They immediately decided to take vengeance on their wives and when they reached home gave orders for a large well to be dug:  when it was ready they told their wives to join in the consecration ceremony which was to ensure a pure and plentiful supply of water:  so the six witches went to the well and while their attention was occupied, their husbands pushed them all into the well and filled it up with earth and that was the end of the witches.

XCIV.  Birluri and Birbanta.

Birluri was of the Goala caste and Birbanta of the oilman’s caste.  And this is the story of their fight.

Birluri was very rich, with great herds of cattle and buffaloes but Birbanta’s wealth consisted in tanks and ponds.  Birluri used every day to water his cattle at Birbanta’s ponds:  and this made Birbanta very angry:  he felt it an injustice that though Birluri was so rich he would not dig his own ponds:  so he sent word that Birluri must stop watering his cattle or he would be killed.  Birluri answered the messengers that he was quite ready to fight Birbanta:  for though Birbanta had made the tanks, it was God who had made the water in them and so he considered that his cattle had a perfect right to drink the water.  When Birbanta heard this he fell into a rage and vowed that he would not let the cattle drink, but would kill every living thing that went down to the water.  From that day he let no one drink from his tanks:  when women went to draw water he used to smash their water pots and put the rims round their necks like necklaces:  all wild birds and animals he shot:  and the cattle and buffaloes he cut down with his axe:  and at last he proceeded to kill any human beings who went there.

When the Raja of the country heard this he was very angry and bade his sipahis search for some one strong enough to overcome and kill Birbanta:  and he promised as a reward the hand of one of his daughters and half his kingdom.  So the sipahis made proclamation all through the country and at last Birluri heard of it and volunteered to fight Birbanta.  Then the Raja fixed a day for the fight, so that all the country might know and Birbanta also have due warning.

Both the combatants made ready for the fray:  Birbanta was armed with a sword and a shield like a cart wheel and was skilful at sword play, while Birluri’s weapon was the quarter-staff.  The day arrived and Birluri girded up his loins and set out, twirling his staff round his head.  Now his father and mother were both dead; but on the road his mother met him in the guise of an old woman, so that he did not recognise her.  She greeted him and asked where he was going and when she heard that it was to fight Birbanta she said “My son, you are very strong:  but if he asks for water do not give it him, for if you do, he will assuredly kill you:  but when he throws away his sword, do you make haste and take it and slay him with it.”  So saying she went on her way and when Birluri came within a kos of the fighting place he began to twirl his staff and he made such a cloud of dust that it became dark as night and in the darkness the staff gleamed like lightning.