154 Dwellings, works of art, laws, 8(c. of tie Karens. [No. 3, 



elder brother, may they not die ; may every seed vegetate ; but ii 

 planted on the ways before reaching him, may they die, and none 

 spring up ' They then took the cotton pods, and gave them to the 

 Captain of the ship, saying to him. ' Take and deliver these to our 

 elder brother Palm.' 



« When the Captain of the ship, the white foreigner, got back to 

 his own country, he thought to himself; 'We will multiply tins 

 cotton, and afterwards carry it to its place of destination.' So 



he planted it, and it all died. 



"Subsequently he went trading again to Phu-Sa-lie, and he was 

 asked if he had carried the cotton seed to elder brother Paku. He 

 told them honestly that he had not, that wishing to multiply them, 



he had planted the seeds, and all died. 



« Phu-Sa-lie said : « We will try you again. Deliver what we give 

 you now, or never come to this place again.' Then they gave him a 

 o-olden book for the Karens, and a silver book for the white 

 foreigners, but charged them not to open either on the way. The 

 Captain of the ship took the books and departed, but when half way 

 on his return, the ship's crew insisted on opening the book designated 

 for the white foreigners, and after refusing three times, he complied 

 with their wishes. The book taught them how to obtain food and 

 drink. If they did thus, the consequences would be this ; if they 

 did so, the consequences would be that. 



« Then the ship's crew said ; ' If our book is so good, how much 

 better the Karens' must be' ! and they insisted on opening it. To 

 this the Captain of the ship resolutely refused to consent ; so they 

 killed him, cutting off his head, and throwing him into the sea. 

 Then they opened the book, and found it taught that people should 

 never die.' Then they determined to retain the book, but the ship 

 and all the crew were lost in the midst of the sea, and they never 

 reached their own country again. 



« The body of the murdered Captain, however, floated back to the 

 place whence he departed, and the king of Phu-Sa-lie, being on a 

 tower by the sea shore, saw something in the water in the distance, 

 and he ordered his servants to go and see what it was. They returned 

 and reported it to be the body of the ship Captain that had taken 

 away the books, and that it had floated up to the landing-place. The 



