Page:Barlaam and Josaphat. English lives of Buddha.djvu/78

lxxii careful investigation, towards which the accompanying table will prove of service.

The first thing to observe is that the Arabic form clearly constitutes the bridge between the Occident and Orient on this occasion. Alone of the Western versions it preserves "The Bees," which exist in the two Indian forms, while already it shows the Western change of the Indian elephant into the nondescript dragon. We may conclude from this that the Arabic does not derive from the Greek, and is closer to the Indian original than it.

A still more remarkable parallel exists to this parable in the far-famed Norse Legend of the Yggdrasil. This is a giant ash, whose branches spread round the world. Its three roots are connected with Heaven, Earth, and Hell: under each root gushes a well-spring; from the tree trickles a fall of honey. On its