14.  What fault blinds people to the truth more than any other?

CHAPTER VIII

When Sringa-Bhuja heard what Agni-Sikha said, he was full of joy; but Rupa-Sikha knew well that her father did not mean a word of it.  She waited quietly beside her lover, till the magician bade all the sisters but herself leave the hall.  Then the magician, with a very wicked look on his face, said: 

“Before the ceremony there is just one little thing you must do for me, dear son-in-law that is to be.  Go outside the town, and near the most westerly tower you will find a team of oxen and a plough awaiting you.  Close to them is a pile of three hundred bushels of sesame seed.  This you must sow this very day, or instead of a bridegroom you will be a dead man to-morrow.”

Great was the dismay of Sringa-Bhuja when he heard this.  But Rupa-Sikha whispered to him, “Fear not, for I will help you.”  Sadly the prince left the palace alone, to seek the field outside the city; the guards, who knew he was the accepted lover of their favourite mistress, letting him pass unhindered.  There, sure enough, near the western tower were the oxen, the plough and a great pile of seed.  Never before had poor Sringa-Bhuja had to work for himself, but his great love for Rupa-Sikha made him determine to do his best.  So he was about to begin to guide the oxen across the field, when, behold, all was suddenly changed.  Instead of an unploughed tract of land, covered with weeds, was a field with rows and rows of regular furrows.  The piles of seed were gone, and flocks of birds were gathering in the hope of securing some of it as it lay in the furrows.

As Sringa-Bhuja was staring in amazement at this beautiful scene, he saw Rupa-Sikha, looking more lovely than ever, coming towards him.  “Not in vain,” she said to him, “am I my father’s daughter.  I too know how to compel even nature to do my will; but the danger is not over yet.  Go quickly back to the palace, and tell Agni-Sikha that his wishes are fulfilled.”

15.  Can the laws of nature ever really be broken?

16.  What is the only way in which man can conquer nature?

CHAPTER IX

The magician was very angry indeed when he heard that the field was ploughed and the seed sown.  He knew at once that some magic had been at work, and suspected that Rupa-Sikha was the cause of his disappointment.  Without a moment’s hesitation he said to the prince:  “No sooner were you gone than I decided not to have that seed sown.  Go back at once, and pile it up where it was before.”