Page:Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes, 1879).djvu/59

Rh wise she went to her father and begged him to have six large beautiful mattresses, well stuffed with cotton, made for her.

"What can you want with six mattresses?" said the King. "I want my bed to be very comfortable on board the boat," said his daughter. Her father loved her dearly, so he had her mattresses made, beautiful mattresses and well stuffed with cotton. The princess had them all carried to her boat. When everything was ready they went on board the boats with the monkey's six brothers. Now, the princess had warned her husband of his brothers' wicked plans, and she said to him, "Never go near your brothers; never speak to your brothers; for they want to kill you." The first day the six brothers said to the monkey, "Please bring us a little salt." But the monkey said, "No; my wife will take you some." "No," said the brothers, " our wife cannot bring us any. She is a princess. Do you bring us some." So they threw a rope from one boat to another and the monkey wenton the rope, and the brothers untied it, and the monkey fell into the water. Then the princess cried out, "My husband will be drowned! My husband will be drowned!" And she threw out one of the mattresses; the monkey sat on it; it floated back to his boat, and the crew drew him up. The next day the six brothers begged Prince Monkey to bring them water, and they threw a plank from their boat to his for him to cross on. The prince set off with the water, in spite of all his wife's entreaties, and his brothers tilted the plank into the water. The prince would have been drowned had not the Princess Jahúran thrown him a mattress. And the same thing happened during the next four days. The brothers wanted something to eat or drink, and their monkey-brother brought it them across a rope or plank, which they cut or dropped into the water, and he would have died but for the mattresses which his wife threw to him one by one.