They made ready joints of bamboo and closed them, after having filled them with gold, in such a way that no one could see the gold. When all was ready, with a great number of elephants and servants, they returned to their native province.
On reaching their home, they gave of the bamboo joints to their friends and relatives, one each, but to their mother and her husband, gave they five of the largest joints, and two of the largest gave they to the kind widow.
“The bamboo makes fine firewood,” they said to their mother. “Cut it up and burn it.”
The mother and her husband were angry and would not speak to the sons who had brought but wood as a gift, and sorrowfully they returned to the other province.
Upon a day the widow visited the mother and urged that she cut the bamboo joints.
“Your sons say that the bamboo makes a good firewood. Where is yours?” the widow asked.
The mother replied, “It is outside. Our children came from a great distance and brought to us but this firewood. We shall never touch it.”
But the widow urged, “I would believe and [126 ] trust the love of my children. I beg that you cut up the wood.” At last they did so, and when the husband cut into the joints, lo, he found them all gold. Then ran they both to find the sons to thank them, but they were already too far distant. Unable to endure their remorse, there the mother and her husband died on the wayside.
