In course of time a daughter named Moonlight was born to them, pleasing
as the moonlight to the eyes of men. When she grew up, she went one day
in spring with her servants to a festival in the garden.
There she was seen by a Brahman youth named Master-mind, the son of
Rich, who had come there to the festival. When he saw her plucking
flowers with one arm uplifted, he went mad with love. His heart was
taken captive by the gay maiden, and he was no longer master of his
mind.
He thought: "Is she the goddess of love, plucking the spring flowers in
person? Or is she a forest goddess, come here to worship the
spring-time?"
Then the princess saw him, like a new god of love incarnate. The moment
her eyes fell on him, she fell in love, forgetting her flowers and even
her own limbs. While they looked at each other, lost in love like
people in a picture, a great wail of anguish arose. They lifted their
heads to learn what the matter was, and just then an elephant that had
broken his chain, maddened by the scent of another mad elephant, came
by, crushing the people in his path. He had thrown off his driver and
the ankus hung from him as he ran. And everyone fled in terror.
But the youth Master-mind ran up in a hurry and took the princess in
his arms. And with a mixture of fear and love and modesty she half
embraced him as he carried her far out of the elephant's path. Then her
people gradually gathered, and she went to the palace, looking at the
youth, and burning over the flame of love.
And the youth went home from the garden, and thought: "I cannot live, I
cannot exist a moment without her. I must seek help from my teacher
Root, who is a thorough rogue." And so the day slowly passed.
The next morning he went to his teacher Root, and found him with his
constant friend Moon. He drew near, bowed, and told his desire. And the
teacher laughed and promised to help him.
So that wonderful rogue put a magic pill in his mouth, and thus changed
himself into an old Brahman. He put a second pill into Master-mind's
mouth, which changed him into a lovely girl. Then that prince of rogues
took him to the king and said: "O King, this maiden has come a long
distance to marry my only son. But my son has gone away, and I am going
to look for him. Please keep the girl. For you are a protector to be
trusted while I am looking for my son."
The king was afraid of a curse, so he promised to do it. And summoning
his daughter, he said: "Daughter, keep this maiden in your chamber, and
let her live with you." So the girl took the Brahman youth Master-mind
in his girl form to her own apartments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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