Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 14, 1903.djvu/431

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Collectanea.
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pitch. When the storm subsided the brothers had become separated; each sought the other in the forest, but without success.

Now when it was related to the king that his sons had disappeared, he ordered prayers to be offered up five times and offerings to be made to the fakirs; he commanded that every ruined mosque should be repaired, and that prayers should be offered in them for the two princes.

[1]Now we must follow Sahpri, who still journeyed on foot eastwards, till he came to a pleasure-ground, and in the midst of the garden he beheld a palace. Entering the palace boldly, he saw a large drum hanging up, and struck it, when a voice came from within, "Who is striking the drum?" At this, presuming that there was some one inside the drum, Sahpri drew his dagger and slit up the skin, and behold there stepped out a most lovely princess. So beautiful was she that he instantly fell in love with her. In answer to his questions she said that her name was Dewi Ratnasari; that the city had been subdued by a Roc (Garuda)[2]; and that her parents had shut her up with all her belongings and her eight handmaidens inside the drum, so that the roc was unable to touch them.

In two days the roc approached, and the sky was dark with the shadow of his wings. So Sahpri shut up the princess and her maidens in the drum, and, sallying forth, shot the roc with his bow and arrow, so that he died. Then the princess came out, overjoyed to see the death of the roc, and she and Sahpri lived there in great happiness together.

Now Indra Bangsāwan, when he was parted from Sahpri in the forest, set out on his journey also. And he came to a plain in which there was a cave, and entered into the cave; and after proceeding a long distance he came to a great light, and there he saw a pleasure garden, and in the midst of it there was a house.

Indra Bangsāwan mounted up and sat down in the reception hall. Now this was the house of a powerful magician, who came out and said, "Who is this who comes and sits here so boldly?" And when Indra Bangsawan told who he was, the magician said,

  1. From this point the story is merely an abstract, not a full translation of the original.
  2. Garuda is the mythical vulture, half man, half bird, on which Vishnu rides.