Page:Tales of the Punjab.pdf/101

Rh or guards could stop him, and never drew breath till he reached the place where the beautiful Princess Aubergine lay dead.He threw the necklace Over her head, and immediately she rose up lovelier than ever.Then the King came, and besought her to return to the palace as his bride, but she replied, 'I will never be your wife till that wicked sorceress is dead, for she would only murder me and my boy, as she murdered your seven young sons.If you will dig a deep ditch at the threshold of the palace, ﬁll it with scorpions and snakes, throw the wicked Queen into it, and bury her alive, I will walk over her grave to be your wife.'

So the King ordered a deep ditch to be dug, and had it ﬁlled with scorpions and snakes. Then he went to the sorceress-queen, and bade her come to see something very wonderful.But she refused, suspecting a trick. Then the guards seized her, bound her, ﬂung her into the ditch amongst the scorpions and snakes, and buried her alive with them.As for the Princess Aubergine, she and her son walked over the grave, and lived happily in the palace ever after.