But then Master-mind came, and in the presence of Root, a great dispute arose between him and Moon.
Master-mind said: "Moonlight should be given to me. I married the girl first with my teacher's permission."
Moon said: "Fool! What rights have you in my wife? Her father gave her to me in regular marriage."
So they disputed about the princess whom one had won by fraud and the other by force. But they could reach no decision.
O King, tell me. Whose wife is she? Resolve my doubts, and remember the agreement about your head.
Then the king said: "I think she is the rightful wife of Moon. For she was married to him in the regular way by her father in the presence of her relatives. Master-mind married her secretly, like a thief. And when a thief takes things from other people, it is never right."
When the goblin heard this, he went back home as before. And the king stuck to his purpose. He went back again, put the goblin on his shoulder, and started from the sissoo tree.
FIFTEENTH GOBLIN
The Fairy Prince Cloud-chariot and the Serpent Shell-crest. Which is the more self-sacrificing?