Page:An argosy of fables.djvu/275

 Rh "My dear Gangadatta I am still hungry. All the other Frogs are destroyed down to the last one. You alone remain. Give me, I pray you, something to eat, since it was you who brought me here."

"My friend," said Gangadatta, "so long as I live you shall have no cause for anxiety. At your bidding I will go forth and will win the confidence of Frogs in other wells, and bring them back with me."

"Until now," replied the Serpent, "I have felt that I must not eat you, for you have been like a brother to me. Do this one thing more, and henceforth you will be like my own father. By all means, Gangadatta, do as you suggest."

At the Serpent's bidding Gangadatta hopped briskly into the bucket, and ascended from the Well. For many days Priyadarsana eagerly watched for his return. But when a long time had passed, and Gangadatta had not come back, the Serpent said to an Iguana who lived in a nearby hole: "Dear friend, do me a little service. Since you have known Gangadatta for a long time, go and find him in whatever pond he is now living, and say to him from me, 'Come back, Gangadatta, even if you come alone, even if the other Frogs won't come with you. I cannot live here longer without you; and if I have ever done you an unkindness, I dedicate my life to atoning for it.'"

Accordingly, the Iguana quickly sought out Gangadatta and said to him, "My dear Gangadatta, your friend, Priyadarsana is ceaselessly watching the Road of your Return. Come back, he begs, at once, and in return for any ill that he may have done you he pledges the good offices of his remaining years. Return with your heart free of fear."

When Gangadatta heard this he said, "What wickedness will not