Page:Tales of Bengal (Sita and Santa Chattopadhyay).djvu/23

Rh to the number of passengers, and was dying to feed upon the widow's autobiography and her family history. So, before the girl could properly squat on the wet floor, she found the mouth of Tara-didi, which was, by the way, almost full of a semi-liquid mixture of saliva and juice of betel leaves, in front of her nose making a gurgling noise, which conveyed to her dull sense the information that the owner of the mouth was very much interested in their affairs and wanted to know who they were. The half-mute girl fixed her big eyes upon her mother as if to ask whether it would be right for her to answer. She feared lest she should disobey the command of one or other of the numerous Sastras, by answering a straight question. Kalo's mother answered for her daughter and said: "We are Brahmins; she is my daughter."

"Your daughter! I thought she was your granddaughter! She is probably a daughter of your old age! This is your son, eh?"

Kalo's mother said, "Yes. He is the only one I have got. After giving birth to five daughters, I prayed and prayed and the gods favoured me. But wretch that I am, I could not enjoy such happiness for long. Before he was one, his father went away to answer the call of his gods."

The sympathetic Tara-didi struck her own forehead with her open palm. "You must have been," she said, "born under an evil star, or why should you meet with so much misfortune and bring forth daughters by the dozen? But why have you not married this daughter as yet?"

Binu was feeling very uneasy at this fresh outburst of her friend's inquisitiveness, and, to put a stop to the flow of her none too sweet words, she said, "Why take so much interest in what does not concern you?"

This rebuff had absolutely no effect, and the undaunted old lady replied: "Why! is it a sin to sympathise Rh