Page:Bengali Household Tales.djvu/81

Rh to his house. Seeing him come, the Brahman said, "Welcome, my dear! I'm an old man, I'm past working. If you won't take a little trouble to look after me, who will?" The nephew answered, "It is just for that I've come, uncle. I'll stay a long time. You shall have no more trouble." From that day, the nephew would not allow the Brahman to do any work; if his uncle needed to go to the fields, he would go, himself, and let the Brahman remain sitting comfortably at home.

One day, when he came in, he saw that his uncle had not yet bathed. He asked, in surprise, what had hindered him. The Brahman said, "Child, I could get no oil. I asked your aunt for it, but she said there was none." The nephew answered, "What?" and, going straight into the house, he brought out the fine oil which the Brahman's wife had put away to keep for her lover, and anointed and bathed the old man. This done, the nephew called to his aunt, "Aunt, bring my uncle's rice." She brought some coarse rice and sorry vegetables in a common plate, and set them before the Brahman. But the nephew, as soon as he saw this, cried, "Why bring such rice as that, aunt? My uncle can't eat that stuff. I'll eat it, myself." And, going quickly to her room, he found some fine rice, which he brought to his uncle.

The old Brahman that day dined to his heart's content. But his wife, who had been keeping that rice for her lover, gnashed her teeth with rage when she saw her husband eating it. However, it could not be helped, and, indeed, she could not well say anything. Things went on in this way for some time, when, one