some new artifice." Then the King of his own accord brought a covered
pitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to Harisarman:
"Brahman, if you can guess what there is in this pitcher, I will do
you great honor to-day." When the Brahman Harisarman heard that, he
thought that his last hour had come, and he called to mind the pet
name of "Froggie," which his father had given him in his childhood in
sport; and, impelled by luck, he called to himself by his pet name,
lamenting his hard fate, and suddenly called out: "This is a fine
pitcher for you, Froggie; it will soon become the swift destroyer of
your helpless self." The people there, when they heard him say that,
raised a shout of applause, because his speech chimed in so well with
the object presented to him, and murmured: "Ah! a great sage; he knows
even about the frog!" Then the King, thinking that this was all due to
knowledge of divination, was highly delighted, and gave Harisarman the
revenue of more villages, with gold, an umbrella, and state carriages
of all kinds. So Harisarman prospered in the world.




WHY THE FISH LAUGHED


As a certain fisherwoman passed by a palace crying her fish, the Queen
appeared at one of the windows and beckoned her to come near and
show what she had. At that moment a very big fish jumped about in the
bottom of the basket.

"Is it a he or a she?" inquired the Queen. "I wish to purchase a
she-fish."