“When the younger brother heard what had befallen the elder, he went to see him. And after the younger one had related to him all the affair, he betook himself unto the Chan, saying, ‘That the evildoer may be really discovered, let both the woman and her husband be summoned before you; I will clear up the mystery.’
“When they were both present, the younger brother related the wife’s visit to the dead man, and because the Chan would not give credence unto his story, he said: ‘In the mouth of the dead man you will find the end of the woman’s tongue; and the blood-soiled tip of her nose you will find in the pincers of brass. Send thither, and see if it be not so.’
“Thus spake he, and people were sent to the place, and confirmed all that he had asserted. Upon this the Chan said, ‘Since the matter stands thus, let the woman be placed upon the pile of fagots and consumed with fire.’ And the woman was placed upon the pile of fagots and consumed with fire.”
“That served her right!” said the Son of the Chan.
“Ruler of Destiny, thou hast spoken words! Ssarwala missdood jakzang!” Thus spake Ssidi, and burst from the sack through the air.
Thus Ssidi’s tenth relation treats of the Man and his Wife.
Of the Maiden Ssuwarandari.
When the Son of the Chan was carrying off Ssidi, as formerly, Ssidi related the following tale:—
“A long while ago, there was in the very centre of a certain kingdom an old pagoda, in which stood the image of Choschim Bodissadoh (a Mongolian idol), formed of clay. Near unto this pagoda stood a small house, in which a beautiful maiden resided with her aged parents. But at the mouth of the river, which ran thereby, dwelt a poor man, who maintained himself by selling fruit, which he carried in an ark upon the river.
“Now it happened once, that as he was returning home he was benighted in the neighbourhood of the pagoda. He listened at the door of the house in which the two old people dwelt, and heard the old woman say unto her husband, ‘We are both grown exceedingly old; could we now but provide for our daughter, it would be well.’