268 CRADLE TALES OF HINDUISM
Then the eagle's flight came to a stop before the throne, and his whole form seemed so to blaze
with anger, that every one trembled except the monarch, and no one felt the slightest surprise at hearing him speak.
'* Surrender my prey I " he commanded in a loud voice, facing the King.
- Nay," said Shibi Rana quietly ; ** the dove has taken refuge with me, and I shall not betray its
trust."
" This, then, is your vaunted mercy ? " sneered the eagle. " The dove that you have sheltered was to have been my food. Show your power by protecting it, and you starve me. Is such your intention ? "
"Not at all," said the King ; << in fact, I will give you in its place an equal quantity of any other food you choose."
'< Of any other food ? " said the eagle mockingly. <• But suppose I asked for your own flesh ? "
" My own flesh should be given," said Shibi Rana firmly.
A harsh laugh sounded through the hall, startling those who were standing about the throne; but When they looked again at the face of the bird, his eye was steady and piercing as before.
- ^Then I require," said he, speakmg slowly and deliberately, " that this dove be weighed in the
