After that, the King said to the Minister, “Speak to the potter and come back. There is no other means of killing this one but surrounding him with pottery in the pottery kiln, and burning him.” So the Minister went and spoke to the potter, “Our King tried thus and thus to kill this Prince; he could not. Because of that, how if you should surround him even in the pottery kiln?”
The potter said, “Should you bring him I will surround him.”
So the Minister came and said to the King, “The potter told me to take the Prince.”
After that, the King wrote a letter: “Immediately on seeing the Prince who brings this letter, surround him in the pottery kiln, and kill him.” Having written that in the letter, and given the letter to the Prince who had been adopted, he said, “Take this letter to such and such a potter, and having given it come back.”
Afterwards, as the Prince was going along taking the letter, the King’s Prince having played at “Disks,”[1] and the counters having been driven out, was dragging along the hop counters. Then, having seen this Prince, the King’s Prince asked, “Where, elder brother, are you going?”
The Prince said, “Father gave me this letter, and told me to give it to such and such a potter. Having given it I am going to return.”
The King’s Prince said, “If so, elder brother, I will give that letter and come back. You drag these hop counters.”
Then this Prince having said “Hā,” and given the letter into the hands of the King’s Prince, dragged the hop counters.
While the King’s Prince was taking the letter, the potter was making ready the pottery kiln. After the Prince had given the letter to the potter, when the potter looked at it there was in the letter, “After you have seen this letter, surround in the pottery kiln the Prince who brings this letter, and set fire to it.” So the potter taking the Prince surrounded him in the pottery kiln, and set fire to it. While it was burning in the pottery kiln the King’s Prince died.
After the adopted Prince finished dragging the hop counters, and came to the palace, the King asked, “Did you give the letter to the potter?”