The story of the tigress, which does not appear either in the Pâli _G_âtaka or in the _K_ariyâpi_t_aka, is alluded to in the Bodhisattvâvadanâkalpalatâ of Kshemendra II, 108. There the Bodhisattva, on the occasion of a similar fact of self-denial and heroism in a later birth, says: 'Formerly, on seeing a hungry tigress preparing to eat her whelps, I gave her my body, in order to avert this, without hesitation.' And in the fifty-first pallava the story is narrated at length, verses 28-50. It differs in some points from ours. So does also the redaction of the Southern Buddhists, told by Spence Hardy, Manual, p. 94 of the 2nd ed. II. THE STORY OF THE KING OF THE _S_IBIS. (Comp. the Pâli _G_âtaka, No. 499, Fausb. IV, 401-412; _K_ariyâpi_t_aka I, 8.) The preaching of the excellent Law must be listened to with attention. For it is by means of hundreds of difficult hardships that the Lord obtained this excellent Law for our sake. This is shown by the following. In the time, when this our Lord was still a Bodhisattva, in consequence of his possessing a store of meritorious actions collected by a practice from time immemorial, he once was a king of the _S_ibis. By his deference to the elders whom he was wont to honour from his very childhood, and by his attachment to a modest behaviour, he gained the affection of his subjects; owing to his natural quickness of intellect, he enlarged his mind by learning many sciences; he was distinguished by energy, discretion, majesty and power, and favoured by fortune. He ruled his subjects as if they were his own children. 1. The different sets of virtues, that accompany each member of the triad (of dharma, artha, and kâma) all together gladly took their residence, it seems, with him; and yet they did not lose any of their splendour in spite of the disturbance which might occur from their contrasts. 2. And felicity, that is like a mockery to those who have attained a high rank by wrong means, like a grievous calamity to the fool, like an intoxicating liquor to the feeble-minded--to him it was, as is indicated by its name, real happiness. 3. Noble-hearted, full of compassion, and wealthy, this best of kings rejoiced at seeing the faces of the mendicants beaming with satisfaction and joy at the attainment of the wished-for objects.