Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/146

 122 came, there was the moisture of rain, the seeds swelled, and the hole became full; and as the dove saw it, he was greatly distressed, and became aware that he had committed a great wrong. And now, my sovereign lord, understand that if you kill your son without going to the root of the matter, it will happen to you as it happened to that dove.

. XVI.—"And listen further, my lord and master! There was once on a time a husbandman, and when it was harvest, he went out to reap what he had sown; at meal-time his wife was bringing him to the field a roasted chicken and a barley-cake. She had placed them in a basket, and was starting for the field. But, as she was going on the way, she passed a ruin; and there came out of the ruin a robber, who caught hold of her, and took her into the ruin; he devoured all she had with her, leaving only a little of the cake, and forming it into the shape of an elephant; he placed the same in the basket as it was, and treated her with shame. The woman took up the basket in haste, covered as it was, for she knew not that its contents had been eaten by the robber, and brought it and placed it at the side of her husband. The husband opened it, and saw that there was nothing in it but a bit of cake in the shape of an elephant. The man asked his wife what was the meaning of it. As soon as the wife saw this, she understood that this had been done by the robber. So she hit upon a plan and said to her husband: 'This night I saw in my dreams, while I was asleep, that I was mounted on an elephant, and I fell off, and was trampled under foot. Now when I awoke I was in a great fright, so I betook myself to an interpreter of dreams, and repeated to him (my dream). He gave me the interpretation of the dream, and bade me make a cake in the shape of an elephant, bring it to my husband, and my dream would be solved. See to eat it, so that no harm befal me.' The husband ate the cake, believing that his wife had been telling the truth." As soon as the king saw it, he gave orders that his son should not be put to death.