(15)—­The Sons of the Raban Raja.

There was a Raja who used to bathe daily at a certain tank.  In the tank was a great fish:  as the Raja washed his mouth this fish used daily to swallow the rinsings of his mouth.  In consequence of this the fish after a time gave birth to two human children.  As the two boys grew up they used to go into the village near the tank and play with the other children.  One day however, a man beat them and drove them away from the other children jeering at them because they had no father.  Much disturbed at this they went to the fish and asked whether it was true that they had no father.  The fish told them that their father was the Raban Raja.  The two boys resolved to go in search of the Raban Raja:  they set out and after a time met a man and asked him if he knew the Raban Raja.  The man asked why they wished to know.  They said that they were his sons.  Then the man at once killed them because the Raban Raja was an enemy of his country.  From the place where the bodies of the dead boys lay, two large bamboos grew up.  When the bamboos had grown very big, a Jogi came by that way and cut them down, making from them two flutes.  These flutes produced such beautiful music that every one was charmed and the fame of the Jogi spread far and wide:  so when in his wanderings the Jogi reached the kingdom of the Raban Raja the Raja sent for him and the Jogi came to the palace with his two bamboo flutes.  When the flutes were brought into the presence of the Raja they burst open and from them appeared the two boys.  When the Raja heard their history he recognized them as his sons, and sent the Jogi away with large rewards.

(16)—­The Potter’s Son.

Once upon a time there was a Kumhar whose wife was about to have a child.  As they were very poor the pair resolved that if the child should prove to be a boy they would abandon it, but if it were a girl they would bring it up.  When the child was born it was found to be a son, so the Kumhar took it into the jungle and left it there.  There it was found by a tiger and tigress whose cubs had just died and who determined to bring up the man-child as their own.  They accordingly fed it and looked after it; the boy grew up strong and healthy.  When he got big, the tiger went to a blacksmith and had made for him a bow and arrows of iron with which he used to hunt.  When the boy became a young man the tiger decided that his marriage must be arranged for.  So he went to the capital of a neighbouring Raja, and when the Raja’s daughter came to a tank to bathe, the tiger seized her and carried her off into the jungle, where she was married to the Kumhar’s son.  The princess was very pleased with her new husband, but found the life with the tigers in the jungle very irksome.  She constantly begged her husband to run away, until at last he agreed.  One day when the tigers were at a distance they started off and soon arrived at the palace of the princess’ father.  Leaving her husband by the palace tank,