Yet the other replied, “In this chariot, O charioteer, sitteth the lord over the kingdom of Kosala, the great king Mallika. Take thy carriage out of the way, and make room for the chariot of our king!” Then the charioteer of the king of Benāres thought, “They say then that he too is a king! What _is_ now to be done?” After some consideration, he said to himself, “I know a way. I’ll find out how old he is, and then I’ll let the chariot of the younger be got out of the way, and so make room for the elder.” And when he had arrived at that conclusion, he asked that charioteer what the age of the king of Kosala was. But on inquiry he found that the ages of both were equal. Then he inquired about the extent of his kingdom, and about his army, and his wealth, and his renown, and about the country he lived in, and his caste and tribe and family. And he found that both were lords of a kingdom three hundred leagues in extent; and that in respect of army and wealth and renown, and the countries in which they lived, and their caste and their tribe and their family, they were just on a par! Then he thought, “I will make way for the most righteous.” And he asked, “What kind of righteousness has this king of yours?” And the other saying, “Such and such is our king’s righteousness,” and so proclaiming his king’s wickedness as goodness, uttered the First Stanza: The strong he overthrows by strength, The mild by mildness, does Mallika; The good he conquers by goodness, And the wicked by wickedness too. Such is the nature of _this_ king! Move out of the way, O charioteer! But the charioteer of the king of Benāres asked him, “Well, have you told all the virtues of your king?” “Yes,” said the other. “If these are his _virtues_, where are then his faults?” replied he. The other said, “Well, for the nonce, they shall be faults, if you like! But pray, then, what is the kind of goodness your king has?” And then the charioteer of the king of Benāres called unto him to hearken, and uttered the Second Stanza: Anger he conquers by calmness, And by goodness the wicked; The stingy he conquers by gifts, And by truth the speaker of lies. Such is the nature of _this_ king! Move out of the way, O charioteer!” And when he had thus spoken, both Mallika, the king and his charioteer alighted from their chariot. And they took out the horses, and removed their chariot, and made way for the king of Benāres! But the king of Benāres exhorted Mallika the king, saying, “Thus and thus is it right to do.” And returning to Benāres, he practised charity, and did other good deeds, and so when his life was ended he passed away to heaven. And Mallika the king took his exhortation to heart; and having in vain searched the country through for a fault-finder, he too returned to his own city, and practised charity and other good deeds; and so at the end of his life he went to heaven. * * * * *