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Rh the ground. No sooner had he done this than they flew off back to their homes, and so escaped his clutches.

IN a forest called Pushpâkara, lived a small monkey whose name was Vanapriya. One day he was walking close to the river bank, when he saw a crocodile basking in the sun. " Friend Crocodile," said he, " are you tired of life that you have come so close into land ? " The crocodile heard what the monkey said and replied: "He who has a situation that suits him, he who receives due wages for his services, is perfectly content with the place in which he happens to be. For it has been said — " ' Lanka is altogether made of gold, yet I care nothing for it: Ayodhya, the home of my fathers, is but poor, yet I delight in it.' But there is something more than that, for your acquaintance has added additional pleasure to my existence. For it is written —

" ' A sacred bathing-place is only profitable sometimes. But the mere sight of a good man is always a source of purification.' So now a piece of