Page:Vikram and the vampire; or, Tales of Hindu devilry (IA vikramvampireort00burtrich).pdf/19

Rh ful a virgin should be married to a donkey. They were afraid to express their feelings to the king, but they could not refrain from smiling, covering their mouths with their garments. At length some one interrupted the general silence and said:

'O king, is this the son of Indra? You have found a fine bridegroom; you are indeed happy; don't delay the marriage; delay is improper in doing good; we never saw so glorious a wedding! It is true that we once heard of a camel being married to a jenny-ass; when the ass, looking up to the camel, said, "Bless me, what a bridegroom!" and the camel, hearing the voice of the ass, exclaimed, "Bless me, what a musical voice!" In that wedding, however, the bride and the bridegroom were equal; but in this marriage, that such a bride should have such a bridegroom is truly wonderful.'

Other Brahmans then present said:

'O king, at the marriage hour, in sign of joy the sacred shell is blown, but thou hast no need of that' (alluding to the donkey's braying).

The women all cried out:

'O my mother! what is this? at the time of marriage to have an ass! What a miserable thing!