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THE DIYINE CHILDHOOD 165 Lleft Him to play alone. Not far off stood two ancient trees, with a tiny gap between them. But Yasoda, leaving Him, had no fear for her Baby, for His tether was long and the axle heavy. He could play and scramble and crawl, she thought, to His naughty little heart's content, and yet never be able to move very far from where she had put Him.

This was reckoning, however, without her host ; for when no one was near, crawling here and crawling there, the child actually managed to creep between the two great trees 1 Then on and on He went, dragging His rope and its axle after Him, till at last the weight was wedged tightly in the gap. At this He gave a slight jerk, and suddenly, without more ado, those two lords of the forest fell with a crash, and Krishna near by, on His hands and knees, was found laughing quietly, not the least afraid !

But now a strange thing befell. Out of those trees, in the presence of every one — for all had run to see what was happening, thinking, in fact, that a thunderbolt had fallen — came two bright spirits, telling how for ages they had lain im- prisoned there beneath a spell, that could onl} be lifted by the touch of the Lord. Then they offered salutations, and worshipped the Liberator of Souls, before they disappeared.

Another day, after the Child had begun to