Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/100

78 battle followed; and the new Wazīr mounted his elephant and attacked Nādir Shah with the sword, but was killed in the fight. Nādir Shah stormed and took Dehli and made Muhammad Shah his prisoner.

Now Nādir Shah heard that Muhammad Shah had an extremely beautiful wife, so he said to Muhammad Shah: "Come and see my wife, and then let me see your wife." He took Muhammad Shah and showed him his wife; and then he came and saw Muhammad Shah's wife. She turned her back on Muhammad Shah and turned her face to Nādir Shah. On this Nādir Shah asked her why she turned her back on her husband and turned her face to him. She replied: "King! he is my husband, and you are my father. How should I turn my back on my father?" Then Nādir Shah said: "Now, as you have made so good an answer, you shall be my daughter indeed; and I make you a present of Dehli as your dowry."

Afterwards Nādir Shah said to Muhammad Shah: "I have given you Dehli, and now I want four things from you; the first is your cook, and then two handmaidens to brush my teeth for me, and one concubine." Muhammad Shah gave them as he wished.

Nādir Shah told the cook to boil his pot for him. The cook said: "First give me a thousand rupees, and then I will boil it for you." Nadir Shah gave him a thousand rupees. The cook then boiled some masūr dāl (lentils) in the pot and brought it to the King; and at the same time he brought back with him the thou- sand rupees the King had given him. The King said: "You have burnt this dāl, I will not eat it. Give me back the thousand rupees I gave you." The cook gave back the thousand rupees which he had brought with him, and took up the pot and went out. A dry log was lying there, and on this log he poured out the contents of the pot and went his way. Next morning when Nādir Shah arose he saw that this dry log was covered with green leaves wherever the dāl had fallen on it. Then he was very sorry in his heart for what he had done, thinking: "This was good food, it had been well had I eaten it."

After this he summoned the handmaidens and said: "Come and brush my teeth." They came, one of them bringing water and the other the twigs to rub his teeth with. Nādir Shah rubbed his teeth, and took some water and rinsed his mouth and gargled.