quietly slipped out. Nothing was heard of her for the next twelve years. But during that time, calamities in quick succession fell upon the king and his house. Earthquakes, recurring time after time, destroyed the greater part of the palace. Diseases seized upon the king's person and undermined his vitality, until at last he became almost a living skeleton. Chandra had had seven sons, and these died one after another, and a thick cloud enveloped the whole kingdom. The king attributed all this to the unseen influence of the kotál's daughter.
But one day Malancha came near the palace and prayed for its prosperity, and all of a sudden things began to take a brighter turn. Fortune once more seemed to smile upon the kingdom. The prince's seven sons, who had long before been turned into ashes, came to life again. The ruined portions of the palace were restored, and the king once more enjoyed health and vigour. Chandra ascribed all this to Malancha, but he was laughed at by his father.
On a certain day the king went out hunting. Tigers waylaid him and his followers, and devoured the latter, leaving the former to find his way alone out of the forest. He walked on, and with lips parched with thirst, drew near a fountain to quench it. There he saw a beautiful and veiled lady with a pitcher full of water, and eagerly begged her to give him some. His request was granted, and he thus poured a blessing on her head: "Whoever you may be, mother, you are a light in your father-in-law's house. May you be happy." The lady was no other than Malancha, who bowed to her father-in-law, put on her head the dust of his feet, and expressed in grateful words her happiness in being kindly spoken to by him. His feelings then were too strong to be restrained, and he wept at the remembrance of the cruelties she had received from his hands. He begged her to follow him home, and she replied, "Oh, how happy am I to-day! I have been recognized by my husband's father.
