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his wishes gratified. And Śattvaśila ruled as king over the cities of the Daitya Princess.
" Now tell me: which of those two shewed most courage in plunging into the water?" When the Vetála put this question to the king, the latter, fearing to be cursed, thus answered him; " I consider Sattvaśila the braver man of the two, for he plunged into the sea without knowing the real state of the case, and without any hope, but the king knew what the circumstances were when he plunged in, and had something to look forward to, and he did not fall in love with the Asura princess, because he thought no longing would win her." When the Vetála received this answer from the king, who thereby broke silence, he left his shoulder, as before, and fled to his place on the aśoka-tree. And the king, as before, followed him quickly to bring him back again; for the wise never flag in an enterprise which they have begun, until it is finished.
CHAPTER LXXXII.
(Vetála 8.)
Then king Trivikramasena returned to the asoka-tiee, and again caught the Vetála, and put him on his shoulder, and set out with him. And as he was going along, the Vetála again said to him from his shoulder, " King, in order that you may forget your toil, listen to this question of mine."
Story of the three fastidious men.:— There is a great tract of land assigned to Bráhmans in the country of Anga, called Vrikshaghata. In it there lived a rich sacrificing Bráhman named Vishnusvámin, And he had a wife equal to himself in birth. And by her he had three sons born to him, who were distinguished for preternatural acuteness. In course of time they grew up to be young men. One day, when he had begun a sacrifice, he sent those three brothers to the sea to fetch a turtle. So off they went, and when they had found a turtle, the eldest said to his two brothers, " Let one of you take the turtle for our father's sacrifice, I cannot take it, as it is all slippery with slime." When the eldest brother said this, the two younger ones answered him, " If you hesitate about taking it, why should not we?" When the eldest heard that, he said, " You two must take the turtle; if you do not, you will have obstructed our father's sacrifice; and then you and he will certainly sink down to hell." When he told the younger brothers this, they laughed, and
