carrying those observances to a degree revolting to reason, and even to the plain good sense of the people. CHAPTER V. _Thoodzata's offering to Phralaong -- His five dreams -- He shapes his course towards the gniaong tree -- Miraculous appearance of a throne -- Victory of Phralaong over Manh Nat -- His meditations during forty-nine days near the Bodi tree -- He at last obtains the perfect science -- He overcomes the temptation directed against him by the daughters of Manh -- Buddha preaches the law to a Pounha and to two merchants._ At that time, in the solitude of Oorouwela, there lived in a village a rich man, named Thena. He had a daughter named Thoodzata. Having attained the years of puberty, she repaired to a place where there was a gniaong tree, and made the following prayer to the Nat guardian of the place[1]:--"If I marry a husband that will prove a suitable match, and the first fruit of our union be a male child, I will spend annually in alms deeds 100,000 pieces of silver, and make an offering at this spot." Her prayer was heard, and its twofold object granted. When Phralaong had ended the six years of his fasting and mortification, on the day of the full moon of the month Katson, Thoodzata was preparing to make her grateful offering to the Nat of the place. She had been keeping one thousand cows in a place abounding with sweet vines; the milk of those thousand was given to five hundred cows; these again fed with their own milk two hundred and fifty others, and so on, in a diminishing proportion, until it happened that sixteen cows fed eight others with their milk. So these eight cows gave a milk, rich, sweet, and flavoured beyond all description.