went to the barber and told him how ill he had fared.  The barber vowed that he should be avenged.  So he went and offered himself as a servant to the mahajan:  he was engaged and it was agreed that whichever party first proposed to terminate the contract should lose a piece of skin a span long.  The barber worked so badly and ate so much that one day the mahajan in a fit of rage ordered him to leave the place and in consequence forfeited a piece of his skin.

Having repaid the mahajan in his own coin the prince and the barber left those parts and journeyed to the land of the king of the jackals.  They found the king of the jackals asleep in front of his cave.  While he still slept the barber shaved all the hair off his tail.  Then the two friends hid in the cave, drawing a cart in front of the entrance.  When the jackal awoke and found that he had been shaved he concluded that there were bongas (spirits) about; and ran away in terror.  After going a short distance he met a bear who asked where he was going in such a hurry.  The king of the jackals said that some bongas had taken possession of his cave and shaved off his hair.  The bear agreed to go back with the jackal and see if he could exorcise the spirits.  Going to the cave the bear climbed on to the cart to offer a sacrifice.  As he sat there the barber caught hold of his tail and held on to it while the prince began to stab the bear with a knife.  The bear howled and groaned but could not get away.  The king of the jackals who was looking on was delighted, for he concluded that the bongas had taken possession of the bear who would learn who they were and how they were to be exorcised.  At last the bear broke free and ran away:  the jackal ran after him and asked him what the bongas had told him:  but the bear only said ‘ugh’ ‘ugh’ and ran into the jungle.  Then the jackal met a tiger and telling his story persuaded the tiger also to try his hand at exorcising the spirits.  The tiger was treated in the same way as the bear had been and ran off without giving the jackal any information.

Then the king of the jackals resolved to try himself and mounted on to the cart.  But the barber stabbed him through the bamboos and killed him.  Then the prince succeeded to the kingdom of the jackals, and not only so, but replaced the piece of skin which he had forfeited to the mahajan by a piece of the skin of the dead jackal.

(20)—­The Mongoose Boy.

Once upon a time there was a Raja who had seven wives but no children.  In hope of issue he retired to the jungle and began a course of prayers and sacrifices.  While he was so engaged a Brahman came to him and told him to take a stick and with it knock down seven mangoes from a neighbouring tree, and catch them before they reached the ground:  he promised that if the Ranis ate these mangoes they would bear children.  The Raja did as he was directed and took the mangoes home and gave one to each of his wives.