When news of this came to the ears of the merchant’s son, he set out to visit his old friend the Prince and found him still teaching in the little village school.  “What do you think now,” he asked him, “is wisdom or money the better.  By my cleverness, I got the better of that farmer; he had to give me more rice than I could eat.  I killed his bullock, I set fire to his house, and I got a wife without expending a picc on my marriage; while you—­you have spent all the money you brought with you from home, and have met with nothing but starvation and trouble; what good has your money done you?” The Prince had not a word to answer.

Two or three days later the Prince proposed that they should go back to their parents; his friend agreed but said that he must first inform his wife’s relations, so they went back to the village where the merchant’s son had married, and while they were staying there the Prince caught sight of a Raja’s daughter and fell violently in love with her.

Learning of the Prince’s state of mind the merchant’s son undertook to arrange the match; so he sent his wife to the Raja’s daughter with orders to talk of nothing but the virtues and graces of the Prince who was staying at their house.  Her words had their due effect and the Raja’s daughter became so well disposed towards the Prince, that when one day she met him, she also fell violently in love with him and felt that she could not be happy unless she became his wife.  So the wedding duly took place, and then the Prince and the merchant’s son with their respective wives returned to their fathers’ houses.

LXXXVII.  The Goala and the Cow.

Once upon a time a young man of the Goala caste was going to his wedding; he was riding along in a palki, with all his friends, to the bride’s house and as he was passing by a pool of water he heard a voice saying, “Stop you happy bridegroom; you are happy, going to fetch your bride; spare a thought for my misfortune and stay and pull me out of this quagmire.”  Looking out he saw a cow stuck fast in the mud at the edge of the pool, but he had no pity for it and harshly refused to go to its help, for fear lest he should make his clothes muddy.

Then the cow cursed the Goala, saying, “Because you have refused to help me in my extremity, this curse shall light on you, directly you touch your bride you shall turn into a donkey.”  At these words the Goala was filled with fear and telling the bearers to put down the palki he alighted and ran and pulled the cow out of the mud; this done, he begged her to withdraw the curse, but the cow declared that this was impossible, what she had said was bound to come to pass.  At these words the Goala began to lament and threw himself at the feet of the cow, beseeching her; at length the cow relented, and promised that though the curse could not be withdrawn it should be mitigated and it would be possible for his wife to restore him to human shape.  So the Goala had to take what comfort he could from this and returning to the palki he told his friends what had passed.  Much downcast the procession continued its way, wondering what would be the upshot of this adventure.