Page:Tales of the Punjab.pdf/181

Rh BULBUL once lived in a forest and sang all day to her mate, till one morning she said, 'Oh dearest husband!you sing beautifully, but I should so like some nice green pepper to eat!'

The obedient bulbul at once flew off to find some, but though he flew for miles, peeping into every garden by the way, he could not discover a single green pepper.Either there was no fruit at all on the bushes, but only tiny white star-flowers, or the peppers were al ripe, and crimson red.

At last, right out in the wilderness, he came upon a high-walled garden.Tall mango-trees shaded it on all sides, shutting out fierce sunshine and rough winds, and within grew innumerable flowers and fruits.But there was no sign of life within its wallsno birds, no butterflies, only silence and a perfume of flowers.

The bulbul alighted in the middle of the garden, and, lo! there grew a solitary pepper plant, and amid the polished leaves shone a single green fruit of immense size, gleaming life an emerald.