Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,
Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel.[4]
Then he said, “While living thus we said one day, ‘Let us go and shoot birds,’ and elder brother and I went. Having walked till night-fall we did not meet with a single one. While we were returning home, as it was becoming night, there was a Horse-radish tree in front of the palace of our father the King. In that Horse-radish tree was a turtle-dove which elder brother shot; at the stroke it fell dead.
“Afterwards I asked at elder brother’s hand regarding it, ‘Elder brother, to whom are we to give this?’ Then elder brother said, ‘There is no need to give it to our father the King; let us give it to the flower-mother who gives us food and clothing.’ So saying, we took it home and gave it to the flower-mother.”
Again he danced, and sang while dancing—
Possessing three bent lines, a dozen spouts as well,
Little kettle, hear this our trouble that befel.
“Our Puñci-Ammā (step-mother, lit. ‘little mother’) after hearing this, on the return of our father the King told him of it, and our father the King appointed to behead us. Afterwards our flower-mother to save the lives of us both told us to go away. Having cooked a bundle of rice, and tied up a bag of it, placing gem-stones at the bottom and the cooked rice above, she gave it into the hand of both of us, and told us to go away somewhere before it became light. So we both came away. Walking on and on, we came to a great forest, and both of us sat down in the shade.”
Then he danced again, and sang while dancing—