CEYLON BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 145 



it into a robe, dyed it with great skill, and putting it on visited 

 the Dewaram monastery. When Cheewara-waddaki saw it, he 

 immediately coveted it, and not knowing that the priest had 

 come for the express purpose of deceiving him, said, Did you, 

 may Lord, make this robe ? Yes, T did, he replied. If so, be 

 so good as give it to me. Ah! What do you say! It is 

 difficult to obtain a robe in the country place where I live : if 

 I give you this what shall I wear myself? He replied, My 

 Lord, I have a piece of new cloth take that and make it into 

 a robe and give me this one. Very well, as you request it, 

 take the robe ; and so saying he took the piece of new cloth, 

 gave him the robe and having thus cheated him, departed. Af- 

 ter (heewara-waddaki had worn the cloth some time, it became 

 dirty, and he put it into hot water and washed it ; but found 

 that it became torn in many places, and was exceedingly ashamed 

 to find that he had been taken in by a village priest. It was 

 soon known that the knavish priest of Dewaram had been 

 himself cheated by one who had come from the country, and it 

 became the subject of conversation at a meeting of the priests. 

 Budha coming to the place, and being seated, enquired what 

 they were talking about, when they told him the circumstance, 

 and he said, This is not the first time that the Dewaram priest 

 has been circumvented by the other priest: it was so on a for= 

 mer occasion. Upon being requested by the priests he re- 

 lated the following event. 



In former days there was in a certain place a small lake* 

 the water of which became dried up in the hot weather. At 

 that time Bodisatwayo was a god who dwelt in a tree on the 

 border of a lake covered with the lotus. In consequence of 

 the heat there was very little water in the small lake, but a 

 great number of little fishes. This being observed by a cmx\e f 

 he thought, I must devise some plan by which I may catch 

 these fishes and eat them. He accordingly went to the border 

 of the lake, and stood thoughtful, with his head hanging down 9 



