At the time when she drove him away, having gone near a Heṭṭiyā of that city he says, “Anē! Heṭṭirāla, I having agreed to take such and such a rich man’s ship, and having gone to school, at the time when I was coming I placed my books and slates in pledge at a shop; and bringing twenty-five cents and having given them as earnest money, and agreed to secure the remaining money to-morrow morning at nine, I was going home meanwhile. When I told my mother these matters, she bringing anger into her (undae) mind, beat me, and drove me from the house without having given me food. Because it is so, you having paid this price for this ship keep it in your name,” he said.
The Heṭṭiyā becoming pleased at it, on the following day morning having made ready the money and gone with the boy, the Heṭṭiyā says, “I will stay here. You having gone with this money and given it to him, take the ship. As soon as you take it (ē aragana wahāma) speak to me; then I will come,” he said.
Then the boy, having gone in the manner he said, at the agreed time, and having spoken to the rich man, says, “According to the agreed manner, here (menna), I brought the price for you. Taking charge of it and having written the deeds, give me the ship,” he said.
The rich man, as soon as he was out of a great astonishment,[3] having gone and written the deeds, and having handed over the ship, says, “Aḍē! Bola, boy, is thy filth (kunu) a religious merit? Where, indeed, if this had not broken and fallen [on me], for a price of that manner was I to give the ship on which I incurred expenses to the amount of thousands of pounds! Thy birth having been consistent with it, it will be a debt [of a previous existence] which I was to give to thee. Because it is so, I will launch on the great sea this ship on which these five hundred pounds are spent, and will give [thee it there],” he said.
On account of it, the boy having summoned the Heṭṭiyā, says, “There (Onna)! I got the ship! Although I got it, the price I gave for the ship was not mine; it was yours. Because of that, load into this ship the goods you want [to send], and having placed hired workmen [on board] for it, give charge of it to me. I having gone to some country or other [after] doing trading shall come back in happiness,” he said.
Then that man who sold the ship, having collected together people and incurred great expenses, and caused the ship to be launched on the sea, gave him it, it is said. Having acted in that manner and given it, out of that price not bringing a cent home, he spent it over that; and having related the circumstance to his family, not feeling (ne-gena) any grief, in good happiness he dispatched the time (kal aeriyā), it is said. If you said, “What is [the reason of] that?” “There is no need for us to take [to heart] sorrow. From the debt that we were to give him [in a previous existence] we are released,” he said.
After that, the Heṭṭiyā having loaded into the ship bags of rice, thousands in number, and placed [over it] a hired captain, made the boy the principal (palamuweniyā), and having given him charge sent it off, it is said.
While the ship was going, time went by, many days in number, it is said; but while they were going on as a land (goḍak) was not yet to be perceived, the ship drifted to a great never-seen country, it is said. When they investigated in the country, and looked at the auspicious character of the kind of men who are [there], their faces were of the manner of dogs’ faces, the body like these bodies of ours,[4] but the food was human-flesh food, it is said.
On account of it, the persons who were in the ship being afraid, say, “Anē! This is indeed a cause for both ourselves and our ship to be lost!”
While they are staying [there] the boy says anew, “I think of an expedient for this, that is, let us cook a great rice [feast] on the ship. Having cooked it, I will go to this village, and having spoken to the men and come [after] assembling them, and having eaten this food of ours, we will tell them to look [round the ship].”