And he said to the young man: “I am going on a journey. Do thou, in my absence, instruct these youths.” So saying, he procured the bones of a wild goat, washed and scented them, and put them into a bag. Then taking with him a little page boy he started for the village in which lived the father of his pupil. When the house was reached, and the teacher had rested and taken food, and the host had washed the feet of his guest, the teacher said: “Brahmin, your son when full of wisdom has by an unhappy chance lost his life. Grieve not for him.” The Brahmin laughed loudly. “Why do you laugh, Brahmin?” asked the other. “Because,” he said, “it is _not_ my son who is dead; it must be some other.” “No, Brahmin, your son is dead, and no other. Look on his bones, and believe.” So saying, he unwrapped the bones. “There are your son’s bones,” he said. “A wild goat’s bones, perhaps,” quoth the Brahmin, “or a dog’s, but my son is not dead. In our family for seven generations, no such thing has been known as a death in tender years, and you are speaking falsehood.” Then they all clapped their hands and laughed aloud. The teacher, when he beheld this wonderful thing, was much pleased and said: “Brahmin, this custom in your family line cannot be without cause, that the young do not die. Why _is_ it that you do not die young? Of what good and holy deed is this the fruit?” Then the Brahmin made answer: “We walk in righteousness. We speak no ill. We flee from things that are evil. We take no heed of the foolish. We follow the counsel of the wise. We delight in giving gifts. We feed the hungry. We are faithful in our marriage vows. We are versed in sacred knowledge. Therefore, the young amongst us never die.” On hearing this, the teacher replied: “A happy journey is this of mine and fruitful. I came hither, O wise Brahmin, to test you. Your son is safe and well. I pray you impart to me your rule of preserving life.” Then the other wrote it on a leaf and returned to his pupils. THE MAN WHO TOLD A LIE On one occasion four divine beings made their appearance on the Earth to attend a festival of the Gods. And they bore in their hands wreaths of the strangest flowers that had ever been seen, and those around asked: “What are these flowers?” And the Gods made answer and said: “These divine flowers are fit for those possessed of great powers: for the base, the foolish, the faithless, the sinful beings within the world of men, they are _not_ fitted. But, whosoever amongst men is endowed with certain virtues—to them is due the honor of wearing these flowers. “He who steals no thing from another, Who uttereth no lie, Who doth not lose his head at the height of Fame— He may wear the flowers.”