consulted in the matter. On being informed of her husband's intention she cried out in anger, "What! shall I consent to my daughter's marriage with a babe who is to live only for twelve days? You are determined to ruin my dear daughter, who has never had much happiness in her life as it is. She lay on the bed of illness continually for three years, and this has greatly weakened her; and now to join her fortune with that of one who is to live for only four or five days more is to doom her to perpetual widowhood. Go, tell your king that I will never consent to your proposal." Then turning to her daughter she said, "Come, Malanchamala, let us leave a country where such unhappiness awaits you."
But Malanchamala replied, "Mother! the match is too flattering to be rejected. It is known that the touch of a rough diamond cuts the hand, but still people grasp it with avidity. There is a precious gem within my hold, and if I can possess it, even for a short time, I shall feel myself highly blessed. To be a widowed princess is a matter of rare luck. But one thing, father, I should like to do, and that is to tell the king that I can marry the prince only on condition that he remains with us in our house during the greater part of our wedded life, and that the royal family eat the food cooked by my mother and myself, and further, that if the prince dies while under his parents' guardianship, his body be made over to me."
The kotál arrived at the court, and laid the conditions before the king. The latter, on hearing them, was furious with rage, and had the kotál put into chains and his daughter carried to the palace. The marriage took place, but it was a mere farce. The bridegroom was brought to the place where the ceremony was to be performed, crying at his mother's breast, and the bride soothed him by dangling him in her lap. The rite was hurried through by the priest, and the bride carried her husband into the bridal chamber. Even the elements seemed angry at this mock marriage. A furious thunder-storm broke over their heads, the wind blowing
