since there was none near by on whose behalf to awaken love. Gradually, however, the forest was returning to life from the long swoon imposed on it by Nandi, and as it did so, the very helper that Modon needed came in sight, for the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen entered the wood. Her manner and bearing were royal, and she wore the silken robe of prayer. It was Uma, the Princess of the Mountains, come to offer her morning worship to Siva.
The slender form of the young Archer was hidden amongst the trees as she passed on to the feet of the Great God. Absorbed in His presence, she knelt before Him, and He opened His eyes and smiled upon His worshipper.
At this moment the audacious Modon drew his bow and made ready to take aim. Scarcely a second was it, yet the thought entered the mind of Mahadeva that the lips of this maiden were very red, and then, ere the idea was fully formed, a mighty wave of horror swept over him, the great Third Eye had opened and sought the source of the vain impulse, and where the too venturesome God had been on the point of sending forth his dart, lay now, only a handful of ashes, in the form of a man.
A second later the luminous figure of Siva had faded out from beneath the cedar, and Uma knelt alone to make her offerings.
