Page:Folk-lore of the Telugus.djvu/86

78 town, and there saw a woman with dishevelled hair, seated near the temple of Durga, crying at the top of her voice. He asked her who she was and why she was crying. She replied that she was the tutelary Goddess of Kunthibhoja's kingdom, and that as the king was to breathe his last in two or three days more she was crying—for, who would protect her then? The archer then asked her if there were any means by which the king's life could be saved. Whereupon she said that if the archer's son were offered as a sacrifice to Durga, the king would live for a very long time. The archer thereupon consented to the proposal, went home, and informed his son of what had transpired. The son asked him to perform the sacrifice instantly and save the life of the king, for, by the king a good many people lived. The archer then took his son to the temple, drew his sword from the scabbard, and was about to slay him, when Durga appeared before them, and said that she was so pleased with his bravery that he must desist, and said moreover that she would confer on him any boon he might ask. The archer