putraka had not had his shoes with him, how could he have escaped from the king’s palace?

CHAPTER XVI

Great indeed was the delight of Patala when her beloved Putraka once more flew in at her window; but she was still trembling with fear for him and begged him to go away back to his own land as quickly as possible.

“I will not go without you,” replied Putraka.  “Wrap yourself up warmly, for it is cold flying through the air, and we will go away together, and your cruel father shall never see you again.”