1922.] A Dialect of Modern Awadhi, 343 
Translation. 
Story of Bahiram the thief. 
certain king had foursons. One day he called all the 
four and asked them one by one: ‘Son, to whose fortune is it 
due that you live your life?”’ All the three elder sons said: 
“Father, it is due to your fortune that we live.” When he 
asked the youngest: ‘‘ Dear Bahiram, to whose fortune is it 
due that you live ?,” he replied, “ Father, every one lives b 
means of his own fortune.” The king was greatly displeased 
at this answer (but) he said nothin 
The next day when the four brothers returned from the 
hunt the sentinel said: ‘‘The king has ordered that he who 
does not live owing to the king’s fortune, should not enter the 
palace and if he is true to his blood he should neither eat nor 
drink throughout his kingdom.’ Bahiram then and there said 
salam to his brothers and started from there. 
After going for some time he arrived beyond the kingdom 
of his father. What does he see? He sees four or five soldiers 
talking to one another on the bank of a river. At once he 
disguised himself as a barber, went there and gave them aga 
ing. He said: ‘‘ Brothers, get yourselves shaved.’ 
also said : ‘‘ Oh, the barber also has arrived at the right time.” 
When all of them, after getting themselves shaved, entered 
the water to take their bath, Bahiram took all their clothes 
and went away. When the soldiers came out of the river they 
saw that the barber had run away with their clothes. Then 
they said to themselves: ‘‘ If we go eanet op day time all 
will laugh at us: so let us go home at n 
On this side Bahiram reached the home of the soldiers and 
sent the news in, that they had been killed in war and that he 
bad brought back their clothes. When the women heard this, 
they began to lament. Bahiram consoled them and said: 
* Sisters, care will come to you naked at night as ghosts, do 
not get afra 
From a place Bahiram went to a gardener’s wife and 
calling her his aunt (lit. mother’s roti stayed there. At 
has just gone this way.” The police officer went mace na 
thither and coming back said: ‘I have not found h 
