tobacco,1 oil, honey, and treacle; why do you sell charcoal?' Then you reply to them, 'I am selling my goods.' If any one say to you, 'Why do you sell so much gold and silver?' say to them, 'Bring it to me;' then take what they bring in their hand, and in your hand it will become gold and silver. If the person be a woman, marry her to your son; and making over to her the four hundred millions of property make use of whatever she shall give you.. If it be a man, marry your daughter to him, and making over the property to him, make use of what he shall give you."

your

The Thuthe, following his friend's instructions, spread some mats in the bazaar, and piling upon them a large heap of his property which was turned into charcoal, pretended to be selling it. Some people, seeing it, said, "Why does he sell charcoal?" Just at this time a young girl named Kisagotami, who was worthy to be the owner of the property, and who having lost both her parents was in a wretched condition, happened to come to the bazaar on some business. When she saw the heap, she said, "My lord Thuthe, all the people sell clothes, tobacco, oil, honey, and treacle; how is it that you pile up gold and silver for sale?" The Thuthe said, "Madam, give me that gold and silver." Kisāgotami, taking up a handful of it, brought it to him; what the young girl had in her hand no sooner touched the Thuthe's hand than it became gold and silver. The Thuthe married the girl to his son, and having delivered over to her the whole

1 The Burmese word rendered here "tobacco" means also "drugs" or "pigments" of any kind.

of the four hundred millions of his property, made use daily of the gold and silver which she gave him. Some time after this, Kisagotami became in the family way, and when the ten months were completed, gave birth to a son. When the boy was able to walk by himself, he died. The young girl, in her love for it, carried the dead child clasped to her bosom, and went about from house to house asking if any one would give her some medicine for it. When the neighbours saw this, they said, "Is the young girl mad that she carries about on her breast the dead body of her son!" But a wise man thinking to himself, "Alas! this Kisagotami does not understand the law of death, I must comfort her," said to her, "My good girl, I cannot myself give medicine for it, but I know of a doctor who can attend to it." The young girl said, "If so, tell me who it is." The wise man continued, "Para Taken can give medicine, you must go to him."

She asked, He said, "I The girl pro

Kisagotami went to Para Taken, and doing homage to him, said, "Lord and master, do you know any medicine that will be good for my boy?" Parā Taken replied, "I know of some." "What medicine do you require?" want a handful of mustard seed." mised to procure it for him, but Parā Taken continued, "I require some mustard seed taken from a house where no son, husband, parent, or slave has died." The girl said, "Very good," and went to ask for some at the different houses, carrying the dead body of her son astride on her hip. The people said,

The ordinary way of carrying children in Burmah and India.

"Here is some mustard seed, take it." Then she asked, "In my friend's house has there died a son, a husband, a parent, or a slave?" They replied, "Lady, what is this that you say! The living are few, but the dead are many." Then she went to other houses, but one said, "I have lost a son;" another, "I have lost my parents;" another, "I have lost my slave." At last, not being able to find a single house where no one had died, from which to procure the mustard seed, she began to think, "This is a heavy task that I am engaged in. I am not the only one whose son is dead. In the whole of the Savatthi country, every where children are dying, parents are dying." Thinking thus, she acquired the law of fear, and putting away her affection for her child, she summoned up resolution, and left the dead body in a forest; then she went to Para Taken and paid him homage. He said to her, "Have you procured the handful of mustard seed ?"—"I have not," she replied; "the people of the village told me, living are few, but the dead are many.'" Para Taken said to her, "You thought that you alone had lost a son; the law of death is that among all living creatures there is no permanence.' When Parā Taken had finished preaching the law, Kisagotami was established in the reward of Sotāpatti; and all the assembly who heard the law were also established in the reward of Sotapatti.

'the

Some time afterwards, when Kisāgotamī was one day engaged in the performance of her religious duties, she observed the lights (in the houses) now shining, now extinguished, and began to reflect, "My state is like these lamps." Parā Taken, who was then in the Gandhakuti building, sent his sacred

appearance to her, which said to her, just as if he himself were preaching, "All living beings resemble the flame of these lamps, one moment lighted, the next extinguished; those only who have arrived at Nibbāna are at rest." Kisagotami, on hearing this, reached the stage of a Rahanda possessed of intuitive knowledge.

END OF THE STORY OF KISAGOTAMI.

CHAPTER XI.

STORY OF THE GIRL AND THE HEN.

A FISHERMAN, an inhabitant of the village of Pandapura, close to the city of Savatthi, who was going to the city, found on his road, on the bank of the Akiravati river, some turtles' eggs. He took these to the house of a friend in the city of Savatthi, cooked them and ate them all but one, which he gave to his friend's daughter to eat. From that time the girl would not eat any other kind of food, but lived on hens' eggs which her mother used to cook for her. Afterwards, actuated by her greediness, the girl took to cooking them with her own hands and eating them every day.

The hen, seeing the girl eating the egg which she laid daily, bore a grudge against her, and prayed that in her existence hereafter, she might become a ghoul and eat up the girl's offspring.

When the hen died she became a cat in the same house, and the girl on her death became a hen in her mother's house. Whenever the hen laid eggs, the cat, who bore a grudge against her and was her enemy, ate them up. After this had happened several times, the hen prayed that in her future existence she might