228 



Byravi and Ghopal. 



his locusts from the north — a strong army 

 — for which be thankful; us he sent from 

 the south with good counsel." 



" Oh, Byram the Wise," said a woman, 

 advancing, '' men say that thou art chari- 

 table and never turned a deaf ear to the 

 needy. Look at me, a widow, whose field 

 was sown only ten days ago, and now all 

 will be destroyed by morning, and where 

 shall I get seed to renew it?" 



"Tell me, good woman," said Ghopal, 

 before Byram could reply, "do you think 

 you could manage with one pie?"* 



"Why do you mock me?" replied the 

 woman. " Will a pie buy half a bushel of 

 grain, or is not the price already seventy- 

 five cents a bushel, in consequence of the 

 locusts, as men say?" 



"I am not mocking thee," said Ghopal, 

 "but a Faquir's rags do not often conceal 

 as much money as would supply the needy 

 with a pie a head, in a visitation of locusts. 

 Count the people whose fields are destroyed 

 and tell us how many there are." 



"Go to your homes now," said Byram, 

 "and to-morrow I will rest here and take 

 counsel of the bankers and shopkeepers in 

 this matter, but be of good cheer. There 

 remain just twelve days for millet sowing, 

 and all the cotton that has spread its sec- 

 ond pair of leaves will sprout afresh after 

 the locusts have left." 



The people were by no means disposed 

 to a hopeful view of the situation, but the 

 shopkeepers, good people who thrive on 

 their neighbors' necessities, were congratu- 

 lating themselves that they would now get 

 double rates for the surplus grain of the 

 year, and extolled Byram's wisdom loudly. 

 Very soon, too, the usual supplies began 

 pouring in, an old woman came to prepare 

 Byram's food, and our travelers were left 

 to repose after their journey. 



The next morning the shopkeepers spread 

 the news around that Byram the Wise would 

 halt in Mora for that day and give good 



* The third of a cent. 



counsel in respect of the visitation of locusts, 

 and that they, the shopkeepers, would take 

 heed to it, and that the people should do so 

 also. 



Accordingly, about an hour after sun- 

 rise, the farmers having finished their morn- 

 ing meal, began to flock into the town, and 

 Byram inquired of them what the locusts 

 had done during the night. 



"Come out and see," said the people; 

 "you have a stout fellow to carry you." 



So Byram sprang on Ghopal's shoulders, 

 and they went out and strolled through 

 some fields on which the locusts had been 

 feeding all night. The ground was literally 

 strewn with them, and every green blade 

 skeletoned and freighted to the ground. 



" They will leave nothing," said the farm- 

 ers ; "by to-morrow every blade, every 

 green thing will have disappeared." 



"And in its place," said Byram, "will 

 remain a heavy dressing of manure that 

 will double your crops. The locusts are 

 passing southward ; to-morrow you may 

 plow in their droppings and sow fresh 

 seed." 



"And to-day," said Ghopal, "if you are 

 wise, you will get out your oxen and rollers 

 without a moment's delay, and the locusts 

 that you will crush into the earth will enrich 

 the ground still more than the droppings. 

 Make the best of a bad bargain, and take 

 all you can out of the locusts." 



"Nay, not so," said Byram. "Brahma 

 will dispose of the locusts when they shall 

 have completed the task he has assigned 

 them, but it is not for man to take the life 

 of any living thing thoughtlessly." 



" But how are we to get fresh seed ?" said 

 the people. " Some Bunyas from Nowshera 

 have already arrived, and they talk of fix- 

 ing the price of jowari at three rupees (one 

 dollar and fifty cents) a bushel." 



" How can the farmers pay three rupees 

 a bushel for seed grain ?" said another. 

 " When the harvest comes the Bunyas will 

 buy the crop at forty cents and take four 



