Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 14, 1903.djvu/435

 Collectanea, 393

the princess, the magician (who had planned all that went before in order that Indra Bangsawan might fall in love with the princess) said, " That is good, and what I have wished you to do." And he forthwith summoned his magic horse, named Jingga Harjin, who was of a green colour, and whose father was a jin, and the horse at once appeared ready caparisoned, with a lasso hanging from the saddle. The magician ordered him to obey the orders of Indra Bangsawan, and the magic horse bowed and said he would do whatever he was commanded.

Then Indra Bangsawan took off his magic dress, put on his sword, mounted the horse, and in an instant he was in front of the palace. When the princess looked out she beheld a young man beautiful to behold caracoling in front of the palace, and she called him, " Oh, young man of beautiful appearance, do you wish to be destroyed by the grififin that you come here ? " But he reassured her, and having dismounted he fastened the lasso round the mouth of the iron vessel of water, and he commanded the horse that when ihe grififin came and put his head into the vessel to drink he was to pull the lasso round his neck and kick and bite him till he died.

Then he went up and conversed with the princess, and she not knowing who he was, told him about the grififin, and how that her cousin, Princess Dewi Ratnasari, was under the power of a roc, and it was foretold that she was to be rescued by Sahpri and none other ; while she in her turn would be rescued from the grififin by Indra Bangsawan, as had been foretold. While they were conversing in this wise the grififin came to the palace stairs, and seeing the vessel full of water put his head in, whereupon Jingga Harjin pulled at the lasso and snared the neck of the grififin, and set to work to kick him to pieces. When Indra Bangsawan heard this he descended and drew his sword and killed the grififin. Then he cut off the snouts and eyes, and slung them in a string, and mounting his horse bade farewell to the princess, and disappeared from view. And the princess was dismayed and astonished, for she knew now that this must be Indra Bangsawan himself who had killed the grififin.

Now when the nine rajas' sons saw the coming of the grififin they were terrified and shook in all their joints, but when they saw that it was dead they came forward intending to cut off its snouts and eyes in order to claim the hand of the princess. But