him up to the treasure, which was buried under the pomegranate tree,
and said that the thief had escaped with a part of it. Then the king
was pleased, and gave him the revenue of many villages.

But the minister, named Devajnanin, whispered in the king's ear: "How
can a man possess such knowledge unattainable by men, without having
studied the books of magic; you may be certain that this is a specimen
of the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by having a secret
intelligence with thieves. It will be much better to test him by 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 honour 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.



THE CHARMED RING