No. 49
Mr. Janel Siññā
In a certain city there are a King and a Queen, it is said. There are six Princes. The youngest Prince of the six plays with (lit. beats) the ashes on the ash-heap at the corner of the hearth; the other five Princes are doing work, and going on journeys together.
The King said at the hands of the Queen that he must behead the Prince who was [idling] on the ash-heap. Then the Queen said, “What is the use of beheading him? Let us send the Prince whom we do not want to any place where he likes to go.”
Having come to the Prince, the Queen says, “Son, the King says that he must behead you; on that account go away to any place you like.”
Then the Prince said, “If so, give me a bundle of cooked rice, and a thousand masuran, in order to go and trade.”
So the Queen gave him a package of cooked rice and a thousand masuran.
The Prince took the masuran and the package of cooked rice, and having gone on and on, when he was coming to a travellers’ shed [saw that] a man was taking a brown Monkey,[1] in order to throw it into the river. This Prince called the man, and the man thereupon brought the Monkey and came to the travellers’ shed.