Page:Old Deccan Days.djvu/106

66 Now one day, the poor Milkwoman, Surya Bai's mother, was returning homewards after her day's work, with the empty milk-cans; and, being very tired with her long walk to the bazaar, she lay down under the mango tree and fell asleep. Then, right into her largest milk-can fell the wonderful mango. When the poor woman awoke and saw what had happened, she was dreadfully frightened, and thought to herself, 'If any one sees me with this wonderful fruit, that all the Rajah's great people have been watching for so many, many weeks, they will never believe that I did not steal it, and I shall be put in prison. Yet it is no good leaving it here; besides, it fell off of itself into my milk-can. I will therefore take it home as secretly as possible, and share it with my children.' So the Milkwoman covered up the can in which the mango was, and took it quickly to her home, where she placed it in the corner of the room, and put over it a dozen other milk-cans, piled one above another. Then as soon as it was dark, she called her husband and eldest son (for she had six or seven children), and said to them, 'What good fortune do you think has befallen me to-day?' We cannot guess,' they said. 'Nothing less,' she when on, 'than the wonderful, wonderful mango falling into one of my milk-cans while I slept! I have brought it home with me; it is in that lowest can. Go, husband, call all the children to have a slice; and you, my son, take down that pile of cans, and fetch me the mango.' 'Mother,' he said, when he got to the lowest can, 'you were joking, I suppose, when you told us there was a mango here.' 'No, not at all,' she answered, 'there is a mango there. I put it there myself an hour ago.' 'Well, there's something quite different now,' replied her son. 'Come and see.' The Milkwoman ran to the place, and there, in the lowest can, she saw, not the mango, but a little tiny wee lady, richly dressed in red and gold, and no bigger than a mango! On her head shone a bright jewel like a little sun. 'This is very odd,' said the mother. 'I never heard of such a thing in my life ! But since she has been sent to us, I will take care of her as if she were my own child.' Every day the little lady grew taller and taller, until she was the size of an ordinary woman; she was gentle and loveable, but always very sad and quiet, and she said her name was 'Surya Bai.'