Page:Barlaam and Josaphat. English lives of Buddha.djvu/137
upon he was taken out from his retreat and shown all the beauties of the world, gold and jewels, and arms, and carriages and horses, and beautiful dresses. But seeing some women pass he asked what they might be, and was told, "Demons, who lead men astray." Afterwards the King asked him which of all the beautiful things he had seen he desired most; and the Prince answered, "The demons which lead men astray."
[Occurrences in Barlaam. — In Georg. and Gr. (Z. xiv., L. p. 220), but only in Bombay version of the Arab, text and not at all in Heb., yet clearly in original (see next section).
Indian Original. — Story of Rshyasrnga in Maha- bharata, iii. 9999 ; and Ramayana, I. ix. (cf. Schiefner in Mel. Asiat., viii. 112-6).
Derivates. — R. Basset, Vie d'Abba Yohanni, Texte ethiopien, trad, franc, Algiers, 1884 (not from Ethiopic Barlaam); Jacques de Vitry, Exempla, 82 ; Wright, Latin Stories, 3, cf. 78 ; Libro de Enxemplos, 231 ; Scala cell, f. 15. b. ; Prompt. Exempl. L. xxiv. ; Boccaccio, Decameron, Day IV. ; Zambrini, Libro di Novelle.
Literature. — Crane, I.e.; Landau, Quellen, 223; D'Ancona, Studj, 307; Kuhn, 80.]
Xlll.b. Peacock and Raven.
A king showed a foreign merchant his treasures, and asked him if there were anything wanting. The merchant said, "Only a peacock," which he described. So the King sent his vizier with a large amount of gold to buy a peacock. But he hid the gold, and dyed a raven, and brought it to