344 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XVIII, 
Bahiram replied: ‘‘ Sir, give me your horse: I bring him 
immediately.’’ Mounting on the horse he came to his aunt’s 
and went to sleep. The police officer said to the king: “ He 
has deceived me, also. I shall not be able to find him.” 
e king’s minister said, “‘My lord, I shall arrest him 
this night.’’ At night he began to go the rounds in the city. 
Bahiram also arrived there. An old woman was grinding corn: 
he said: ‘ Mother, you must have become tired, go and sleep. 
Come, let me put on your clothes and grind.” That was the 
old lady’s wish. Bahiram began to grind the corn. Aftera 
little while the minister came and asked : ‘‘O old woman, have 
you seen Bahiram, the thief, anywhere?” Bahiram said: 
“* Yes, sir, he was here just now.”’ The minister came back after 
searching here and there and said that he had not found him. 
Bahiram said: ‘‘ Come, put on my clothes and grind the corn. 
I will just bring him to you.”” He made the minister put on 
the old woman’s clothes and himself put on the minister’s and 
came away to his aunt’s. When the old woman got up, the 
minister came to know everything. He was very much 
ashamed and went to the king and told him everything. 
Now the king’s daughter said: ‘‘I shall catch the thief.” 
When night came, she sat at her window and began to look this 
way and that. And what did Bahiram do? During the day, 
he eut off a grass-cutter’s right hand. At night he began to 
walk below the window of the king’s daughter. The princess 
asked: “ Who is it?’’ He replied: ‘‘ Bahiram.” The king’s 
daughter thought: ‘If I raise an alarm, he will run away. 
Therefore, let me entice him somehow or other.’ She said: 
‘““come, I am very much pleased with you. I throw the rope; 
you come up; we shall marry.”’ Bahiram said. ‘‘ Very well”’ 
once threw in the grass-cutter’s hand, came down and went to 
his aunt’s. There he went to sleep. 
When the morning came, the princess said to her father: 
‘‘ Father, I have caught the thief.” The king said: ‘‘ Show 
him to me.” She said: ‘just look here 1 have cut off his 
hand. He is surely Bahiram the thief whose hand this is. 
The king sent his sepoys throughout the city and asked them 
to bring every man whose hand was cut off. The sepoys 
brought the grass-cutter. The poor man began to weep and 
related everything. 
, e king proclaimed throughout the city by a beat of 
drum that Bahiram should present himself before the king 
now who would give his daughter to him in marriage and give 
him half his kingdom. Bahiram, mounted on a horse, went 
to the king and greeted him with salams. The king gave him 
os pata ce in marriage and bestowed on him half his king- 
om also. 

