Then accomplish this, O Utanka! If thou shouldst succeed, good
fortune shall attend thee; if not, what good canst thou expect?'
"Utanka thus commanded, took his departure. And as he was passing along
the road he saw a bull of extraordinary size and a man of uncommon stature
mounted thereon. And that man addressed Utanka and said, 'Eat thou of the
dung of this bull.' Utanka, however, was unwilling to comply. The man said
again, 'O Utanka, eat of it without scrutiny. Thy master ate of it before.'
And Utanka signified his assent and ate of the dung and drank of the
urine of that bull, and rose respectfully, and washing his hands and mouth
went to where King Paushya was.
'On arriving at the palace, Utanka saw Paushya seated (on his throne). And
approaching him Utanka saluted the monarch by pronouncing blessings and
said, 'I am come as a petitioner to thee.' And King Paushya, having
returned Utanka's salutations, said, 'Sir, what shall I do for thee?' And
Utanka said, 'I came to beg of thee a pair of ear-rings as a present to my
preceptor. It behoveth thee to give me the ear-rings worn by the Queen.'
"King Paushya replied, 'Go, Utanka, into the female apartments where the
Queen is and demand them of her.' And Utanka went into the women's
apartments. But as he could not discover the Queen, he again addressed the
king, saying, 'It is not proper that I should be treated by thee with
deceit. Thy Queen is not in the private apartments, for I could not find
her.
Pages:
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92