This was the chance his guests wanted.  They began teasing him, telling him they believed he was really a wicked robber, who had stolen the food or the money to buy it.  He got angry, and at last was actually silly enough to tell them all to come with him, and he would show them he was no robber.  When his wife heard this, she was half pleased to think that now at last the secret would come out of where the food came from, and half afraid that something terrible would happen.  The children too were greatly excited, and went with the rest of the party, who followed their father to the last hiding-place of the precious pitcher.

When, they all got very near the place, however, some idea began to come into Subha Datta’s head that he was doing a very foolish thing.  He stopped suddenly, turned round facing the crowd that followed him, and said he would not go a step further till they all went back to the cottage.  His wife begged him to let her at least go with him, and the children all clamoured not to be sent back, but it was no good.  Back they all had to go, the woodcutter watching till they were out of sight.

23.  Would Subha Datta have been wise if he had told has wife about the pitcher?

24.  Do you think it would have been a good or a bad thing for the secret to be found out?

CHAPTER XIII

When the woodcutter was quite sure that every one was gone and nobody could see where he had hidden the pitcher, he took it from the hole in which it lay and carried it carefully to his home.  You can imagine how everybody rushed out to meet him when he came in sight, and crowded round him, so that there was danger of the pitcher being thrown to the ground and broken.  Subha Datta however managed to get into the cottage without any accident, and then he began to take things out of the pitcher and fling them on the ground, shouting, “Am I a robber?  Am I a robber?  Who dared to call me a robber?” Then, getting more and more excited, he picked up the pitcher, and holding it on his shoulder began to dance wildly about.  His wife called out to him, “Oh, take care, take care!  You will drop it!” But he paid no attention to her.  Suddenly, however, he began to feel giddy and fell to the ground, dropping the pitcher as he did so.  It was broken to pieces, and a great cry of sorrow went up from all who saw the accident.  The woodcutter himself was broken-hearted, for he knew that he had done the mischief himself, and that if only he had resisted the temptation to drink the wine he would still have his treasure.

He was going to pick up the pieces to see if they could be stuck together, but to his very great surprise lie could not touch them.  He heard a silvery laugh, and what sounded like children clapping their hands, and he thought he also heard the words, “Our pitcher is ours again!” Could it all have been a dream?  No:  for there on the ground were the fruits and cakes that had been in the pitcher, and there were his wife, his children and his friends, all looking sadly and angrily at him.  One by one the friends went away, leaving Subha Datta alone with his family.