“I gladly gave the promise which he required; and he obtained my pardon, and became my protector and master; and I have served him faithfully ever since.  After some years, seeing my devotion to him, he placed great confidence in me, and one day told me his own history.

“‘There was,’ said he, ’formerly at Pushpapuri a very learned and pious man, named Dharmapala, one of the king’s ministers.  His eldest son was like him; but I, the youngest, was of a very different disposition.  I had no inclination for work or study; but thought only of amusement, and spent my time among gamblers and disreputable characters.  My father and brother did all they could to restrain me; but, impatient of their control, I left my home and friends, and wandered about the world.  One day I came to this city, Benares, and not long after my arrival, I made acquaintance with the king’s daughter, who, with her female friends, was playing at ball in a park outside the town.  We fell in love with each other; and I contrived, by disguising myself as a woman, to enter her private apartments and to have many secret meetings with her; the result of which was the birth of a child.

“’The devoted attendants kept the whole affair secret, removed the infant as soon as it was born, and telling the mother it was dead, gave it to a savari woman, who carried it to the public cemetery and left it there.

“’As she was returning; she was stopped by the watchmen, and in her fright told them what she had done.  Information was given to the king, and further inquiry being made, my offence was discovered, and one night I was arrested, while quietly sleeping unsuspicious of danger.  Being condemned to death, I was led to execution outside the city.  By a fortunate chance I got my hands free, and snatching the sword from the executioner, laid about me so vigorously that all the men fell back, and I made my escape to the forest.  There I wandered about for some time, subsisting on wild fruits and roots, and sleeping in the trees.

“’While living this precarious life, I was one day astonished at meeting a young lady, with many female attendants.  She addressed me by my name, and desired me to sit down with her, under a large tree.

“’When, with much surprise, I asked who she was, and how she came to be in that wild forest, with such a retinue, and why I was so favoured by her, she told me the reason of her coming, saying:  My name is Taravali.  I am the daughter of a chief Yaksha.  A short time ago I went to visit a friend, living on the Malaya Mountains, and while flying through the air on my return, as I passed over the cemetery of Benares, I heard the cry of a child.

“’Moved with compassion, I alighted on the ground, took it up and carried it to my father.  He took it to our master, the god Kuvera, who sent for me, and asked, “What induced you to bring this child?” “A strong feeling of compassion,” I answered, as if it had been my own.