who had no longer anything to do quarrelled with each other. Their
mother got sadder and sadder, and at last decided to tell Subha Datta
that, unless he would let her know where the food came from, she would
go away from him and take her little girls with her. She really did
mean to do this, but something soon happened to change everything
again. Of course, the neighbours in the wood, who had bought the
fuel from the boys and helped them by giving them fruit and rice,
heard of the return of their father and of the wonderful change in
their lot. Now the whole family had plenty to eat every day, though
none of them knew where it all came from. Subha Datta was very fond
of showing off what he could do, and sometimes asked his old friends
amongst the woodcutters to come and have a meal with him. When they
arrived they would find all sorts of good things spread out on the
ground and different kinds of wines in beautiful bottles.

This went on for some months, Subha Datta getting prouder and prouder
of all that he could do, and it seemed likely that his secret would
never be discovered. Everybody tried to find it out, and many followed
him secretly when he set forth into the woods; but he was very clever
at dodging them, hiding his treasure constantly in a new place in the
dead of the night. If he had only been content with getting food out
of his pitcher and drinking pure water, all would most likely have
been well with him. But that was just what he could not do. Till he
had his pitcher he had never drunk anything but water, but now he
often took too much wine. It was this which led to the misfortune
of losing his beloved pitcher. He began to boast of his cleverness,
telling his friends there was nothing they wanted that he could not
get for them; and one day when he had given them a very grand feast,
in which were several rare kinds of food they had asked for, he drank
too much wine--so much that he no longer knew what he was saying.