Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/130

 106 the bird has told me against my wife is false, for there was no rain during the whole of this night.' But it was through the cunning and wickedness of the woman that she had effected this, namely, that she made out the bird a liar. The owner of the bird brought it out and killed it, and was reconciled to his wife. Now, my sovereign lord! understand that there exists not a man who can overcome wicked women." And the king gave the order, that his son should not be put to death.

. III.—The reply of the wicked woman on the second day, when, amid tears, she addressed the king:—"A man who deserves death must only be put to death, whether it be one's son or one's brother's son. For if thou dost not kill him, no man will have confidence in thy justice. For there was once a fuller who was washing in a stream; his son was with him; he began to play in the water, and his father did not restrain him. The stream carried him away and he got drowned, and the father was drowned with him. It will happen to thee in the same way, if thou dost not quickly kill thy son, before he waxes strong and destroys thee." Hereupon the king ordered his son to be put to death.

2. IV.—Then the second wise man entered and made obeisance to the king, and said: "Long live my sovereign lord! Know, that if thou hadst a hundred sons, it would not be right of thee to slay one of them, let alone that thou hast but one, and him thou orderest to be put to death. It behoves thee to investigate the matter before thou killest thy son. Beware, my sovereign lord! lest thou kill him, and afterwards it repent thee, and thou call to mind that thou hast acted wickedly, it happening to thee as it befell a man, who, whenever he used to see anything nauseous, was wont neither to eat nor drink. Now once upon a time he went on business, and stayed in a certain town, and sent his lad to market to buy bread for themselves, and the lad went and found two loaves