The Princesses having heard the Bana, when they were going the youngest Princess on whose hand was the ring went after the whole. Then Koṭā having seized the hand of the Princess who went after, and drawn her into the house, shut the door.
After it became light, having gone taking the Princess, and having given charge of her to the old woman who took charge of Koṭā, Koṭā went to the royal house to say that he caught the thief who plucks the flowers. When going there, Koṭā went [after] putting on the Princess’s ring of power,[3] having given part of [the Princess’s] clothes to the old woman.
Koṭā having gone, told the King that he caught the thief. He told him to come with the thief. When Koṭā came home to bring the thief, he saw that having cheated the old woman, the Princess [after] asking for [and getting] her clothes had gone, and had concealed herself; and Koṭā’s mind having become disheartened, he went away out of that country.
While thus travelling, having seen six Princesses taking water from a pool that was in the middle of the forest, when Koṭā went near them he recognised that they were the Princesses who went to steal the flowers; and having seen that the Princess whom he seized was not there, for the purpose of obtaining the Princess he invented a false story in order to go to the place where they are staying. That is, this one, having asked the Princesses for a little water to drink, and having drunk, put into one’s water jar the ring of power that was on his hand, and having allowed them to go, he went behind.
When these six royal Princesses went to the palace of their father the King, Koṭā also went. Then when the royal servants asked Koṭā, “Why have you come to the royal house without permission?” he said that the Princesses had stolen his priceless ring. He came in order to tell the King, and ask for and take the ring, he said. “The ring will be in one of the Princesses’ water jars,” he said. But the whole seven Princesses, ascertaining that it was the ring of the youngest Princess of them, gave information accordingly to the King. Thereupon the King having much warned Koṭā, told him to give information of the circumstances under which he had come, without concealing them. Then Koṭā in order to obtain the youngest Princess told him how he came.
Having said, “If you are a clever person able to perform and give the works I tell you, I will give [you] the Princess in marriage,” the King ordered Koṭā to plough and give in a little time a yam enclosure of hundreds of acres.
This Koṭā, while going quickly from the old woman after having left the country, obtaining for money a pingo (carrying-stick) load of young pigs that Again, when going, having seen that [men] are carrying a flock of doves to sell, and a collection of fire-flies, taking them for money, for the sake of religious merit [he released them, and] they went away. These doves and fire-flies promised to be of assistance to Koṭā. Because he had done these things in this manner, when [the King] told Koṭā to dig and give the yams he remembered about the young pigs. Then the young pigs having come, dug and gave all the yam enclosure. Well then Koṭā having [thus] dug and given the yams, pleased the King. Again, the King having sown a number of bushels of mustard [seed] in a chena, told him to collect the whole of it and give it to the King.