Page:Indian Fairy Tales (Stokes, 1879).djvu/77

Rh heavy sacks of gold on its back, and it wants, to know why it must carry them." " Oh," said the fate, " just take the sacks off its back and then it will be free." " I will," said the poor man. " Then I met an alligator who for twelve years has had a great burning in its stomach." The fate said, "In its stomach is a very large ruby, as big as your hand. If the alligator will only throw up the ruby, it will be quite well." "Next I met a tiger who has had for twelve years a great thorn in his foot which he cannot take out." "Pull it out with your teeth," said the fate ; and then God withdrew the soul, and the fate became a stone again which stood up on the ground.

Then the man set out on his journey home, and he came to the tiger. " What did your fate say ? " said the tiger. " Give me your foot and I will take out the thorn," said the poor man. The tiger stretched out the foot with the thorn in it, and the man pulled out the thorn with his teeth. It was a very large thorn, as big as the man's hand. The tiger felt grateful to the poor man, and as he was very rich, for he had eaten a great many Rajds and people, and had all their money, he said to the man, " I will give you some gold in return for your kindness." " You have no money," said the man. " I have," said the tiger, and he went into his den, and the poor man followed. " Give me your cloth," said the tiger. The man laid it on the ground. Then the tiger took quan- tities of gold and je^ppels and filled the cloth with them. And the poor man took up his cloth, thanked the tiger, and went his way. Then he met the alligator who took him across the river. The alligator said, "Did you ask your fate why there is such burning in my stomach ? " "I did," said the man. " It is because you have a very large ruby in your stomach. If you will only throw it up, you will be quite well." Then the alligator threw the ruby up out of its mouth, and that very instant the burning in its stomach