He continued standing thus until nightfall, but even then he had no intention of relinquishing his chance of capturing his foal. Late at night some thieves came that way, and seeing him alone in the jungle asked him what he did there. He replied, "I was sent by my friends to buy a foal, but as I could not get one, I bought a mare's egg. I was informed that the egg would hatch on my way home. I spent last night in a village on the way side, and resumed my homeward journey in the morning. On arriving at a tank I laid down my egg on the embankment, and went down into the water, and having cleaned my teeth was washing my hands and face, when the egg hatched and the foal immediately ran away. I followed it, and saw it enter this hole, and I am waiting till it comes out, when I shall mount, and canter it home." The thieves said, "Leave it alone. Let it remain there. Will you kill yourself for this foal? Come with us, and we will give you a strong, beautiful horse. This one has through fear of you riding on his back gone into this hole. Why should you wait for him? He will stay where he is. Come with us, and we will supply you with a good one presently." After a little time spent in considering the offer the thieves had made him, he decided to accompany them. The thieves were pleased to receive him into their gang, and at once they proceeded towards a certain village. Having arrived there they went to a rich man's house, and dug a hole through the wall. They then said to our hero of the mare's egg, "You creep in." He raised no objection, but went willingly. They said to him, "Bring out all the heavy articles you can find, they are sure to be the most valuable." When inside he lifted up all he found to test the weight, but nothing seemed to be sufficiently heavy to be worth stealing. He said, "everything is light, what can I take out to them?" At length he came across a millstone, which he pushed through the hole in the wall to his confederates out side. Judging from its weight he expected they would be delighted to receive it, but they said, "Not this, Not this. Bring something worth stealing." So he went back, and finding a drum hanging from the roof he took it down, and began to beat it. When the thieves heard the sound of the drum they decamped, saying, "This fool is certain to betray us to-night." When he brought out the drum to make it over to them, they were nowhere to be seen, so he re-entered the house and placed the drum again where he had found it. He then saw some milk near the fireplace, and being hungry he determined to cook some food. So helping himself to some rice he began to prepare it by boiling it in the milk. When it was nearly cooked, one of the household turned over in his sleep, saying, "I will eat. I will eat." So he filled a ladle with the boiling rice and milk, and poured it into the sleeper's mouth. The hot food scalded him terribly, and he sprang up howling with the pain.