girls are witches, but I will not let you beat them here.  Let us take them to yonder open field; the token of their oath is there and we will make them first remove it.  If we beat them first they will probably refuse to remove the oath.”  “How do you know about their oath?” asked the headman.  “Never mind, I do know.”  The villagers were convinced by his confident manner and all went with the two girls to the open field.

Chandrai’s object was to get away from the witches’ house for he was afraid to speak there; but when they were out in the open he stood up and told the villagers all that he had seen and heard the two witches do; they remembered that he had been missing for a whole day during the Sohrai festival and believed him.  So the sick man’s wife and mother were fetched and well beaten to make them restore the sick man to health; but his liver and heart had been eaten so that the case was hopeless and in a few days he was dead.  His relations in revenge soon killed the two witches.

Rupi and Bindi whose lives had been saved by Chandrai went and established themselves in his house, for they declared that as they owed their lives to him it was plain that he must marry them.

CLXXXII.  The Sister-in-Law Who Was a Witch.

There were once two brothers who lived together; the elder was married but the younger had no wife.  The elder brother used to cultivate their lands and his wife used to draw water and fetch fuel and the younger brother used to take the cattle out to graze.  One year when the elder brother was busy in the fields the younger one used to take his cattle to graze near where his brother was working and the wife used to bring out the breakfast for both of them.  One day the younger brother thought he would play a trick on his sister-in-law by not answering when she called him to his breakfast; so when her husband had finished his meal and she called out for the younger brother to come he gave no answer; she concluded that the cattle were straying and would not let him come so she took up her basket and went to look for him; but when he saw her coming he climbed up a tree and hid himself and for all her calling gave no answer, but only sat and laughed at her although she came quite close to where he was.

At last the woman got into a passion and putting down the breakfast by the side of a pool which was close to the tree up which her brother-in-law had climbed she stripped off her clothes and began bowing down and calling.  “Ho, Dharmal Chandi! come forth !” When he saw this the man was amazed and waited to see whom she was calling, meaning to let her know he was there directly she turned to go away home with the breakfast.  But the woman kept on calling to Dharmal Chandi and at last out of the pool appeared an immense bearded bonga with long and matted hair.  When the woman saw him her tongue flickered in and out like a snake’s and she made a hissing