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Indian Fairy Tales.

away the comfits. "There," said they to Sachúlí, "where are your rupees? where are your comfits? What a liar you are! as if it ever rained comfits. How can you tell such stories?" And they beat him. "But it did rain comfits," said Sachúlí, "for I ate them. It rained comfits the day my mother got the rupees."

Now the Rájá who had lost his camel sent round the crier with his drum to find his camel and his money-bags. "Whoever has found a camel carrying money-bags and brings it and the money back to the Rájá, will get a great many rupees," cried the crier. "Oh!" says Sachúlí, "I know where the money is. One day I went out and I found a stray camel, and he had sacks of rupees on his back, and I took him home to my mother, and she took the sacks off his back and sent the camel away." So the crier went to find the rupees, and the people in the bazar went with him. But Hungní had hidden the rupees so carefully that, though they hunted all over her house, they could find none, and they beat Sachúlí, and told him he was a liar. "I am not telling lies," said Sachúlí. "My mother took the rupees the day it rained comfits on our house." So they beat him again, and they went away. Then Hungni beat Sachúlí, and said, "What a bad boy you are! trying to get me beaten and put into prison, telling every one about the rupees. Go away; I don't want you any more, such a bad boy as you are! go away and die." He said, "Very well, mother; give me some bread, and I’ll go."

Sachúlí set off and took an axe with him. "How shall I kill myself?" said he. So he climbed up a tree and sat out on a long branch, and began cutting off the branch between himself and the tree on which he was sitting. "What are you doing up there?" said a man who came by. "You'll die if you cut that branch off." "What do you say?" cries Sachúlí, jumping down on the man, and seizing his hand.