And the pilgrim agreed and climbed a high tree and looked around. And
he saw a river and climbed down and took the king to it. He unsaddled
the horse, gave him water and grass, and let him rest. And when the
king had bathed, the pilgrim took two fine mangoes from his skirt,
washed them and gave them to the king.
"Where did you get these?" asked the king, and the pilgrim bowed and
said: "Your Majesty, I have lived on such food for ten years. While I
was serving your Majesty, I had to live like a monk." And the king
said: "What can I say? You deserve your name of Good." And he was
filled with pity and shame, and thought: "A curse on kings, who do not
know whether their servants are happy or not! And a curse of their
attendants, who do not tell them this and that!" And when the pilgrim
insisted, the king was prevailed on to take the two mangoes. He rested
there with the pilgrim and ate the mangoes and drank water with the
pilgrim, who was accustomed to eat mangoes and drink water.
Then the pilgrim saddled the horse and went ahead to show the way, and
at last, at the king's command, mounted behind on the horse; so the
king found his soldiers and went safely home. And when he got there, he
proclaimed the devotion of the pilgrim, and made him a rich man, but
could not feel that he had paid his debt. So Good stayed there happily
with King Fierce-lion and stopped living as a pilgrim.
One day the king sent Good to Ceylon to ask for the hand of the
daughter of the King of Ceylon. So he set out after sacrificing to the
proper god, and entered a ship with some Brahmans chosen by the king.
And when the ship had safely reached the middle of the ocean, there
suddenly arose from the waves a very large flag-pole made of gold, with
a top that touched the sky. It was adorned with waving banners of
various colours and was quite astonishing.
At the same moment the clouds gathered, it began to rain violently, and
a mighty wind blew. And the ship was driven by the storm winds and
caught on the flag-pole. Then the pole began to sink, dragging the ship
with it into the raging waves. And the Brahmans who were there were
overcome with fear and cursed the name of their king Fierce-lion.
But Good could not endure that because of his devotion to his king. He
took his sword in his hand, girt up his garment, and threw himself
after the flag-pole into the sea. He had no fear of the pole which
seemed a refuge from the ocean. Then as he sank, the ship was battered
by the winds and waves and broke up. And all in it fell into the mouths
of sharks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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