Then he called the village headman and chowkidar and they searched and could not find the cow and they advised Kara to keep the cow and calf as it must be better than his own barren cow; but he refused and said that he would complain to the magistrate and he made the headman promise not to let the carters go until he came back.  So he went to a Mahommedan magistrate and it chanced that he was an honest man who gave just judgments and took no bribes, and made no distinction between the rich and the poor; he always listened to both sides carefully, not like some rascally magistrates who always believe the story that is first told them and pay no attention to what the other side say.  So when Kara made his complaint this magistrate at once sent for the carters and the carters swore that they had not stolen the cow:  and offered to forfeit all the property they had with them, if the cow were found in their possession.

Then the magistrate sent police to search the encampment and the police pulled down the pile of packs that had been put round the cow, and found the cow inside and took it to the magistrate.  Then the magistrate ordered the carters to fulfil their promise and put them all in prison and gave all their property to Kara.  So Kara loaded all the merchandise on the carts and pack bullocks and went home rejoicing.  At first the villagers did not recognise who it was who had come with so much wealth but Kara made himself known to them and they were very astonished and helped him to build a grand house.  Then Kara went to the Raja from whom he had borrowed the money for his parents’ funerals and paid back what he owed.  The Raja was so pleased with him that he gave him his daughter in marriage and afterwards Kara claimed his father-in-law’s kingdom and got possession of it and lived prosperously ever after.

And the seven sons of his first master who used to scold him were excited by his success and thought that if they went to foreign parts they also could gain great wealth; so they took some money from their father and went off.  But all they did was to squander their capital and in the end they had to come back penniless to their father.

XXII.  Lita and His Animals.

Once upon a time there was a man who had four sons:  two of them were married and two were unmarried and the youngest was named Lita.  One day Lita went to his father and asked for fifty or sixty rupees that he might go on a trading expedition and he promised that if he lost the money he would not ask for any share in the paternal property.  As he was very urgent his father at last gave him sixty rupees and he set out on his travels.  After going some way he came to a village in which all the inhabitants were chasing a cat; he asked them what was the matter and they told him that the cat was always stealing their Raja’s milk and the Raja had offered a reward of twenty rupees to anyone who would kill it.