Page:Tales of the Punjab.pdf/208

186 TALES OF THE PUNJAB

‘A bargain indeed!’ cried the spendthrift, and immediately bought the cat for a golden sovereign.

By and by he met a man with a dog, and called out as before, ‘How much for your dog?’ And when the man said not less than a golden pound, the Prince again declared it was a bargain indeed, and bought it cheerfully.

Then he met a man carrying a parrot, and called out as before, ‘How much for the parrot?’ And when he heard it was only a golden sovereign he was delighted, saying once more that was a bargain indeed.

He had only one pound left. Yet even then, when he met a Jogi carrying a serpent, he cried out at once, ‘O Jogi, how much for the snake?’

‘Not a farthing less than a golden sovereign, quoth the Jogi,

‘And very little, too!’ cried the spendthrift, handing over his last coin.

So there he was, possessed of a cat, a dog, a parrot, and a snake, but not a single penny in his pocket. However, he set to work bravely to earn his living; but the hard labour wearied him dreadfully, for being a Prince he was not used to it. Now when his serpent saw this, it pitied its kind master, and said, ‘Prince, if you are not afraid to come to my father’s house, he will perhaps give you something for saving me from the Jogi’ The spendthrift Prince was not a bit afraid of anything, so he and the serpent set off together, but when they arrived at the house, the snake, bade the Prince wait outside, while it went in alone and prepared the snake-father for a visitor. When the snake-father heard what