Page:Katha sarit sagara, vol2.djvu/63

 " You have heard the story of the man who was famous on account of the pitcher of fire, now hear the story of the nose-engrafter." Story of the man who tried to improve his wife's nose.:— There lived in some place or other a foolish man of bewildered intellect. He, seeing that his wife was flat-nosed, and that his spiritual instructor was high-nosed, cut off the nose of the latter when he was asleep: and then he went and cut off his wife's nose, and stuck the nose of his spiritual instructor on her face, but it would not grow there. Thus he deprived both his wife and his spiritual guide of their noses.

"Now hear the story of the herdsman who lived in a forest."

Story of the foolish herdsman.:— There lived in a forest a rich but silly herdsman. Many rogues conspired together and made friends with him. They said to him, " We have asked the daughter of a rich inhabitant of the town in marriage for you, and her father has promised to give her. When he heard that, he was pleased and gave them wealth, and after a few days they came again and said, " Your marriage has taken place." He was very much pleased at that, and gave them abundance of wealth. And after some more days they said to him: " A son has been born to you." He was in ecstasies at that, and he gave them all his wealth, like the fool that he was, and the next day he began to lament, saying, " I am longing to see my son." And when the herdsman began to cry, he incurred the ridicule of the people on account of his having been cheated by the rogues, as if he had acquired the stupidity of cattle from having so much to do with them.

" You have heard of the herdsman; now hear the story of the ornament-hanger."

Story of the fool and the ornaments.* :— A certain villager, while digging up the ground, found a splendid set of ornaments, which thieves had taken from the palace and placed there. He immediately took them and decorated his wife with them; he put the girdle on her head, and the necklace round her waist, and the anklets on her wrists, and the bracelets on her ears.

When the people heard of it, they laughed, and bruited it about. So the king came to hear of it, and took away from the villager the ornaments, which belonged to himself, but let the villager go unharmed, because he was as stupid as an animal. Story of the Fool and the Cotton.† :— I have told you, prince, of the ornament-finder, now hear the story of the cotton-grower. A certain blockhead went to the market to sell