Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 4, 1893.djvu/538

526 poor man came and complained that Nur-Jehan's brother had robbed him of his wife. Shah-Jehan ordered two chaldrons of oil to be heated over a fire, and when the oil began to boil, and was as hot as fire, he sent for Nur-Jehan's brother, and asked him, "Did you carry off this poor man's wife?" "Yes," he answered, "I carried her off." Then the king said to his followers: "Take him and throw him into the oil; let him burn." When this had been done, Nur-Jehan said: "The king has done well, in that he has thrown him into boiling oil." Then the king said to Nur-Jehan, "The other chaldron was prepared for thee, and hadst thou said a word for thy brother, I had thrown thee into it." That was a judgment of King Shah-Jehan's! Many years passed, and Shah-Jehan had three sons, whom he stationed each in a separate city. One day the king said to his wazir: "Go on a tour round the country, and see my sons also, and report to me which of them should be king after me." The wazir started off towards the town where the eldest son was stationed. The prince sent out his army to meet him, and received him honourably, and feasted and flattered him, thinking, "He may praise me to the king." The second prince, also, when the wazir came to him, served him in every way, and gave him presents. Then the wazir went off to Aurangzeb, the third prince. Aurangzeb neither sent out his troops to meet him, nor did him any honour. The wazir came and alighted outside the town, and sent this message to Aurangzeb: "I have come to visit you, and whenever it is your pleasure I will pay you my respects." Aurangzeb sent back, saying: "I will send for you myself in two days." When the next day but one arrived, Aurangzeb had all the ground round his palace inundated, and he sat in his palace in the middle, reading the Kuran. Then he sent to the wazir to come and pay his respects. The wazir came in a carriage from his camping-ground, and when he approached the palace he had to get down and wade through the water. When he was announced, Aurangzeb said: "I