After a short time he untied one of his parcels of roasted grain, and began leisurely to eat it, one grain at a time. Just as he had consumed the last one, an Indarpuri Sadom descended from the East and alighted in the garden to browse upon the flowers. Lelha seeing it, crept noiselessly up, and laid hold of it, and at the same instant its rider, an Indarpuri Kuri,[5] exclaimed, “Hands off! Lelha. Hands off! Lelha. Touch me not.” Lelha replied, to the Indarpuri Kuri, “Besides touching you, I will bind and detain you till morning. You have become bold. You have caused my father to fast; but I have captured you to-night. Where will you go?” “Let me go,” she said, “I will bless you.” Lelha rejoined, “You are deceiving me.” The Indarpuri Kuri made answer, “I am not deceiving you. I shall give you whatever blessing you may desire. Place your hand upon my head, Lelha.” He did so, and a lock of hair adhered to his hand, when he withdrew it. The Indarpuri Kuri then said, “When you desire anything, take that lock of hair into your hand, and say, Oh! Indarpuri Kuri, give me this or that, and instantly you shall receive it. Of a truth it shall be so. I shall never fail you.” Lelha then released the Indarpuri Sadom, and it mounted up into the air, and he and his Indarpuri Rider vanished into space.
By the time Lelha had eaten all the roasted grain from another corner of his plaid, another Indarpuri Sadom with his Indarpuri Kuri rider descended from the West. Lelha caught these as he had done the first. This Kuri was a younger sister of the other, and she gave a like blessing to Lelha before he released her horse.
Lelha now began to eat his third parcel of roasted grain, and just as he had finished it he saw another Indarpuri Sadom with an Indarpuri Kuri rider descend from the North, and alight in the garden. Lelha also captured these. The rider was a younger sister of the last. She also gave Lelha a blessing, and was allowed to go.
At cockcrow, Lelha, having eaten the last grain of his fourth parcel, looked up and beheld an Indarpuri Sadom with an Indarpuri Kuri rider descend into the garden from the North. She was the youngest of the sisters. Lelha crept stealthily up, and laid hold of the horse’s mane. The Indarpuri Kuri then exclaimed, “Hands off! Lelha. Hands off! Lelha.” Then Lelha replied, “You Lelha greatly this morning. It is almost dawn, where can you go to escape punishment?” Then the Indarpuri Kuri said, “Oh! Lelha, We are four sisters, daughters of one mother, I will give you a blessing.” Lelha replied, “In this way three persons have fled. You also appear the same.” The Indarpuri Kuri said, “We four sisters have one blessing. Place your hand upon my head, and release me.” Lelha did so, and the Indarpuri Sadom on being liberated sailed off into the sky with his Indarpuri rider. Lelha tied the four locks of hair of the Indarpuri Kuris each in a corner of his plaid, as he had before done with the roasted grain. When the day fully dawned he returned to his home weeping, for his four brothers seeing the bushes laden with blossom were envious of him, and had hurled him headlong to the ground from off the raised platform on which he sat.
On reaching home his mother said to him, “You see your brothers have beaten you. I warned you against going.” Lelha replied, “What help is there for it? My brothers beat me. No one else did. I must bear it.” His mother said, “Then, why do you let others know?”
In the morning the raja said, “Last night Lelha was watching. I will go and take a look at the garden.” He went and found a perfect sea of blossom, the sight of which almost overcame him.
It so happened that as the raja gazed upon the fairy scene around him, Koema Jugi turned up, and addressing the raja said, “You are lost in wonder, but if you hang hiras and manis on the branches the whole country will be resplendent. Then your wonder and amazement will be increased twentyfold.”
III.
The raja’s garden was without an equal in the world, but the words of Koema Jugi had caused him to become discontented with it, and because there were neither hiras nor manis hanging from the branches he, as before, began to sulk. They reasoned with him saying, “Do not grieve over it. We will bring hiras and manis.” So he rose, and having bathed partook of some refreshment.