had stuck fast in a bog and it also called to him for help and promised to do the like for him in case of need.  So he pulled it out of the mud, and went on his way.  Presently he came to a well and from the depths of the well a man who had fallen into it cried to him for help; so he went and pulled him up; but no sooner had the man reached the surface than he turned and pushed his rescuer down the well and ran away.

His wife waited and waited for his return and when he did not come, she divined that he had gone towards the south in spite of her warning.  So she went to look for him and presently found him at the bottom of the well.  So she let down a rope and pulled him up and gave him a scolding for his folly.

After this they thought it best to leave that country, so they embarked on the boat and travelled back to his father’s house.

XCVIII.  Catching a Thief.

There was once a rich Raja; and in order to frighten away thieves whenever he woke up at night he used to call out—­

    “What are you people saying?  I know all about it: 
    You are digging the earth and throwing the earth away: 
    I know all about it:  you are skulking there scraping a hole.”

One night a gang of thieves really came and began to dig a hole through the mud wall of the Raja’s house.  And while they were at work the Raja woke up and called out as usual.  The thieves thought that they were discovered and bolted.  The next morning the hole they had been making was found, and the Raja ordered his sipahies to catch the thieves.  The head of all the thieves was a Bhuyan by caste and for five rupees he would catch any thief you wanted.  So the sipahies were told to bring this Bhuyan and they went to a potter and asked.  “Ho, maker of pots, he who makes whole paddy into china:  where does he live?” And the potter answered.  “He who heats pewter; his house is over there.”  Following this direction they found the Bhuyan and he caught the thieves for them.

CHAPTER XCIX

XCIX.  The Grasping Raja.

There was once a Raja who was very rich.  He was a stern man and overbearing and would brook no contradiction.  Not one of his servants or his subjects dared to question his orders; if they did so they got nothing but abuse and blows.  He was a grasping man too; if a cow or a goat strayed into his herds he would return the animal if its owner claimed in the same day; but he would not listen to any claim made later.  He was so proud that he thought that there was no one in the world wiser than himself.