68 RAJA AMBONG. 
AMBONG bathed and dressed and spent the day cheerfully, 
waiting for nightfall to make a fresh attempt at the palace. 
That night he gained across to the apartments of the 
Princess as before, and she received him graciously, seating 
him on a mat embroidered with gold (angkat yang ka-amas- 
an) and entertaining him at a feast where dishes succeeded _ 
dishes (angkat hidang sorong hidang) with great profusion. 
Supper over, the Princess vanished as before. But this time’ 
Raja AMBONG profited by the information imparted to him 
in his dream. Blowing away the dust in the centre of the 
apartment, he found a speck of white sand, and seized it, 
upon which the Princess resumed her own form, saying “ In 
truth thy love is not all counterfeit.” In another moment she 
had again disappeared and Raja DONAN took the form of a 
jungle-cock, and searched in the neighbouring wood, where he 
found her in the form of a hen and brought her back to the 
palace, where they took their own shapes again. Seven times 
altogether did the Princess undergo metamorphosis, taking 
successively, after this, the shapes of a quail, a wood-pigeon, 
an elephant, a dragon and a pea-fowl. Each time Raja 
DONAN similarly transformed himself, found her and brought 
her back. Then she gave up further attempts to escape and 
for the next three days and nights Raja AMBONG abode in 
her palace and a short time afterwards their marriage took 
place with the consent of Raja AMBONG AWAN UNGU and 
his chiefs. 
But all this time the Princess MAYANG MANGGI was already 
betrothed to MAMBANG BONGSU, the son of Raja PINANG 
LUMUT, who dwelt up in the sky. One night this youthful 
Prince hada dream which disturbed him not alittle. Ha 
dreamt that he was walking along in a spacious plain, when a 
kite swooped down and carried off his turban, and while he 
was chasing the bird to recover it, he himself fell headlong 
into a lake. Forthwith he presented himself before his — 
parents and begged his father to interpret (¢a’adbtr-kan) 
the dream for him. ‘‘ My son,” said the old man, “I remem- 
ber an old warning, handed downto meby my ancestors, that 
no one should fix his affections or contract an engagement in a 
foreign country. If you should have done this, this dream of 
