“I have pounded the rice and ground the corn; now give me the fire that I may be gone,” said the maiden.
But still the old woman detained her. “Why should you be in such a hurry? Just fetch me some water from the well, and then you shall have the fire.”
Surya Bai went to the well and fetched the old woman the water. Still the Rakshas had not returned.
“I have served you willingly,” said the maiden, “and now I must be gone, and if you will not give me the fire, I must seek it elsewhere.”
Then the old woman knew she could keep Surya Bai no longer. “You may have the fire,” said she, “and you are more than welcome to it. I will also give you a bag of corn, and as you go you can strew it along, so as to make a little golden pathway between your house and mine.”
This the old woman said because she thought if the girl left a trail behind her, the Rakshas could follow her to where she lived and catch her there.
But Surya Bai had no fear of evil, for she had always been treated kindly. She thought the old Rakshas was a very friendly old woman.
She took the fire and the corn also, and as she went home she scattered the corn along the way.
When the girl reached the tree where the house was, she climbed up and went inside, shutting and locking the seven iron doors behind her, one after the other. She cooked the meal and fed the dog and fed the cat, and then as she was very tired, she lay down and fell fast asleep.
Now very soon after she left the Rakshas’ house, the young Rakshas came home, and he was very fierce and terrible to look at. At once his mother began to scold at him.