t!EYLON BRANCH — ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 121 



and clothes wet ; they were adorned with lotos flowers, had 

 bunches of water lilies in their hands, were sprinkled with 

 water and mud, and were chewing the edible roots of wa- 

 ter plants, 



The chief of a trading caravan, when a head wind blowsj 

 precedes the caravan seated in his waggon, to avoid the dust ; 

 but when it blows in the opposite direction he follows the wag- 

 gon train. At this time a head wind blew, and the trader was 

 in advance. The demon, seeing him approach, drove his car- 

 riage from the road to give him the path, and entering into 

 conversation with him, enquired where he was going. The tra- 

 der moving his own carriage out of the way to let the wag- 

 gons pass, stood by the demon and said ; We, Sir, have come 

 from Benares ; but where have you come from, adorned with 

 lotus flowers, and your clothes wet : have you had rain on the 

 road, and are there ponds in the neighbourhood covered with 

 lilies? The demon replied, What do you say, my friend: the 

 range of yonder green forest appears. The whole ef that forest 

 abounds with water; there is constant rain there, the streams 

 are full, and at short intervals there are lakes covered with 

 lilies. But where are you going with this train of waggons ? 

 He replied, to such a country. What have you in this wag- 

 gon? such and such goods. The last waggons came on very 

 heavily laden, and he enquired, What goods have you in these ? 

 He replied, Water. You have acted with great propriety, he 

 observed, in bringing water thus far, but there is no necessity 

 for your taking it further, there being abundance before you. 

 Break your vessels and throw away your water that you may go 

 lightly. But we are loitering and must proceed on our jour- 

 ney. So saying, he and his attendant demons, went a short 

 distance, and becoming invisible returned to the demon city. The 

 unwise trader, in his folly, attended to the words of the demons 

 brake his water vessels, and threw away all the water, not re- 

 serving a drop, and then proceeded. Before them, however^ 



