Page:Folk-tales of Kashmir.djvu/37

FOLK-TALES OF KASHMIE. THE SEVEN -LEGGED BEAST. A certain king, who took especial pride in his troops and spent an enormous amount of money on them, wished to know thoroughly how strong and able they were. Accordingly he ordered the general in command to assemble the men in battle array on a large maidan without the city. On the day of review His Majesty, attended by his wazirs and diwans, visited the place, and while they were watching the manoeuvres, a beast having seven legs suddenly appeared and prowled around near them. On noticing it the king was much astonished and wished to kill it; but the beast got away. The king rode after it as hard as his swift horse could carry him, and when he had thus pursued it for about two miles, the beast stopped, shook itself, and changing into a great and terrible jinn, turned round on His Majesty, slew him, and ate him.

The wazirs caused earnest search to be made for the king for eight days, and then, no tidings of him having been received, they fetched his son and proclaimed him king in his father's stead.

One day the young king was seized with an irrepressible desire to know the cause of his father's death. He forced the wazirs to tell him, and when he had heard everything he commanded another grand review of the